KTM Track Day

KTM’s fifth track day in Mumbai saw 93 machines all ready to race

One of our own on track in all-out orange

THE FIFTH EDITION OF

the Mumbai KTM Track Day had all of 93 KTM enthusiasts pushing their limits to set the fastest time on five-right-two-left-cornered J K Raymond’s circuit in Thane. We had one goal: to decimate our own best lap-time from the last track-day. After our classroom session with a teacher in a racing suit and a whiteboard with the track layout on it, with tips on body position, throttle control, braking points and several key points, we set out.

They say a slow rider won’t know how to go fast without crashing, and a fast rider won’t find the thin line of control and limit of a machine until he crashes. There were a number of crashes, and the organisers had left no stone unturned to ensure the safety and well-being of everyone present. The yellow flags came out each time someone crashed till the track was cleared, or red-flagged to return to the pit-lane. After three sessions, the fourth and final session was the timed one. This was it! Time to put all I’d learnt in the classroom on the track.

The feeling of you and your machine as one is inexplicable. Lap by lap, I made it to the front group after overtaking Neha Nambiar, the only woman rider on track. Two riders at the front, and I told myself, “Patience is the key.” I waited for that moment. A little room, and I made a block pass on Pratik Nandelwal, another quick rider, flicked myself to the opposite side into the inside line of the leader, and I was then on my own. Happy to add I finished on top of the time-sheets with 1:05.003.

The red flag came out and we made our in, the last few laps delivered a heady wheel-to-wheel battle. Off the track, we shook hands and spoke about the amazing session, where we went wrong and what everyone’s take was. That’s what it’s all about, respect without discrimination and the love for two wheels.