Shreyas Hareesh's Fatal Crash @ Madras International Circuit 2023
- 8 months ago
13-year-old Indian motorcycle racing talent Shreyas Hareesh from Bengaluru, Karnataka state, southern India, was killed following a crash at the Madras International Circuit on Saturday morning, 05 August 2023. The event was the third round of the MRF-Tyres Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship (INMRC), sanctioned by the FMSCI (Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India).
The accident occurred during the third lap of the TVS Rookie Race, which was part of the programme of the meeting. Shreyas Hareesh who had set the pole position in qualifying, lost control of his bike at the exit of Turn 1 of the Indian circuit and crashed. His helmet came off and he suffered grievous head injuries when another rider, trailing him, couldn't avoid impact and ran over Hareesh. The emergency crews who quickly intervened, rushed by ambulance the young rider to a nearby hospital in Chennai, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
After the accident, the race was red-flagged immediately, and the Madras Motor Sports Club (MMSC), who organised the event, decided to cancel the weekend’s programme. Located in Irungattukottai, near the Tamil Nadu state capital city of Chennai - formerly known as Madras - in southern India, the Madras International Circuit (MIC) is a 3.717-kilometer permanent race track, previously known as Madras Motor Race Track or Irungattukottai Circuit. This was reported to be the second fatality, involving a competitor at the track, after the death of touring-car driver K. E. Kumar in January 2023.
A student of Kensri School in Bengaluru, Copparam Shreyas Hareesh was an emerging star in the Indian racing scene. After competing in several races at the National-level, including Supercross events, in 2021 he made his INMRC debut. Actually the age limit was lowered from 13 to 11 years - Shreyas Hareesh's age at the time - just to allow him to compete and he became the youngest ever Indian to compete in the series. Nicknamed by fans as "The Bengaluru Kid", he took two wins to finish runner-up behind Jinendra Kiran Sangave, in the standings. In 2022, Hareesh won the inaugural edition of the FIM MiniGP India Championship, allowing him to represent his country at Valencia, Spain, in the FIM MiniGP World Series final, the first Indian rider to reach a World Championship final. He finished fifth in the first and fourth in the second race.
Shreyas Hareesh progressed to the Petronas TVS One-Make Championship, which was part of the 2023 Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship. He competed in the Rookie class, reserved to TVS Apache RR 200 motorcycles, produced by TVS Motor Company in Chennai, India, and fitted with a 197.8 cm3, four-stroke air-cooled engine. Hareesh scored four straight wins in the first four races of the series, and was selected to make his debut in the Group B - 250 cm3 support category of the Malaysia Superbike Championship, scheduled to be held at Sepang in August 2023.
R.I.P
The accident occurred during the third lap of the TVS Rookie Race, which was part of the programme of the meeting. Shreyas Hareesh who had set the pole position in qualifying, lost control of his bike at the exit of Turn 1 of the Indian circuit and crashed. His helmet came off and he suffered grievous head injuries when another rider, trailing him, couldn't avoid impact and ran over Hareesh. The emergency crews who quickly intervened, rushed by ambulance the young rider to a nearby hospital in Chennai, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
After the accident, the race was red-flagged immediately, and the Madras Motor Sports Club (MMSC), who organised the event, decided to cancel the weekend’s programme. Located in Irungattukottai, near the Tamil Nadu state capital city of Chennai - formerly known as Madras - in southern India, the Madras International Circuit (MIC) is a 3.717-kilometer permanent race track, previously known as Madras Motor Race Track or Irungattukottai Circuit. This was reported to be the second fatality, involving a competitor at the track, after the death of touring-car driver K. E. Kumar in January 2023.
A student of Kensri School in Bengaluru, Copparam Shreyas Hareesh was an emerging star in the Indian racing scene. After competing in several races at the National-level, including Supercross events, in 2021 he made his INMRC debut. Actually the age limit was lowered from 13 to 11 years - Shreyas Hareesh's age at the time - just to allow him to compete and he became the youngest ever Indian to compete in the series. Nicknamed by fans as "The Bengaluru Kid", he took two wins to finish runner-up behind Jinendra Kiran Sangave, in the standings. In 2022, Hareesh won the inaugural edition of the FIM MiniGP India Championship, allowing him to represent his country at Valencia, Spain, in the FIM MiniGP World Series final, the first Indian rider to reach a World Championship final. He finished fifth in the first and fourth in the second race.
Shreyas Hareesh progressed to the Petronas TVS One-Make Championship, which was part of the 2023 Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship. He competed in the Rookie class, reserved to TVS Apache RR 200 motorcycles, produced by TVS Motor Company in Chennai, India, and fitted with a 197.8 cm3, four-stroke air-cooled engine. Hareesh scored four straight wins in the first four races of the series, and was selected to make his debut in the Group B - 250 cm3 support category of the Malaysia Superbike Championship, scheduled to be held at Sepang in August 2023.
R.I.P