Sarath Just Fails To Make The Cut!

Just as important as Mahindra Racing's advent in the 125cc class of the World Road Racing Championship was young Chennai lad Sarath Kumar’s debut in the very same class as the first Indian rider ever to race in the top echelon of the sport. Sarath though failed agonizingly to make the grid, missing out by three thousandths of a second to meet the FIM’s 107 per cent lap time rule to be eligible to start the Grand Prix.

Thanks to Ramji Govindrajan, a long time bike enthusiast and able backer of many a budding motorcycle racer in India, when he received the offer of a tie-up with a fledgling Italian team to join hands in the 125cc world championships he jumped at the chance. With backing of a few Indian firms, WTR Racing came into being and Ramji chose Sarath to take the ride in the form of a year old Aprilia RS. For a lad who had done all his racing with production based machinery, hopping on to a pure thoroughbred with a peaky powerband and super soft slick racing tyres meant he had his work cut out.

Unfortunately he wasn't able to get that on the Thursday practice and even on Friday he lost a lot of time, emerging almost 25 seconds down to the fastest runner. A long session with his race engineer ensued and on Saturday during practice and then in qualifying one saw the stuff Sarath is made of. With every lap he began to go faster and faster, cutting in quick lap times and getting closer and closer to making the grid. By the time he had got down to his final lap he had lopped off no less than 15 seconds from his previous time and would have made the cut but for the fact that pole sitter and the fastest 125cc rider Nicol Terrol set his quickest lap at the very drop of the chequered flag and Sarath was giving it his all on that lap, quite well in line to be within 107 per cent of Terrol’s time when he crashed exiting the final corner coming on to the main straight.

It was frustrating but that is Grand Prix motorcycle racing for you and Sarath will have more time to regroup and try and qualify for the next race which is the Spanish GP at Jerez. We see a lot of potential in him and the best thing is that he is eager to learn, has a tigerish approach when on the bike but yet is clean and composed. More track time will only pay dividends and hopefully at Jerez he would write himself into the history books as the first Indian ever to race in the World Championships. Now that plus consistently qualifying for every other round of this year's World Championship is something we would love to see happen.