Twin podium for Mahindra in first outing at CIV

After winning the CIV Championship last year, Mahindra Racing continued its brilliant performance with rider Andrea Locatelli taking top honours in the opening race of the season and finishing third in Round 2 of the CIV Moto3 double race weekend at Mugello, Italy. 

Locatelli started from the front of the grid for Round 1 while team-mate Michael Rinaldi obtained the 8th grid slot. As the lights went off, the 2013 season got underway and the Italian rider had a great start off the line but was closely followed by a six rider pack. The race saw some nail-biting action as Locatelli, Stefano Valtulini and Luca Marini slugged it out for the top slot, with the trio constantly switching places for P1. However, it was Mahindra rider Locatelli who managed to gain a minor advantage over his opponents to finish the race in P1. Meanwhile, Rinaldi too had a decent start but lost some ground which dropped him down to 10th place. From there he couldn’t quite work up the ranks and had to settle for an eighth place to the chequer. 

After a pole position which was followed by a victory, all eyes were on the Mahindra Racing team for Round 2. The second race of the weekend proved even more exciting than the first as 10 riders including both the Mahindra riders battled for the top few places. In the latter half of the race, Rinaldi once again lost ground and had to settle for a sixth place finish, but Locatelli yet again proved to be a strong contender as he crossed the finish line in third. 

With a double podium right at the start of the season, Mahindra has proven once again that it is still a strong contender for the title like last season as Locatelli currently leads the Riders’ Championship table with 45 points on the board, nine points ahead of second-placed Michael Coletti. The next round of the CIV championship will be held on May 25 at Vallelunga, Italy.