Superbikes will rumble and roar when the fourth round of the Petronas Asian road racing championship ignites at the Madras Motor Race Track here on Sunday under the banner of ‘Sidvin Festival of Speed.’
Conducted by the Madras Motor Sports Club (MMSC) under the aegis of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India, the races will be held in two categories: the 600cc stock Superbikes and the 115cc Underbones.
Additionally, the third round of the Honda UAM Asia Cup — where all riders represent their countries on the 125cc Honda Stunner — will also be held on the same day.
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At a press conference on Thursday, MMSC vice-president Vicky Chandhok said: “We have spent Rs. 75-80 lakh in sprucing up the track. Tag Heuer timers are in place, media boxes have been renovated, and marshal outposts have been repositioned. We have gone by the book… it has been a pleasure putting this event in place after 1997.”
Everything’s fine
Ron Hogg of Malaysia’s Two Wheels Motor Racing said: “I’m happy with the track conditions. I had come here a month ago and advised the MMSC to work on certain areas such as the gravel traps, ‘run-off’ areas and tyre barriers. Everything looks fine now.”
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Hogg said it would be unrealistic to expect top speeds on Sunday because the track did not have long straight stretches. “It is more of a technical circuit,” he added.
The CEO of FMSCI, Rajan Syal, said a good crowd turn-out was expected for the main race. “One stand is already sold out. And ticket sales for the grand stand are brisk as well.”
India will be represented by K. Rajani, Preetham Dev Moses, Emmanuel Jebraj, Dilip Roger, Alisha Abdullah and Vivek Pillai in the 600cc category, Harry Sylvester and K. Jagan in the UAM 125cc, and T.K. Vishwanath and Karthik (both TVS) in the 115cc Underbones.
Event sponsor Sidvin’s P.N. Mohan said: “We’re trying to build ‘Festival of Speed’ as a brand and are proud to be associated with MMSC and FMSCI who will take it forward.”