TVS YMRP Round Two - A Dream Realised

Standing on the podium at the conclusion of a motorcycle race has been the dream of many a motorcyclist, including yours truly. This is how it did really happen

Story: Charan Karthik

Photography: TVS Motor Company

After walking away with an almost-podium at the first round, the motivation was high to grab the win and seal the deal. Going into the race weekend, I was in a different frame of mind than the last time and it certainly helped. I focused more on pushing myself to the maximum possible than focusing on or chasing others’ performance.

On Saturday, after a nutritious breakfast, we headed to the racetrack. As is customary, we were greeted by the sound of roaring engines and high-spirited pop songs being played on teams’ speakers as riders warmed up and got ready for their respective races. After a good half an hour of watching bikes go past us, we all sat down for the briefing session. Since this was round two, the session was short and crisp, as most of us had already raced and were aware of the general rules, regulations, and track etiquette.

After the session, I collected my gear and started with my warm-up routine earlier this time, just to be comfortable on the bike from the beginning. As we queued up at the end of the pit-lane and waited for the green light to go off, sweat trickled down my eyebrows and into my eyes, creating a burning sensation. Finally, we rolled out for the 25-minute practice session and I quickly got into my stride, came to terms with the bike, and put in a good first lap but it all felt forced and uncomfortable. I felt at ease a few laps later and then began to focus on my bodily posture and experimenting with taking different lines on the track for the rest of the session. After eight laps, I pulled into the pits. I was in fourth place on the leader board, a few seconds off the pace of the leaders. After suiting down and chilling, I focused on how to perform better in qualifying.

After a light lunch, I had a quick nap using my raincoat as a makeshift pillow. Since our qualifying was scheduled for the end of the day, we had ample time to recover. At 4.30 pm, all the 15 of us got on our bikes and rolled off the pit-lane, starting the qualifying session. I found my rhythm earlier than I used to and was scraping my knees on the first lap. The 15-minute session gave rise to two yellow flags and we had to roll into the pits after some fellow journalists unfortunately crashed. We even got to see how the Alpinestars Tech-Air 5 airbag vest had inflated, protecting the rider.

After the restart, my rhythm continued but I felt slower than before, the exhaustion taking its toll, and we were shown another yellow flag as we approached the end of the session due to another crash. As we rolled into the pits again, I checked the leader board to find my name in third position with a time of 2:18.600, two seconds off the pace of the leader. I was happy, but yearned for more. With my sights set on the podium fight the next day, I packed up and headed back to the hotel.

On Sunday, my day started at six o’clock in the morning. With some banging tunes playing on my headphones, I made my way to the track along with the rest of the racers. As our race was the first event of the day, I didn’t waste a single minute and started with my pre-race schedule, warming up and stretching a bit. After collecting the gear, I quickly suited up and made my way to the start line.

For the first time in my life, I was starting a motorcycle race from the front row of the grid and I felt goosebumps inside the race suit. As the lights went out for the formation lap, I got a good practice start and slotted in, warming my tyres up and stretching my lower body, getting comfortable. As we slowly pulled on to the grid, taking our spots, there was tension in the air. All the riders were about to go head-to-head and duke it out for 15 odd minutes. I tried to control my breath, which was high at that point due to the adrenaline rush. All the red lights came on and the next thing I knew the engines were roaring and all of us dumped the clutch, thundering along the home straight. Compared to the previous race, my start was average as I got pushed down to fourth immediately.

In the first corner I regained the place and three of us—Praveen, Pratheek, and myself—began opening up a huge gap to the rest of the pack. On lap two, I made a successful move on Pratheek for P2, while Praveen was ahead of both of us. I realised I was quick on the back straight and, for a split second, I decided between being defensive and offensive. I chose the latter and chased Praveen down and overtook him, but I missed my braking marker in that process. I grabbed the front brake hard, but it wasn’t enough, then I compressed the lever a lot more and the rear wheel went up, resulting in a rolling stoppie as I scarily slowed down from upwards of 120 km/h.

After the unsuccessful overtake, I retained my second position, defending from Pratheek in P3. The next two laps were a battle between the two of us as we overtook each other numerous times. On the penultimate lap, I overtook Pratheek for the last time and held the advantage, although I soon realised there was no catching up with Praveen in P1, as the battle with Pratheek had slowed both of us down, letting Praveen slip ahead.

As I saw the chequered flag, I took a quick glance behind and saw Pratheek in the distance, behind me. I crossed the line in disbelief and it all started to sink in. My first podium in bike racing as I finished in P2 at round two of the TVS Young Media Racer Programme.