The racing season round the world has reached half way. People now start predicting who are possible champions and which companies will make it to the podium. On the Indian motorcycle-racing scene the developments look almost the same as last year. In the just completed round of the FMSCI-Sidvin National Racing Championship held at Sri Perambatur track K. Rajini of Red Rooster Racing cleaned out the opposition in the premier 600cc race without much effort. Rajini is already spoken of as ‘veteran’. The second place went to Harry Sylvester, who finished 10 seconds. That is a big margin. In the smaller capacity bikes, Deva Kumar took the first place in 2stroke class while the 2nd place went to S. Raj Kumar who finished 8 seconds behind. Deva Kumar rides for Team Moto-Rev. Team Moto-Rev is also racing in the 600 Super Sports FIM Asia Pacific series. very brave of them.

The problem is, all riders are well over 25 years of age. That is simply too old for any International motorcycle road racing. It is a fact, in India any kind of auto/bike racing is very expensive to start with, and that we have in our huge country only two tracks, Kari Speedway in Coimbatore and Sri Perambatur in Chennai are a major stumbling block for any aspiring rider or team coming from North of Chennai. Bike racers come from all strata of society, rarely from the upper strata and for these kids to come all the way to Chennai is tough. Plus, at both venues, near the track there are no inexpensive living accommodations and so adds up the budget. The very fact that bikers still come from all over, share stays/mechanics/bikes/food with friends shows there is no dearth of enthusiasm. A young person going out of pocket to the tune of 20-30,000 Rupees a weekend is too much (and this is for small Indian bikes)… and there are five such to compete. Another factor that inhibits our talent is time for practice. Which again takes us back to having just two tracks in the country.

Talking about motorcycle racing, our boys start very late. The reasons are many and all of them are the fault of our system. Parents don’t allow boys to go near bikes, they can’t officially ride before they are 18 and there are no schools to talk of who can guide a rookie safely into the world of speed. In contrast, 125cc MotoGP riders step in when they are nearing 15 years of age. That is the difference between them and us. Our system has a fear of falling, fear of wasting money and fear of the future of the boy. All the fears are based on no real examples except the financial one. In spite of this we have had some extraordinary riders, but by the time they achieve, they are too old and too broke.

I find the system strange. We have the four biggest motorcycle manufacturers in the world selling zillions of bikes every year but no one has come forward to have a real racing team, leave alone support one, except for TVS. In the 180-220cc capacity Bajaj makes the fastest and best looking bikes, but they don’t support any kind of racing! Nor does Honda have a team nor do Yamaha support a team or even sponsor spares and stuff to racers. What does one make of this? This gives signals that as long as hey sell they couldn’t care less. I am saddened that such huge bike manufactures show such scant interest in the sport. Red Rooster Racing of Dinesh Reddy is unique in this scenario. RRR has huge achievements already but still suffer from lack of sponsorship! Three cheers to team Moto-Rev, but how long will they continue in this climate is to watch. And that goes for all other teams struggling. The sport needs ten Dinesh Reddys to take it to further and further heights. If Yamaha, Suzuki, Bajaj, Honda and TVS all enter official teams the excitement generated would be atomic. I have the same complaints against the tyre/oil/ancillaries companies. If these companies come and support track racing, the media, which gives indifferent coverage to racing will come streaming down on their own.

Another aspect of the scene is proper guidance. At the moment only Anand Dharmaraj, Bhaskar Ramani and friends are running coaching weekends for aspiring track riders, plus any rider who wants to enhance his biking skills. We need more of these and at more frequent intervals. It is here that one gets a taste of what it is to ride on a racetrack. Every rider who has attended a track school weekend swears he has improved. What further proof does one want? And why can’t a big bike manufacture sponsor such events?

It is all this that makes the system for racing I am talking about. If such a system falls into place, means manufacturers, track venues, schools only then will motorcycle racing be taken seriously enough, like what cricket has done. Only then we will get really dedicated riders/mechanics/managers, who will think of making a career out of this. It is then we will, like the South Asian countries; start knocking on the International Racing Scene seriously. Till such a time comes, my heart goes out to all those who race and all those who support. IN SPITE OF the system...

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