MOTORSPORT
Has the Kari Motor Speedway lost its hair-raising credo? At the first track weekend since the revamping, your correspondent investigates
Revamped Kari Speedway explored, Suvrat’s training experience at the TVS Young Media Racer Programme, the INRC 2020 Rally of Arunachal, the JK NRC, Jehan Daruvala’s F2 win and Team India at the Asian Le Mans
DESPITE BEING LOCATED IN THE NONDESCRIPT outskirts of Coimbatore, the Kari Motor Speedway enjoyed massive acclaim. So what did this 2.1km circuit have that Chennai’s MMRT or Greater Noida’s BIC didn’t? The answer is simple: technicality. It ensured racecraft, and not horsepower, decided the winner: the sudden, sharp corners kept racers on their toes, with even the slightest miscalculation decimating lap times. Did you notice the past tense? Well, the track underwent an overhaul during the Covid-19 lockdown, with full resurfacing, and the construction of three key new sections: a new chicane at the end of the (shortened) home straight, a faster chicane leading onto an extended back straight, and a redesigned final sector. The overall layout now measures just over 2.2km.
Now, though evo India (and yours truly) broke the news of the redesign online, it would all be moot without a first-hand account. However, despite prior experiences on the previous layout, I wasn’t keen on going in blind. So when I heard Rajini Academy of Competitive Racing (RACR) was organising a twoday training programme at the redesigned track, I grabbed the opportunity. Coming to grips with essentially a new track, that too under the watchful eyes of a host of Indian (and Asian) motorcycle champions, felt nothing short of perfect!
Nine-time national champ and multiple Asian Championships podium winner Rajini Krishnan started RACR in September 2015 to help develop grassroots racing talent. To that end, he recruited the likes of Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing Factory rider and eight-time national champion), Deepak Ravikumar (TVS Racing factory rider and 2019 national champion, 300-400cc category) and Sarath Kumar (three-time national champion and Honda Racing India factory rider), among others.
Day one started with classroom sessions, after which we lined up at the pit exit astride track-prepped TVS Apache RTR 200 4V running slicks (!) behind Jagan Kumar on his race-prepped Apache RR310. The initial drills involved throttle control (single gear, no brakes), the measured pace perfect for taking in all the design changes.
Firstly, the pit now exits onto the distal end of Corner 2 (instead of onto the main straight), so errant ‘traffic’ doesn’t impede faster riders. Once on track, you go into Corner 3 (Corner 1 on the old layout) now a gentle left-hander leading onto the unchanged Corner 4-5 chicane (which retains its ‘airtime’ character).
Thereon, it’s heaven for the throttle-happy. While the previous layout comprised both a quick right-left kink (Corners 4 and 5) followed by a sharp left-right chicane (Corners 6 and 7), the new one features a smoother Corner 6-7-8 kink which even intermediate riders can take at almost full chat, right up till Corners 10-11-12, the infamous ‘Bermuda’ that has unsettled many a racer. This leads onto the (all-new) final sector, a short straight heading into a sweeping right-hander, followed by a tight semi-circular right and then a fluid semi-circular left, and back onto the main straight.
After many sessions at a steady pace (and implementing the post-session feedback), we built up enough confidence to gun it in the last session of the day. Picking up the pace at the penultimate corner, we blazed onto the home straight, forgetting that its far end still goes somewhat downhill, and ended up missing the braking marker as well as the first two corner apexes, a feat we repeated for hair-raising encounters at Corners 10-11-12.
Day two, then, saw us back to dotting i’s and crossing t’s, though permission to use the brakes curtailed further embarrassments. Add in the counter-steering drills, and more and more novice track riders were confidently carving corners. A few sessions in, a light drizzle meant we had to take it easy with the slicks. The few who didn’t, though, realised the wider track gives some leeway in terms of racing lines around the puddles at a few apexes, as well as easier overtaking onto straights. The resultant final session was a hoot; a bunch of track rookies (et moi) revelling in our new-found confidence.
So what’s the verdict? Well, I’ll reiterate verbatim my response to the Ed asking me how the track day went: The new layout is a tad more novice friendly, but retains its characteristic ‘edge.’ ⌧
RACR organises both training and track sessions at all three Indian racetracks. To know more, log on to www.racr.in
THE PIT NOW EXITS ONTO THE DISTAL END OF CORNER 2 SO ERRANT ‘TRAFFIC’ DOESN’T IMPEDE FASTER RIDERS