Honda One Make Race: Chasing racing dreams

  • Aug 11, 2014
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What is the Honda One Make Race all about? We speak to the people who make up these races and discover the challenges of motorsport

Getting ready to hit the track on Honda CBR250Rs

It’s not every day that one gets an opportunity to spend a race weekend at the Irungattukottai Race Track at Sriperumbudur, on the outskirts of Chennai.  So, when we rolled into the race track on a sultry Friday morning, we had no idea or expectations of what was going to unfold. It was supposed to be a competition event, a couple of us journos participating in the Honda One Make Race. The Honda One Make race is in two categories – Honda CBR150R for novice only, meaning for riders who have no prior race experience and with an age limit of 23 years and the Honda CBR250R Open Category, a team event for expert racers.

We were to be given wildcard entries in the Novice category, age bar notwithstanding, but it was not to be. Chief Race Steward Srikanth Apte shot down our racing dreams before we could even admire the bikes parked out in the pits. “These guys are the top racers in the country. If you don’t have any prior experience of racing, it’s best not to participate. Besides it’s not a good feeling to be almost a lap behind the leaders,” Srikanth said. Registrations were closed a week ago, we were told, and there will be no new registrations.

As consolation, we were to be given some track time to get a feel of what it’s like to ride a race prepped bike around the track. They may not be litre-class superbikes, but the 150cc and 250cc race prepped Honda bikes have enough juice to provide a thrilling time at a race track. And as the morning progressed, groups of riders started doing practice rounds around the track on race prepped 150s and 250s – going full clip along the straight and sliding knees around the first corner. Practice runs seemed like a full blown race and the sense of excitement grew in us.

Honda CBR250R

So, what really is the one make race? We decided to find out from the people who make these races – riders, manufacturers and the individual teams – the ones who are forever scouting for fresh young talent at these races. Three motorcycle manufacturing companies participate in the One Make Race, including Honda, Yamaha and TVS. For Honda, it’s been a regular event since 2008 when the company first started the One Make event.

For the inaugural year, the 125cc CBF Stunner was introduced as well as the carburetted CBR150R, which was brought in from Thailand at that time. By 2010, Honda introduced the CB Twister Novice race in addition to the CBR150R and CBF Stunner categories. 2011 saw the introduction of the first 250cc category with the Honda CBR250R and by 2013 the CB Twister was dropped and this year only the CBR150R and the CBR250R classes have been retained.

Sarath Kumar of Ten10 Racing

The one make race gives a unique opportunity for racing enthusiasts to race on the racing circuit on bikes provided by Honda. Even riding gear is provided by Honda and participants only have to bring in their helmets and gloves. From the number of applicants and participants, it’s clear that the one make race is gaining popularity – fast. In a sense, it’s been a boon for riders who have the talent, but may not have the resources to afford an otherwise expensive sport. India’s only MotoGP rider and former national champion Sarath Kumar used to drive a taxi to support his racing career, before Ten10 Racing picked him up as part of their Honda team.

“I used to ride and do wheelies on mopeds earlier. In 2007, I came here and watched my seniors race here and got interested. In 2008, I started racing, first with TVS and then next year with Ten10 Racing. Every year, Honda has improved a lot compared to the other companies. First year, it was the carburetted CBR150R that was brought in from Thailand. That bike was really good. Then Honda introduced the CBR250R, and now Honda has even partnered with MRF Racing to develop special soft compound tyres for racing. The Honda Asia Dream Cup is a big opportunity for riders like me, so yes, it’s been a terrific journey so far,” said Sarath Kumar.

Sarath Kumar at the grid of the CBR250R race
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After the five rounds of the One Make Race, three riders are selected on the basis of overall points to participate in the Asia Dream Cup, a Honda event with participants from nine countries, all riding Honda bikes. For riders like Sarath, the Dream Cup not only provides international exposure but also a springing board to more popular international events like MotoGP. But it’s not an easy journey. Getting sponsors is difficult, and for a sport which is so low in the popularity index in India, getting even a handful of spectators on race day is proving difficult. For those who are promoting motorsport, purely for love of the sport, times have been difficult.

“The problem in our country is there’s no culture of motorsport. The fan base is largely limited to southern India, and that too is a limited number. And unlike cricket, there’s hardly any media coverage here. In the South East Asian countries, motorsport is a culture. People make it a weekend event and there’s a lot of support for riders, from family and friend and even the community coming out to support a rider. Sadly, here it’s only a handful of motorsport lovers and some teams which are promoting the sport now. It’s still a long way away for the sport to really grow in India,” said Prabhu Nagaraj, Vice President, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India Pvt Ltd.

Sarath Kumar in action

“We used to race in leather jackets and a pair of jeans in the ‘90s. Back then, getting into motorsport was a difficult proposition. So, I decided to start this company to promote motorsport, as well as promote talented riders and take them into the international arena of racing. Our racing academy also provides skills to youngsters, some as young as 8 years old. Slightly older riders are given theory lessons, followed by track time and individual feedback. Then they are given individual expert guidance by racers,” said Ramji Govindarajan, Team Director, Ten10 Racing.

Ramji is the man responsible for taking Sarath Kumar to participate at MotoGP and his Ten10 Racing academy is slowly becoming a boon for aspiring riders and some of the academy’s students have begun to display promising talent at the One Make Races. A handful of race teams and sponsors however, just don’t quite cut it, when it comes to making the sport more popular.

Yes, the one make races have seen participation grow, and the support from motorcycle manufacturers make it an event which is accessible for riders from all kinds of backgrounds – even without owning a motorcycle. All that is needed is riding skill, a helmet and a pair of gloves. My helmet and riding gloves were still lying unused, but we did get some exciting track time on a race prepped Honda CBR250R, but that’s another story.

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