Italian rider Francesco Bagnaia has made history by helping Mahindra Racing claim its first ever Grand Prix victory at the Dutch TT grand prix, yesterday. Despite having qualified tenth, the 19-year-old steadily gained positions throughout the race, crossing the chequered flag just 0.039 seconds ahead of the first runner-up.
Mahindra Racing became the first Indian motorcycle constructor to participate in the MotoGP World Motorcycle Racing Championship back in 2011. Five years on, the team has been steadily improving its performance, finishing third in the overall constructors championship last year. Now, the team has added another feather to its cap with this victory.
Francesco and his team mate Albert Arenas compete in the Moto3 championship on the Mahindra MGP3O. The bike is built around an aluminium perimeter frame which encloses a 249cc single-cylinder engine, breathing out through a SC-Project exhaust system. With the riders fighting tooth and nail, the top three crossed the line within four hundredths of a second. While Francesco already has three podiums to his credit, this is the first time he got the chance to stand on the top step of the pedestal. With this win, Francesco now stands fourth in the championship standings, while Mahindra continues to hold onto the third slot.
