It's been two years since Pratheek and I visited the MMRT. And those two years felt like forever for me, a person who'd prefer getting a knee down at C3 than sliding the rear wheel in the dirt. Well, Pratheek associates better with the latter and yet, was looking forward to getting into race leathers.
So, we drove down from Mumbai to Chennai, the entire 1400km in a day; a feat neither of us had indulged in before. And we were even prepared to be drenched in sweat under the scorching Chennai sun-all in excitement and anticipation for what the next day would bring.
We'd be attending Level 1 of training at the Indimotard TWO track school that spans across two days over the weekend. And at our disposal was the race-spec Apache RTR 200 4V, which is possibly BikeWale's favourite track bike since 2017.
Now, this Apache RTR 200 4V is based on the slipper clutch model and gets essential upgrades to prep it for the track. First off, all the unessential components like headlight, tail light, indicators, and rear footpegs have been stripped off. It also boasts of a free-flow exhaust that not only shaves of a majority of weight but also adds a few more horses to the stock 20.2bhp output. The bike also gets a race clutch that lets you get away with aggressive shifts.
I have ridden the Apache RTR 200 4V before during TVS’s Young Media Racer Programme in 2019. But this version comes with TVS Eurogrip Protorq tyres- a true game-changer compared to the earlier TVS Remoras it used. The bike leaned in better and offered so much more confidence leaving both Pratheek and I amazed at its abilities.
Why didn’t we pick the track-spec Apache RR 310 over the RTR 200? Well, since we were there to learn and not build up on lap times, the RTR 200 with its relatively friendly and forgiving character made more sense over its manically-tuned faired sibling.
So, the first day of the Indimotard TWO school started with a classroom session. There was Shubabrata Marmar, Anand Dharmaraj, and Mr. Vignesh all in front, ready to dispense their knowledge. After a brief introduction, we headed out to the track to familiarise ourselves with the nitty-gritty of the MMRT. Following our instructors, we were meant to notice everything- the size of the track, the marshal posts, the number of turns, and even the undulations and cracks in the track. And although I’ve been to the track on more than a couple of occasions previously, this exercise made me see the track like never before.
And now that we had a rough idea of the layout, it was time to train our throttle hand. For that, we were allowed to use only a single gear all through with absolutely no brakes and one mantra in mind- “When the throttle is open, it should be open smoothly and constantly”. Then for the rest of the sessions of the day where we switched between the classroom and track, we learned correct body position and had a couple of braking drills.
The next day was promised to be even more exciting. After having an open session to revise what we learned on Day 1, it was back to the classroom where Shumi broke down the three most essential steps of riding on a race track- corner entry, apex, and corner exit.
And out of the three, do you know which would make you faster? Corner exits. It is the only time- apart from the straights- where the throttle can be fully pinned, making up for lost time. Again, with only corrective braking and a couple of gears we were instructed to exit as aggressively as possible. Then, it was time to devise a corner entry strategy. Enter too hot and you’ll be in the grass. Too slow and your lap times and exists are bound to be messed up.
‘Look where you want to go and there you shall be'. As philosophical as it sounds, looking where you want to go is the ultimate skill to be faster on a race track. And before we started, I struggled in this aspect. So to train our eyes for the track, we were instructed to nod our head when we approach the corner entry point, look towards the apex, nod once again, and finally, look ahead to the exit and nod in affirmation.
While the whole lot of us rode around like bobbleheads for that session, the drill sieved the entry, apex, and exit points of nearly every corner on the MMRT into our subconscious. As the day came to an end, we were allowed to have some fun while incorporating all that we learned. And in those sessions, I realized how much of an improvement two days of the Indimotard TWO school brought to my riding. I may not have become blisteringly fast as yet and still needed to work on tightening my lines, but I felt calmer, more confident, and faster than ever before.
That said, I absolutely appreciated the teaching technique at the Indimotard track school. Having broken down every minute element about track riding and having us find our own way, instead of being served on a platter made a substantial difference in the learning experience.
Well, it's been just two weeks since we came back from the track outing and I’m already looking forward to going back to Chennai for the pure exhilaration of riding on the track. Oh, and the ghee-rich dosas and filter coffee, of course!
Photos by Pramukh Bajaj
