TVS Young Media Racer Program
There was a phase during my engineering days when I had been hooked on to rap songs. I had listened to ‘Lose yourself’ by Eminem on repeat and screamed out the lyrics, not realising the significance. Fast forward eight years ahead, and here I am, at the starting line of the Madras Motor Race Track (MMRT), suited up in riding leathers, astride a race-prepped TVS Apache RTR 200 4V for my first ever motorcycle race. And all of a sudden, the lyrics begin to make sense. I start to relate with what Eminem must have gone through before he stepped on to the stage for his first freestyle rap battle.
My first stint on the Apache race bike was during the racer training program conducted in May. Now, I had come back to the MMRT race track in Irungattukottai, Chennai, for the first race of the TVS Young Media Racer category. Well, technically speaking the first race was supposed to be conducted at the Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore, last month. But a heavy downpour saw the race being called off at the last moment. Fortunately, the rain gods were kinder this time and everything went as per schedule.
Practice Session
Our weekend began with a 20-minute practice session in the sweltering afternoon heat. Out on the track, I racked my brain to familiarise myself with the track layout while implementing the learnings from the training school. While I did have my reference markers for a few corners, I tried to identify new ones for the rest. But for some reason, I was all over the place! The C6 and C7 proved especially tricky, as I kept wavering off the line, either running wide as a result of carrying too much pace or kissing the kerbs having fixating on them (and I used to think navigating through Pune streets was confusing). By the end of the session, I was more confused than ever. And the time sheet made that evident. I was the second last rider in my class with a dismal personal best. Clearly I needed to sit down and rethink my approach.
Qualifying Session
After a light lunch and a power nap, I got back on to the motorcycle for the qualifying session. This time, I had a clearer picture of the track layout which meant I could focus on the racing line. Through every corner, I started braking later and opening the throttle sooner to gain few precious milliseconds. The 10-minute qualifying session got over in a jiffy. Nevertheless the results were satisfactory. The 2:33:155 minute lap time could only help me climb one position to eighth, but it was eight seconds quicker my previous personal best.
The Race
On the race day, the dark skies threatened to play spoilsports. Watching seven racers ahead of you isn’t an encouraging sight either. Soon enough, the red lights came out and all of us got on the alert. There are several advantages of being a super featherweight, one of them is better off-the-mark performance from any motorcycle. I made full use of this and shot past three of the competitors before the first corner.
The C1 at MMRT is a tricky corner - choose the correct line and it rewards you with the opportunity to go flat out, mess up the line and you have to back off the throttle. While I had gained three positions, it had put me in a spot where keeping the throttle open would have made me run wide. As soon as I chopped the throttle one of the competitors shot past me through the outside, using the slipstream to his advantage. Frustrated, I kept chasing him through the next set of corners. However, rushing in too fast in through C6 saw me hand out another position to a fellow competitor.
Determined not to let go of my position so easily, I stuck to the inside line through the short straight. My aim was to gain an edge by outbraking him while taking the inner line. We both ended up side by side in the right hander C8, with the competitor right at the outer edge of track. My immediate instinct made me chop throttle, brake and get the bike upright, which allowed him a safe passage while I veered right off the track. And this saw me drop to the back of the grid. So much for trying to be brave.
Nevertheless, I got back on the track and focussed on riding clean and making fewer mistakes. I was rewarded with an overtake in the next lap, and a private view of a messy collision between two riders. While one of them proved to be second time lucky, it was the end of the road for the other racer as he high-sided off the track. The rest of the race was uneventful, as I held on to my position through the end. Another retirement in the race saw me climb to the seventh position.
Back in the pits, our instructor from the training program, Emmanuel Jebraj, came looking for the ‘guy with bright helmet’ with an important bit of advice. He pointed out that I was losing pace because I wasn’t leaning the bike enough while cornering. While the upper body position was good enough, he asked me to lean the bike further to improve my cornering speed. He left me with best wishes for the next race and a sense of disappointment about not having this bit of information before the start of the race.
I have until the first weekend of August to mentally and physically prepare myself for the second race of the championship. Until then, I will have to take solace in the fact that my personal best lap time in the race was 10 seconds quicker than the one in the practice session. As for those who are uncertain about what the first paragraph was all about, here are the lyrics.
Photography by Murali
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TVS Apache RTR 200 4V Action
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