Mishap Claims a Promising Young Racer’s Life
Indian motorcycle racing lost a bright young star in the making last month with the demise of Shreyas Hareesh, one of the most talented youngsters I have seen in motorcycle racing. My heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.
It was a racing incident and, as all of us know, motorcycle racing is a dangerous sport. At the same time, we should try to make it as safe as possible. The first step towards this is riding gear of a good quality, which is difficult to procure in India today due to the ban on the import of helmets. Indeed, it is a sad scenario that the government has banned the import of helmets just to protect the Indian helmet manufacturers. Even after so many years in the business our manufacturers cannot make a helmet that meets the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) standards that are mandatory for racing in the country. It is unfortunate, to say the least, that we are going backwards in time to protect poor manufacturing.
Indian two-wheeler manufacturers like Bajaj Auto, TVS, Hero MotoCorp, and Royal Enfield are making world-class motorcycles, taking on global manufacturers and beating them in international markets. If we can make world-class motorcycles, why can we not make good helmets?
Another important aspect is that the riding gear should fit properly; neither too tight nor to loose. If the body armour shifts, it will not protect the vital organs that it is supposed to protect during an impact, thus leading to serious injury.
Ride in peace, my little friend.
We saw two big launches recently, the return of the Hero Karizma and the Royal Enfield Bullet, the longest model in production anywhere in the world that has been in production for over nine decades. The new Karizma has a modern liquid-cooled DOHC four-valve engine and a trellis frame. The Bullet gets its engine from the Classic which has been further refined with the power delivery tweaked to suit the bike’s character.
Aspi Bhathena
Editor
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