Schooled To Be Fast

Young automotive journalists undergo training to battle it out this racing season.

- Joshua Varghese

SINCE ITS ESTABLISHMENT in 1987, TVS Racing has been a prominent name in the Indian two-wheeler racing scene, both on the track and off it. For the current racing season, TVS Racing has come up with the first-ever ‘Young Media Racer Programme’ that offers motoring journalists like myself the chance to race against our peers and receive training from experts in the field.

The training was a one-day programme held at the Madras Motor Sports Club (MMSC) race-track in Chennai. The physical discomfort caused by the hot weather was offset by the phenomenal grip our tyres offered throughout the day. Our training was conducted on the 2.067-km-long short lap which comprised five right-handers and two left-handers, including a chicane. Having ridden the stock Apache, I can say that the race-spec Apache RTR 200 4V Carb is not simply a stripped-down version of the stock motorcycle. Shorn of the eight-kilo exhaust system, the engine has been remapped to rev without a limiter, S making it insanely quick and nimble around the circuit.