For the longest time, I only witnessed the Madras Motorsport Race Track, or the Madras International Circuit as it is called now, from behind its Armco barriers or from the boot of a tracking car. I’ve photographed loads of vehicles here, roadgoing as well as racing ones. But barring a couple of laps on a KTM 390 Duke in 2018, my track time at MIC has been firmly non-existent.
Yes, I’ve had the itch to ditch the camera, don the leathers and blast around the lovely circuit, but I have had to be patient, very patient. Choosing my battle carefully with the editor for a chance was the key. You see, I’ve known about the TVS Young Media Racing programme since it began, a few colleagues have already graduated from the academy, and my own brother Jehan, no less, has also won the media-only championship in 2019. There was one big reason why I had to wait this long, though, besides the pandemic.
In 2022, I was recovering from a torn ACL thanks to a gnarly sliding tackle in a football match. And in 2023, Keshav took full advantage of the opportunity over me. Enough waiting for my turn, I made it known to Kartik that I needed to satiate my hunger for some track action. Else I’d revolt and not take any more of his lovely stoppie images (which I wouldn’t, but still). Instead of calling my bluff, Kartik obliged. The next couple of weeks went by in a blur and I found myself taking the chequered flag and qualifying for this year’s championship. However, it wasn’t without its fair share of adventure.
Hurdle 1: Selections Even as I stood on the sidelines, I thought I knew what racing lines and a proper racing posture were. Thought. A small session following TVS Racing’s Jagan Kumar, and I knew I had much to learn. The racers make it look so graceful and slick, but from the seat I could only feel how much work I was putting in to make it look half as decent. And while I felt I was super focused and aggressive, later the images proved otherwise.
A quick call to my brother who, after a hearty laugh, gave me sound advice — it was just like getting the best images at the track; just observe the racers, especially the fast ones. Observe how they attack each corner, where they go full throttle, how easy it is for them to contort into an aerodynamically efficient body shape, and finally, reproduce the same in the best way I can. Surely easier said than done, right?
After plenty of classroom and follow-the-trainer sessions, and a pretty rapid cooldown lunch of curd rice, it was time to actually go fast. And since all of us had delayed the proceedings greatly, our dedicated practice and qualifying sessions were merged into a 15-minute blast. No time to moan around, then.
Instead, I put my head down and started putting all the learnings to use. It wasn’t a flawless session by any means, but from the healthy f ield of nearly 40 riders, I managed to place fifth with a time of 2:25.244. The fastest rider on the day was around 3.5 seconds quicker, and judging by how little track time I had, I was confident of improving myself.
Hurdle 2: Go Flat I headed into the first race weekend full of excitement and nerves. My first race, my first experience of sharing the track with other riders who also aimed to win and get a taste of the adrenaline that track racing offers. And while I was pleased that my qualifying time was keeping me in the hunt for the podium, I knew I had to improve.
And two things really helped me out: listening to the more experienced guys (both in the paddock and at home) and following a few of the faster riders in the field. Speaking to TVS trainers like Jagan and Harry, a few racers who were competing in the other one-make racing classes and, of course, my brother who was always on call for quick time shaving tips, I realised that nailing the perfect lap is a constantly evolving process.
Just as the right camera settings, a stable pair of hands and seamless camera movements result in a great shot, I had to learn the process of tucking in, sitting up, braking, leaning into the corner and getting back on the gas — all of that for one corner, and then repeating it through all the 12 turns of the circuit.
One of the things that the other riders told me, and my brother constantly tried to drill into my brain, was to take the first corner of the circuit flat out. Yes, don’t brake for the fast right hander, just keep the throttle pinned as you enter the prominent MRF rubber arch at over 100 kph. They all told me that the first time I do so I will feel a bit uneasy, believing it would end in disaster. But the more I did that, the more I became calm and confident.
And just by putting those pieces of advice to use, I shaved a whopping 7 seconds off my selection time. My 2:18.559 lap time put me in sixth place, 2 seconds off pole position and, more importantly, just 0.7 of a second off the podium. Yep, it was that close.
Hurdle 3: Racecraft Going faster with every lap is one thing, but throw in a bunch of like minded fools willing to risk it all in a pursuit to be the fastest… well, that is racing. I was definitely nervous and didn’t want to injure myself only to face Kartik’s wrath for missing shoots. But I desperately wanted a podium, too. With encouragement from the TVS officials as well as the family back home, I headed out to the starting grid.
It was a typical Chennai summer day. The heat had just begun to turn up a couple of notches, and I was starting to feel like a baked potato inside the leathers. The pre-race procedures went by in a jiffy. My helmet visor shut. A sweat droplet rolled down the side of my face. Clutch in. First gear engaged. Five red lights came on. And, poof, they vanished.
Horror. I mucked up the start. Instead of launching away, I bogged the bike down and got off rather slowly. Thankfully, I didn’t lose my place to the riders behind, and some of the faster boys also didn’t get the perfect starts. Nice. I had only five laps to get up the field and I had to strike early.
And strike early, I did. Within a handful of corners, I moved up to f ifth and by the end of the first lap I was tailing the fourth-placed guy. But a couple of errors on the second lap and I slipped back down to sixth. Damn!
Engaged in a battle of wits for fifth. I usually had good corner exit speed and was confident braking late, while my fellow competitor just had an edge around the corners. The MMRT is a track that rewards finesse and good corner speed does help a lot. So, even though I made the move to get into fifth on the start of the final lap, I lost it again through the last few corners. Damn again!
So, sixth place was the best I could muster. However, I was still received with a flurry of well wishes and encouragement. I had shaved another half a second off my best time in the heat of battle. A 2:17.940 lap time was more than I dreamed possible. With two more rounds to go and a good amount of track time available, my aim is to break into the 2:15s. And maybe, just maybe, be a bit more decisive, less erroneous, and joyful for the opportunity at hand. Who knows, the podium might just be within reach.
