TVS Young Media Racer Round 2
After a successful first round, TVS brought us back for our second round at MMRT
After managing to score a win in the last round, I was hoping this wouldn’t be as nerve-wracking as my first round at Kari Motor Speedway. Little did I know I was in for quite the struggle, the weather seemed like it was perfectly set up for racing with mostly clear skies and mildly humid weather. Now, this wasn’t my first rodeo at Madras Motor Racetrack but this was sort of a home turf to all the participants as the majority of us have trained here.
Every overtake had to be well planned and well executed
Our first day was scheduled for one practice session and our qualifier. As our practice session began, I noticed my front felt rather soft and spongy. Now I like my front end feel just as much as the next guy but this felt more like the absence of grip. Three laps into my practice I managed to lean a little too enthusiastically and slide right off the track. Now thanks to all the good gear provided by TVS I walked away unscathed but my machine wasn’t as fortunate and took some damage.
Accomodating to our new designated machines
Before our qualifier began, the TVS factory team had managed to have my motorcycle fixed and ready to tear some asphalt, hopefully not literally. I was still quite nervous since this was my first crash in 5 years, credentials aside I was pretty skeptical about my front end. This ended up taking quite the mental toll on me and forced me to dial things down till I found my rhythm. The tyres on my steed still felt too soft and even after altering the pressure twice, it didn’t quite feel all that confidence inspiring. With my final lap done and our qualifier concluded, I managed to qualify in third place. Sitting there feeling Déjà vu, I was really hoping for a similar outcome as last time but my motorcycle had different plans for me.
What a lovely day for a race, Don’t you think?
The next day I was welcomed by the feeling of excitement and nausea, it got me feeling all James Hunt except on the outside I was feeling quite Niki Lauda. Adrenaline rush aside there was a lot of inspiration to be taken on the track before our race. As I walked around the TVS pit and gazed at all the other participants prepped before getting onto the track. This is quite the epic day as I saw some of the most fun and heart pumping races take place. The TVS One Make Championship RR310 category was so intense to watch, words cannot do justice to the amount of precision and dedication put into squeezing every possible millisecond out of the track. My focus was usually watching Vivek Pillai and Deepak Ravikumar who were consistent podium finishers and just outstanding to watch.
My struggles with the front are quite evident
The TVS One Make Championship was a good benchmark for us to set. Since they quite literally rode the exact same machines as us, we often found ourselves drawing comparisons and trying to understand just exactly how they were so much faster than us. Hell, we weren’t even fast enough to catch up to the One Make Ladies Championship! The Ladies Championship was quite spectacular to watch where no quarter was being spared and these women didn’t hesitate from pushing themselves one bit. Watching Ryhana Bee and Ann Jenifer, the sheer consistency in their lap times put mine to shame all day, which made me feel both proud and embarrassed. Epiphany aside, it was time for our race.
Calm before all hell broke lose
Our race began with a false start and a whole bunch of confused racers gunning it down the straight! It was really funny to be a part of such a mass confusion as one of the participants launched as soon as the red light came on. The stampede of racers entering hot into the first corner was quite the spectacle. I managed to immediately move up into 4th Position and leave behind the chaos. My problem wasn’t the racers ahead of me, it was my lack of confidence in my machine which I knew had low air in the front tire. This really robbed me of my confidence and is what added to most of my lap time. One of the top riders managed to crash paving way for just three of us ahead of the pack.
Another podium finish but still so much more to learn
It was a wonderful race with a lot of room for improvement
I managed to make my move on the final lap where I took the opportunity and got onto 2nd place. With the race concluded, I was quite disappointed with my tyres but happy with my overall performance. I could have done better but I guess I can leave that to the third and final round that’ll be held later next month. Kudos to TVS for arranging another spectacular round and I’d like to congratulate our trainer Jagan Kumar for another podium finish at the National Championship.
Further Reading –
TVS Young Media Racer Round 1
TVS Racing Young Media Racer Program – Track Training