2019 Suzuki Media Endurance Race; Taking It One Lap At A Time

I have had my fair share of motorcycle track days and the thrill of pushing a race bike and to its limits has no parallels! I am no track junkie and while I may not like to admit it, I am usually somewhere in the middle to end of the pack in case of a race! But this time it was different! Usually, when you are all by yourself on a racetrack, it is either go fast or go home! But an endurance race, it is a completely different ball-game! It needs planning, precision, timing and of course, sheer unadulterated speed! And when Suzuki's invitation for the 2019 Media Endurance Race landed in my mailbox, I was thrilled!

What is an endurance race?

It is quite an interesting process that Suzuki Motorcycle India had set up for us! There were a total of about 38 odd journalists who were to be paired with each team having two members. I was drawn up with Prashant Singh Shekhawat of Indian Autos Blog. We were to share one motorcycle and we had to go around Kari Motor Speedway for 40 minutes straight! Each rider had to do a minimum of 14 minutes and a maximum of 26 minutes on the track and get in as many laps as possible. The team with maximum laps would be the winner!

What about our race bike?

(The race prepped Gixxer SF 250 loses 20 kg, has disconnected ABS and a reduced rake as well)

Now on to the race bike! It was the Suzuki Gixxer SF 250 MotoGP which was adapted for the racetrack. It is of course based on the road-going Suzuki Gixxer SF 250 and it draped in the company's MotoGP race bike colours. It gets the same engine, same suspension and the same chassis. But there are significant changes too! The exhaust setup is new and free-flowing along with a new airbox as well. The bike loses more than 20 kg with unnecessary materials like saree guard, indicators, rear seat, rear footpegs, headlamp removed! The bike weighs just 130 kg! Plus, the race bike was shod with Metzeler M7 tyres instead of the regular MRF units.

Other changes include a lowered front suspension and a disconnected ABS for better feel. Suzuki's race engineers also lowered the clip-on handlebar by 40 mm and the handlebar had about 30 degrees of lock on either side, which is significantly lesser than that of the road bike. The rake has been reduced by 1 degree as well, for a better front end feel. The footpegs have been raised and pushed back by 50 mm each, making for an aggressive riding position. Now, on to qualifying and race day!

Scrutiny

(Shaking hands with Koichiro Hirao, new President, Suzuki Motorcycle India Pvt. Ltd, before the race)

The next day we woke up bright and early, had light breakfast and headed to Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore. It is a small track, tight and technical, which makes it ideal for smaller capacity motorcycles. Having ridden at Kari earlier, I was familiar with the track and the racing lines, little rusty but that had to do! Before we set out for qualifying, we had to get our race bike and our riding gear scrutinised by the pit officials.

Qualifying

(Riding the bike in the qualifying revealed that it packs in a solid punch)

Right! After the briefing and scrutiny, was time to don our racing suits, get on the bikes and take to the racetrack. Even before we hit the track, I knew it was Prashant who was faster between the two of us. He's had more track experience and comes across as a more natural rider on a racetrack. Nonetheless, our qualification was to be based on the average of both our lap times and in the 20 minutes that we had. I went first and having ridden the Suzuki Gixxer SF 250 before, I could immediately figure that the race-prepped SF 250 is a different beast compared to the road bike. The throttle response is significantly better and thanks to the lowered suspension and handlebars, the front end feel is sharper too and the race-prepped motorcycle loves to drop down into corners as well! It feels very nimble on the more technical sections of the track and thanks to the grippy Metzeler tyres, the bike felt surefooted too! The first few laps, I tried to re-orient myself with Kari and getting to grips with the motorcycle. And as our qualifying came to an end, I saw yellow flags going up at certain sections of the track. Someone had gone off the track and crashed. Nonetheless, I carried on and put in my best time right at the end.

(One of the few occasions when I actually overtook a fellow racer)

As I entered the pits, parked the bike and took off my helmet, I was surprised to find that it was none other than Prashant, my teammate! Immediately, I went and met him and sighed with relief when he said he was perfectly fine and managed to get in a rather good lap time as well! As the time sheets were tabulated and put up, we found that we were starting eighth out of 14 teams the next day. Well, the good thing was that we lived to fight another day. On to race day, then!

Race Day

(Regardless of the position, racing at Kari and on the race-ready Gixxer SF 250 was thoroughly enjoyable)

Right! Our strategy was simple! I will go first, keep the bike from crashing and go as fast as possible for at least 14 minutes. Then, Prashant would take over and work his magic and possibly get us a podium finish! The race was to start in Suzuka style, the bikes laid out in the order of the qualification positions and the starting rider standing in front of the bike, on the edge of the racetrack. The riders had to run, climb aboard, start the bike and get out as quickly as possible. I was the third fastest and before I knew, I was already ahead of the pack at the end of C1. I was determined to keep the momentum going and trying my best to stay ahead but some of the faster riders eventually caught up with me as the second lap ended. I was now in the middle of the pack and holding on to my position. Time certainly flies when one is having fun and before I knew, my 14 minutes were up. It was time to head to the pits and let Prashant go racing. I entered the pits and the bike exchange was a smooth process. Off went Prashant and he put in some rather good laps, making up time and picking off one rider at a time. 

(The list of winners:First Position - Vishal Venugopal & Manoj Thawani from Autocar India and Motor Octane respectively. Second Position - Arun Mohan Nadar & Priyadarshan Bawikar from Zigwheels, Third Position - Joshua Varghese & Ashwin Ram from Bike India and Rushlane respectively )

But there was some confusion! Apparently, I hadn't finished my quota of minimum laps and had to flag my partner and ask him to pit in! As we exchanged the bikes again, I reminded Prashant to call me in right after two laps so that he gets more time with the bike but once I started again, there was hardly any time left. So unfortunately, I had to see the race through and do more laps than my partner who was clearly the better racer. As the chequered flag was waved and I crossed, I felt bad for Prashant, who no doubt, would have been cursing me! Nonetheless, we did finish the race, at 9th position and if it were not, we certainly would have placed a couple positions higher! Nonetheless, it was an enthralling experience and certainly something that I look forward to doing again!