BIKE India Cover – August 2011
Is a Chennai MotoGP possible?
The Madras Motor Sports Club track in Irungattukottai is being redesigned to make it a viable option to host a MotoGP race in the future, confirmed Amit Arora, the general manager of MMSC operations.
The track would be upgraded from its current Grade-4 status to a Grade-2 status which will make it the country’s second most advanced track once the F1 track at Noida opens up.
MMSC is already in talks with MotoGP promoters, Dorna and racing circuit designers Apex, from UK. The sports club is getting vital information to design a racetrack suited for MotoGP and Formula 2 races.
Racers have been asking for several improvements to be made to the 21 year old circuit for a long time and it seems they will now be getting more than they hoped for in a time as short as 3 years. MMSC will also be making efforts to make sure there is minimum interference with the day-to-day activities of the circuit during this time.
“The plan is to create a multi-use venue for motorsport, alongside an entertainment area. It will have shopping malls, hotels and restaurants. There will be new paddock buildings and garages. The length of the main straight will be increased and corners will be worked to improve speed.” Arora added.
Meanwhile, the construction of the Greater Noida Formula 1 racetrack is progressing at a reasonable pace and the track should be able to host its first Grand Prix at the end of this year. A second, smaller racetrack for Go-Kart racing is also being constructed alongside. With Indians Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok getting their hands on a F1 steering this year, looks like motor racing in India has finally come to life 🙂
Is a Chennai MotoGP possible?
The Madras Motor Sports Club track in Irungattukottai is being redesigned to make it a viable option to host a MotoGP race in the future, confirmed Amit Arora, the general manager of MMSC operations.
The track would be upgraded from its current Grade-4 status to a Grade-2 status which will make it the country’s second most advanced track once the F1 track at Noida opens up.
MMSC is already in talks with MotoGP promoters, Dorna and racing circuit designers Apex, from UK. The sports club is getting vital information to design a racetrack suited for MotoGP and Formula 2 races.
Racers have been asking for several improvements to be made to the 21 year old circuit for a long time and it seems they will now be getting more than they hoped for in a time as short as 3 years. MMSC will also be making efforts to make sure there is minimum interference with the day-to-day activities of the circuit during this time.
“The plan is to create a multi-use venue for motorsport, alongside an entertainment area. It will have shopping malls, hotels and restaurants. There will be new paddock buildings and garages. The length of the main straight will be increased and corners will be worked to improve speed.” Arora added.
Meanwhile, the construction of the Greater Noida Formula 1 racetrack is progressing at a reasonable pace and the track should be able to host its first Grand Prix at the end of this year. A second, smaller racetrack for Go-Kart racing is also being constructed alongside. With Indians Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok getting their hands on a F1 steering this year, looks like motor racing in India has finally come to life 🙂
Harley-Davidson drops the bomb on India
Harley Davidson, the bad boy motorcycle manufacturer from hamburger land has launched its popular Fat Boy Special model here in India, taking to total number of available models to 15.
The bike is priced just below the 20Lac mark (ex. showroom Delhi) where it will compete with Yamaha V-Max and Ducati Diavel. The new bike sits lower than other HD in the market and is overall, a treat to ogle at.
The bookings for the bike will open this month and it can be ordered from any Harley Davidson showroom in India. To help make the purchase easier for customers, HD has also signed deals with HDFC and ICICI banks. The bike will be imported as a CBU while plans are drawn up to assemble more Harleys in the country itself.
With Victory motorcycles soon entering the small market of Indian luxury cruiser bikes, we can hope to see competition do what it does best, lower prices.
Pirelli to serve tyres for WSBK till 2015
Pirelli has been renewed as the Official Tyre Supplier to the FIM Superbike World Championship after a new contract was signed between Pirelli and Infront Motor Sports extending Pirelli’s domain till 2015.
Pirelli has been supplying racing tyres to WSBK since 2004 and through 2008 – 2010 has served up more than 2Lac tyres for these races.
Pirelli has also supplied tyres to Formula1 this season and will continue to do so till 2013. These tyres had come under a lot of international debate because of their high wear till the issue was cleared up by FIA who stated that they had asked the tyre manufacturer to make a tyre that will hit the cliff early. This move is to make Formula1 race strategy more interesting.
Tyre manufacturers often use the experience derived from racing to make better road tyres. Hope Pirelli continues down the same road.