Intro
If you haven’t read my experience from Round 1, this title won’t make sense. But I’d encourage you to do that first before you proceed with this story.
Now that you have read it, I’ve to tell you that I entered the Race 2 weekend with a 4kg drop in weight and also reviewed my Race 1 performance multiple times. And the result was as expected, thanks to my preparation.
Free Practice & Qualifying
I had just one goal with the free practice this time around – just follow the racing lines, use the right gear at C3 and C10, and also enjoy while at it. With an interesting plan in mind, I kept repeating it lap after lap. Not only did I keep getting better, but I also kept grinning because I realised it was too important to race with a plan. Without a plan, it is nearly impossible to compete with the top racers. After a great practice session, I decided to stick to my plan for the qualifying, and it paid off. I finished qualifying at P2 with my best-ever time of 2:17:367. P1 was just a little over a second ahead. But by now, I knew my plan was working and I wanted to end Round 2 on a podium. With this mindset, I was all set for the race.
The Race Day
The famous quote “Practice makes perfect” rings true. I truly believe in this because I practiced race starts with my motorcycles at home. The result was impressive: I had the perfect start. Soon after that, I got a nice tow and maintained my P2 spot for a few corners. However, within a few minutes, I lost my spot, only to regain it at C4.
Since then, I was constantly battling with the P3 racer, and eventually, it reached a point where I was overtaken again (due to my weight issue) and I had to stay at P3 for a while. But I didn’t give up. In Lap 2, I overtook at C4 where I took the inside line, and got a great exit, thanks to my racing line plan. But in Lap 3, I was overtaken again as the racer was much lighter than me. However, I was right behind him for a while, looking for overtaking opportunities. At C8, I thought I had a chance from the inside line, but I called off that move because it would have ended a bit dangerously. Post that move, I lost some time, and that’s when I realised I may not achieve P2 in this race.
But I decided to look at the racers who were behind me, only to realise there was massive gap between us. I decided to stop fighting for P2 and dropped my pace marginally. I didn’t want to pointlessly give away the podium, and that was a great call. Because in Round 1, I made the mistake of setting unrealistic targets, and that led me to miss out on the podium. But not this time. After racing for over 11 minutes, I finished the race in P3 and also set my fastest time ever – 2:16:96.
What’s next?
Round 3 will take place sometime in October, marking the final race of TVS Young Media Program 8.0. For this race, I have a new plan which I will keep under wraps for now. That place looks realistic and a bit risky, but as they say “You got to risk it for the biscuit” and that is where I’m going to go. For now, I’ll head to the gym and try reducing my weight. Hopefully, I’ll reach MMRT with a sub-90kg body weight and be more competitive.
Gallery
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TVS Apache RTR 200 4V Front View
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