bevan
01-08-2009, 10:48 AM
After a long time, I went to Chennai to cover the final race of the J.K. Tyre NRC. Unlike this year's MotoGP, which has a decided champion even before the end of season, the local superbike championship fortunately had its battle reserved right till the last lap. The contenders were closely matahed in terms of points as well as race machinery.
The environment on Saturday was gloomy as the rains settled in. The wet track wasn't exactly good news for the 600s and rooos. As soon as the sun came out, the bikes were out on the track tolollow the rescheduled race timetable. Due to the half wet conditions, the riders needed to recalculate their racing lines but that didn't drop the pace. Praveen Kirthi blazed off on his '07 600RR while others followed. Lap times were slower as compared to the rest of the season courtesy the lack of grip.
597
Day two began on a much better note as the track was completely dry and the track temperature was at optimum level. Mazhar Ahmed who was a championship contender for the rooocc class showed improved pace over the previous day as his' 08 Blade was soon catching up with race leader Alok's YZF - RI. Praveen was in a race of his own for the middleweight category and the competition could only watch the blue RR disappear. Gopinandhan and Kathi Venkataraman finished the podium in second and third place respectively for the middleweight category - both running machinery that wasn't as high spec as Praveen's.
As the day ended, Praveen took the trophy not only as the winner of the last round of the championship but also as the novice category champion. The double win at race one and two saw Alok inching closer to Mazhar but a strong comeback in race two meant that Mazhar continued his championship lead. Overall, the entire season was very strong and competitive for the first Superbike championship in recent times in India. The success of the championship will lay a foundation for the next year as we'll see more participants coming to the track and doing justice to the multi-cylinder beasts. Indian motorsport is now getting ready to upgrade itself to a whole new level.
The environment on Saturday was gloomy as the rains settled in. The wet track wasn't exactly good news for the 600s and rooos. As soon as the sun came out, the bikes were out on the track tolollow the rescheduled race timetable. Due to the half wet conditions, the riders needed to recalculate their racing lines but that didn't drop the pace. Praveen Kirthi blazed off on his '07 600RR while others followed. Lap times were slower as compared to the rest of the season courtesy the lack of grip.
597
Day two began on a much better note as the track was completely dry and the track temperature was at optimum level. Mazhar Ahmed who was a championship contender for the rooocc class showed improved pace over the previous day as his' 08 Blade was soon catching up with race leader Alok's YZF - RI. Praveen was in a race of his own for the middleweight category and the competition could only watch the blue RR disappear. Gopinandhan and Kathi Venkataraman finished the podium in second and third place respectively for the middleweight category - both running machinery that wasn't as high spec as Praveen's.
As the day ended, Praveen took the trophy not only as the winner of the last round of the championship but also as the novice category champion. The double win at race one and two saw Alok inching closer to Mazhar but a strong comeback in race two meant that Mazhar continued his championship lead. Overall, the entire season was very strong and competitive for the first Superbike championship in recent times in India. The success of the championship will lay a foundation for the next year as we'll see more participants coming to the track and doing justice to the multi-cylinder beasts. Indian motorsport is now getting ready to upgrade itself to a whole new level.