Riding a Honda One Make Race-prep Motorcycle

Honda invited us to the Sriperumbudur race track to spend a weekend witnessing the third round of the National Motorcycle Racing Championship and to ride their racing machines around the track.

Think of someone who has a friend who raced in MotoGP during the glorious years. Hearing stories about the time when it was all about passion and talent, and less about showbiz. Well, I have a friend who didn’t race in MotoGP, but did race at the Mecca of Indian motorsports – Madras Motor Sports Club – situated at Sriperumbudur, Chennai in the 80s. So, when Honda invited us to Sriperumbudur to be a part of their paddock team during their One Make Race and the third round of NMRC, I knew I was in for some intense mental and physical workout.

Only when you are on the other side of the fence, you realise what kind of effort goes in to participate at such a level. How it is just not about the bike and the racer, but about how every effort counts. From every mechanic working on the motorcycle to every soul, who is there just for just one reason – to make his/her team win, it all matters. It all seems very overwhelming to see people knowing each other for over a few decades and managing different teams, to compete and still be respectful of one another.

Sometime during the lunch on Saturday, I was asked to ‘suit-up’, and off I went. Astride a CBR 250R which Honda uses for its Open Category of its One Make Championship. The Honda guys refused to comment on the statistical information of its race-prep CBR 250R, but they did say that it was stripped down to bare basic to make it as light as possible. These are the motorcycles where the manufacturer spends as much money on the motorcycle as its original cost, or may be more.

Let me be honest here, I was in a race suit for the first time, and once everything was on, I did feel invincible. It was also the first time I was riding a race-prep motorcycle on a race track, so you know the level of adrenaline pumping in my blood was multiplied a few billion times, if not more. If you are a motorcycle enthusiast, nothing can be more enthralling than having a potent motorcycle under you on a race track. First two laps were spent trying to understand the track and applying the theory in real life. The strong points were spotted (if there were any) and a smooth line was found. The third lap was the first ‘flying lap’ and I think I wasn’t bad for a first-timer. I have no proof to confirm my belief, to either myself or to you guys, but my heart was beating way faster than ever felt before (except while checking my class 12th result). I was about to smash every record made on the MMSC track on lap 4, but was shown red flag somewhere in the middle of it, which meant that it was time for me to head back to the pits, as the racers were gearing up for the next scheduled race.

Sunday was the day when nothing was left to imagination. Each and every piece of information was put to use from the first lap and by the second lap the bike was going in the direction where I wanted it to go. Third lap was my last lap on the track and I entered the pit lane with a smile that cannot be replaced by doing anything else in the world.

It also made me realise why people fall despite having years of experience – it’s because at the end of every lap you think of sections where you can improve and you try to close those gaps in the next lap. And in this never-ending process of getting faster and faster, they cross the fine line which is impossible to see or foresee. But it is the same line crossing which, a racer turns into
a champion.