Fresh winds blowing in Indian motor racing

David Bodapati July 12, 2019

1,199 4 minutes read

By Anand Philar

It’s monsoon time with some fresh, cool air along with rains envigorating the Indian landscape. Something similar is happening in Indian motor racing with Volkswagen and Honda picking up the gauntlet to take the sport to the next level.

In the past month, VW made a stunning entry into the top-end Indian Touring Cars (ITC) class with the turbo-charged Vento in the National four-wheeler championship while Honda made history by introducing the FIM Moto3-spec NSF 250R in the two-wheeler racing segment.

VW Vento setting the standard in the Indian National Championship. Photos Anand Philar

Last season, Volkswagen quietly introduced the Vento in the Turbo sub-class of the highly competitive and very popular ITC category. The intention then was to develop the Vento to be on pace with the pack before even competing.

“It’s still a work in progress. We are still at the development stage. Our first target is to get our cars on pace and maybe, if all goes well, compete in the 2019 season. At this time, there is still a lot of work to be done. We are collecting data and using it to improve the cars,” SirishVissa, head of Volkswagen Motorsport India had said then.

VW certainly burnt the midnight oil and the product of their endeavours was unveiled in the Round 2 of the MRFMMSCfmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship at the Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore last month. The results were astonishing, to say the least.

The three Vento cars, driven by Karthik Tharani, Ishaan Dodhiwala, and Dhruv Shivaji Mohite, dominated the entire weekend, from practice to qualifying to the double-header race card. The Vento left the field in its wake and barring Coimbatore veteran Arjun Balu, a former racing and rally champion in his Race Concepts-prepared Honda Vtec, the VW factory team faced the challenge from none other.

The June weekend was an eye-opener to the racing aficionados. Some of the competitors, mostly in their old faithful modified Maruti Esteem, that they had flogged for many years, conceded that the Vento, powered by a 1.8 litre TSi engine mated to a six-speed sequential gearbox, was the way forward. “It is time to pack up the Esteem and go with the Vento,” was the honest admission by veteran Vidyaprakash, one of the few survivors of the hoary Sholaravam past.

A joyous Vissa could hardly contain his emotions. “Honestly, the performances of our cars far exceeded our expectations. Last year, it was about getting on pace with the competition and during the off-season, we had worked long and hard on these cars, sorting out various issues, especially compensating for the weight factor. Winning both the races here in Coimbatore? Wow! But I can’t say how much of a game-changer this will be since I am not sure whether other competitors would switch to Vento in the foreseeable future,” he said.

In a way, it was a double-delight for VW as their Ameo Class, a one-make series had received National Championship status from the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI), the sport’s National governing body. Coupled with the showing of the Vento in the ITC, the excitement in the VW camp was palpable and understandable.

A HISTORIC MOMENT – HONDA UPS THE ANTE

Cut to the MMRT, a fortnight later, for the second round of the MRFMMSCfmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2019. The motorsport wing of the Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI)showcased the FIM Moto3-spec NSF 250R imported from Japan that replaced the CBR 250 in the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup One-Make Championship.

Md Mikail on a Honda NSF 250R during a race week-end at MMRT, Chennai.

It was a landmark moment in the history of two-wheeler racing in India. The eight-bike grid comprised riders in the age-group of 12 to 19 years, all trained and primed over the past several months to become race ready.

In a conversation with me at the MMRT, Prabhu Nagaraj, Vice-President – Brand and Communications, HMSI Pvt Ltd, said: “As you are aware, two-wheeler racing at the global level is getting younger in terms of the riders. We thought we will invest in youngsters, in the preferred age-group of 12-18 years on a long-term programme. Eventually, we hope that at least one of the riders would make it to Moto3.

“We have gone to a great extent to train these youngsters in not just racing, but also help them develop as individuals. For this season, we shortlisted eight riders who were put through a rigorous training programme, and hopefully, the grid would get bigger in the seasons to come. We have other plans too for the coming season.”

Sarthak Chavan from Pune, youngest rider (Honda NSF 250R) on the track at just 12 years

Back in 2015, Honda won the Moto3 constructor’s Championship with the NSF250R. The race bike, shoed with Dunlop tyres, is powered by a 249.3cc single cylinder liquid-cooled engine, putting out a maximum power of 47.6 HP at 13,000 rpm and 28 Nm of torque at 10,500 rpm. The engine is mated to a 6-speed gearbox.

These kids on the NSF 250R bikes rode fearlessly and their timings through the weekend were astounding. The top five boys were quicker than the fastest 400cc bike in the championship. Those in the know believe that the NSF 250R bikes can lower the timings even more, to maybe 1:45 or thereabouts, as against the weekend’s best of 1:48 for a hot lap.

The 84-Kgs NSF 250R is built for young teenagers who easily fit into the saddle. Among the youngest of the riders was Pune’s Sartak Srikant Chavan, just 12 years old, but who performed like he was born to ride. The grid also contained two “veterans” in 15-year old Md Mikail from Chennai and Kritik Habib, 19, from Gadag, Karnataka, both of whom had participated in the Thailand Talent Cup race recently. That experience reflected in their performance with Mikail winning the first of the two races, ahead of Habib.

Also, Honda made a welcome entry in the Pro-Stock 165cc with their race-spec CBR 150R, and much to their delight, Rajiv Sethu, their standard-bearer, won both the races. Sethu has come a long way and his recent performances in the Asia Road Racing Championship besides the Endurance race in Japan as part of the Honda team, have certainly boosted his confidence. In both National championship races over the weekend, Sethu defeated his nemesis and seven-times champion Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing).

Volkswagen and Honda deserve all the kudos for taking the initiative to give a leg-up to Indian motor racing. These are baby steps yet, but the signs are very positive. Hopefully, we can look forward to acche din!