PETRONAS TVS One Make Championship Race 1: A Learning Experience

Round one of the Petronas TVS One Make Championship was held at Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore. It took place from June 2nd to June 4th - and the category I competed in, the Media Category, was only held from the 3rd of June to the 4th (Saturday and Sunday).

I would first like to start by thanking TVS for hosting the Young Media Racer Program (YMRP), giving us the experience of racing on track, and providing us with adequate professional training to make the most of the opportunity, too!

We reached Coimbatore on Friday night and meeting everyone after months of eager waiting was a refreshing moment. It brought back the buzz, the adrenaline, and the feeling of racing.

Then came Saturday. Saturday were the practice and qualifying rounds and Sunday was the race. It felt like a proper race weekend! I'm grateful to have taken part in my first race with skilled and genuine riders, competing for DriveSpark.

Getting out on track during Practice was the first time I'd been at Kari Motor Speedway. All I came in knowing was that it would be a technical track. How technical, though? I had no idea. The first thing I realised was the amount of elevations and descents throughout the track, and how tight some of the corners were. That threw me off guard.

I managed to set a time of 1:36:435 in practice, putting me in 5th, but I wasn't satisfied with that. I wanted better. After practice, I ran the track through my mind multiple times, figuring out what would work best for me, and what would be the fastest line. I kept replaying it until I felt more confident.

After the break, we had our Qualifying Session. I went into qualifying ready to set a good time. I pushed harder each lap, trying to outdo myself the previous time, and managed to set a 1:33:148, putting me in 3rd place for the race! I was ecstatic!

The fight between the top 5 riders, Deepak Vishnu (TheClutchless), Alshin Thomas (BikeIndia), Ananya Awasthi (PowerDrift), Joel Raju (MotorBeam), and myself (DriveSpark), was thrilling. There was no time to breathe, always having to concentrate maximum.

The rider in the lead was hardly constant through the race, except for Alshin Thomas, who held it for around the first two to three laps and then Deepak Vishnu, who held it towards the end. It was war at the front, but a fun war.

The fastest lap of the race, also, kept going to different riders in the first few laps, with mine holding on for a short time at 1:31:550, but finally was secured by Ananya Awasthi, setting a 1:30:664.

During the race, I was holding the lead after making a move into the first corner, but then come a small tussle with Alshin Thomas, I went off track. However, I managed to regain a position or two, but then coming around the second to last corner, because of pushing too hard, I lost the front-end and low-sided. That was the end of my race. It was disappointing, to say the least.

I rode the bike back into the pit, still finding it difficult to process what had happened. I couldn't believe it had all just finished so quickly. But, that's racing - you've got to expect the unexpected.

That taught me a lot: to not let your emotions get the better of you, to focus on how much is ahead - not what's right in front of you, and most importantly, to stay calm in tough situations.

The race ended with Deepak Vishnu coming first, Ananya Awasthi securing second, and Alshin Thomas sealing the final step of the podium. It was a well-deserved finish for all three of the podium sitters.

The next round will most likely happen in August at Madras Motor Racing Track, and we're going to come back stronger for that, with a better mindset! As the famous quote goes, "To finish first, you must first finish."