Bike India – August 2019

entireweekendovercookedtheright-handerandlostthe

front,makinghimtumbleoffhisbike.thisleftthe

remainingfourofusscufflingforthelead.i ended up

constantlytradingplacesbetweenthirdandfourthand

indulgedmyselfina greatfightwitha fellowcompetitor.

duetomyweightadvantageandslip-streamingi

consistentlygotthebetterofhimonthestraights.however,

herodea gooddefensivelineandsatmeuponatleastthree

cornerseachlapbystickinghisbikeontheinsideofthe

corner.thisstoppedmefromtakinga fastlineandcaused

metodothehardworkalloveragain.theplanwasthatif all

elsefailed,iwouldslip-streamtherideronthefinalcorner

andpiphimforthefinalplaceonthepodium.hereis where

imadeanotherbigmistake—imiscalculatedthelaps.this

meantthatididnotsticktotheplanandinsteadtrieda

differentlineasiassumedthati had another full lap to go.

Butaswegotontothestart-finishstraight,thechequered

flagwasbeingwaved;a sillymistakeonmypart.

therewerepositives,though.ihadsetthethirdfastest

lapduringtheraceeventhoughididnot

geta cleanlapin.in addition,i had

betteredmyownqualifyingtimebythree

seconds,whichis a hugeconfidenceboost.

as formycompetitors,eachandeveryone

ofthemsurpassedtheirownbesttimes.

thetVsracing team were as usual rock

stars,helpfulaseverandalwayswillingtohelpthroughout

theweekend.

nextontherosteris thepenultimateraceattheBuddh

internationalcircuitindelhiwhichwillbea noholds

barredaffairasweallwillwantthatpodium.hence,now it

is timeforpreparationandtimetogrowa pairforthatfinal

raceofthetVsYoungmediaracerprogramme 3.0.

Look where

you wanna go

Left:

Certificates

being handed

out at the prize

distribution

mmrt, slipstreamingis animportantfactorontheapache
rtr200,somethingididnottakeintoconsideration.iput
allthatihadpractisedandlearnttouseandfeltquitefast,
too;however,oncethesessionwasover,i was four seconds
slowerthanthepole-setterandqualifiedtostarttheraceon
sundayinfifthplace.
onceagain,aftera sleeplessnightanda slightlynumb
feeling,breakfastinthetummy,wewereonourwaytothe
track.it wasracedayandtimetothrowcautionasideand
puttouseallthathadbeenlearnt.as wewentoutonour
sightinglapthenervesslowlystartedtocreepuponme,and
bythetimeihadtakenupmypositiononthegrid,iwas
onceagainscreaminginsidelikethatfamousaustrianaction
moviestar.marshalsbroughtthosefive-,three-,andone-
minuteboardsonandoffinwhatseemedlikejust 30 seconds
andthenthosefivebeautifullightsbegantoilluminate.it
wasgotime.
igotofftoa decentstartwhichgavemeenoughdriveto
makeupa positionthroughthefirstcorner.afewsilly
mistakesgotthatpositiontakenawayonceagain,butiwas
righttherewiththetopgroup,aseachriderscuffledwith
another.on corner eight, one of the fastest riders of the

http://www.bikeindia.in August 2019 Bike India 101

TVS Young Media Race