Imagine driving through a rough terrain, navigating a maze of hurdles, splashing through the water puddles – all this happens while a thousand eyes watches you! Well, that’s the addictive thrill of autocross say motorists. But winning this one isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.
If you go off, you will squash a few red cones and there goes your chance of winning. Taking a car to its absolute limit and yet exercising precision requires you to switch off the part of the brain that dictates fear. Going by the growing number of people who took part in the third edition of Vizag Autocross held last weekend, it seems like Vizagites have taken to the sport like fish to water. So has the motorsports culture finally arrived in Vizag?
Says Akash Gaud, a participant from Hyderabad: “When I came to take part in the first autocross event three years ago, there were just three or four entries per classification. This time it has more than doubled! It is remarkable to see the growing number of race fanatics in the city .” Akash, who emerged as an overall winner in the autocross event this year, has been taking part in motorsports since 2007. He had come with his team of six members called ‘Team Turnerz’.
With experienced teams converging at the event from cities like Hyderabad and Bangalore, it gave the local participants a chance to compete and interact with the seasoned rallyists.
Vizag’s Vamsi Krishna, who was runner-up in the event for the second consecutive year, missed the top position by a fraction of a second. The young engineering graduate got initiated into motorsport in the year 2012 when autocross was introduced by TT Motorsports in the city. In a span of two years, he went on to participate in national level autocross events in Bangalore and Mumbai. This time he formed a team along with his friends who call themselves ‘Lost Prophets’. But being fairly new to motorsports, how difficult was it to compete with seasoned participants from other cities?
Says Vamsi: “The main problem is that Vizag does not have proper support for tuning the cars. Participants from Hyderabad spend about Rs 5 - 10 lakh on only tuning their vehicles. This makes a big difference when you are tested on precision and speed on a defined track with hurdles.” Interestingly, despite driving a stock car sans any major modifications, Vamsi emerged as the first runner-up.
Abbas Taskeen of TT Motorsports says that over the years Vizag people have graduated from novices to pro classes.
“For someone who wants to enter motorsports professionally, this event is like a proving ground for them. You can gauge your level of talent. And if someone wishes to take it up professionally, we are ready to guide them. Through this event, we want to pass on the experience of skilled drivers to the aspiring ones,” says Abbas. He himself has been participating in cross country rallys and regional karting competitions over the past several years.
“People who have started with Vizag autocross are now entering National Autocross Championship and other cross country rallies like Raid De Himalaya and Desert Storm,” adds Abbas. Who knows with proper grooming, someone from the city may even make it to World Rally Championship!
Motorsports enthusiasts in the city feel that the sporting culture is finally thriving in the city. “Autocross events and the Go-Karting circuit opened here recently have come as a boon for racing enthusiasts of the city,” feels Vamsi.
Yet another participant Monisha Chatterjee, who had taken part in the Vizag Autocross 2014, says: “I would like to encourage more and more people to take up motorsports. It is very entertaining, very thrilling.” While she never underwent any prior training, she says it was her passion for driving that brought her to experience her first autocross event. Being one of the two women participants of the event, she says she is looking forward to taking part in the other motorsports activities.
With events like Autocross being held every year in the city and the recently-opened Go-Karting circuit, motorsports enthusiasts in Vizag sure have a lot to forward to.
