Image credit : Illustrative image

Coimbatore : With 178 entries and a record 15 teams, the highest-ever in the championship’s history, in the fray, the weekend card has 17 races scheduled in the MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship, commencing at the Kari Motor Speedway here from Friday.

The National championship will be headlined by the Pro-Stock 301-400cc class, besides Pro-Stock 165cc, Pro-Stock 201-300cc and Stock 165cc (novices and girls).

That apart, the One-Make Championships by Honda (Idemitsu Honda Talent Cup, CBR 150) and TVS Racing (Apache RTR 310 Open, RTR 200 novices and girls), will run concurrently.

Title sponsors MRF will provide slick tyres for Pro-Stock 165cc and Pro-Stock 301-400cc classes.

The two top manufacturers, Honda and TVS, have also contributed hugely to the championship with their respective one-make series. This season, Honda will introduce FIM Moto3 spec NSF250R replacing the CBR 250 in the One-Make Championship from the next round.

It is part of the Honda India Talent Cup programme designed to unearth young talent that can be groomed for participation in various international events, including the World Championship.

Honda Novice class (CBR 150) will see a grid of 15 riders, all under 19 years, thus emphasising the focus on young talent with a long-term development programme.

Similarly, TVS Racing, through its talent-spotting programme, has shortlisted riders for the novice and girls categories through an exhaustive selection process.

The grid for the girls race will have 16 riders chosen from 33 entrants who received training from TVS Racing’s experienced riders prior to the selection run.