THERE IS JUST SOMETHING ABOUT the atmosphere on a race weekend. This being the final race weekend of 2022, the energy levels in the Royal Enfield pit box were high as the battle for the top spot in the championship standings went down to the final race. Last year, I was given the opportunity to take part as a wildcard entry for one of the rounds of this championship. I had never ridden on the circuit before and, within just a few laps, I was already getting intimidated by the pace of the racers in the first unofficial practice session. Unfortunately, while trying to push and be faster, I lost the front end and ended up crashing out hard at the first corner, injuring my hand and bringing my weekend to a premature end. Since then, all I wanted to do was get back astride the GI-R6s50 and overcome the fear of that crash, so that I would be able to go back to riding on this circuit without having qualms.
I opted to take part in this media race so that I could get to ride the motorcycle with new upgrades and, mainly, sneak in some much-needed track-time. We headed to the track on Friday to get a glimpse of the professional racers in action which pumped us up for the practice and qualifying sessions that were scheduled for Saturday. We used the five extra motorcycles and were segregated into three batches, after which each batch got a chance to put in some laps within a 12-minute practice session, followed by a 10-minute qualifying session.
Denne historien er fra January 2023-utgaven av Bike India.
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Denne historien er fra January 2023-utgaven av Bike India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Riding on the wind
What better way to achieve your dream of being a racer than to join the California Superbike School (CSS) to learn the basics of riding on a track?
Yamaha XMAX SPHEV
Another hybrid from Japan suggests that the technology is expected to gain momentum in the two-wheeled realm
Pedro 'The Shark' Acosta is MotoGP's most exciting young talent. The dazzling KTM rider talks about fighting the Ducati hordes, trying to use his brain, and getting bored of speaking to journalists
IT IS THE OLDEST TRICK IN THE MotoGP journalist’s book. Whenever you sit down to interview a rider, you start with the easy questions: flatter his ego or, in pit-lane speak, “tickle his balls”.
Different Direction
Ducati go against the tide, producing a lighter but considerably less powerful Panigale V2 for 2025. Will those horses be missed?
Flexing its Muscle
The Honda CB300F street-bike has been updated to run on flex-fuel. Is the motorcycle good in this iteration? We find out
Nicolo Bulega Draws First Blood at Phillip Island
The 2025 WorldSBK season got under way with Nicolo Bulega laying down a serious marker in the title race with a clean sweep down under
Sustainable Mobility
Accelerating the growth of sustainable mobility in Indonesia will be among the primary objectives of these events to which Bike India has been invited. Here is a curtain-raiser
Living Up to KTM LEGACY
The new 390 Adventure looks superbly capable now. To verify, we rode it on some trails in Goa and then all the way back to Pune
Shetty is Slide School Cup Champion
Four regional rounds, 12 finalists, one winner. Anish Shetty is the country's first-ever Royal Enfield Slide School Cup Champion
Memories to Cherish for a Lifetime
TVS invited us for a unique experience at Gujarat's most famous tourist destination: the Rann of Kutch.
