Session 1 – Track Etiquettes, Racing Lines, and Flags
The first session started with an overview of the track layout, a rundown on the basic track etiquettes, and the various flags that one needs to understand. Our coach, ex-TVS factory racer, Harry Sylvester ran us through the most important part of this session – racing lines. According to Harry, “It’s simple! Follow the ‘Out-In-Out’ pattern, while approaching a corner”.
Basically, you start from the outer edge of the corner, cut sharply inside onto the apex, and then exit towards the outer edge of the corner. This approach not only helps you with quicker entry speeds but also faster corner exits.
So, armed with a wealth of knowledge and a lot of enthusiasm, it was time for me to put all the learnings into practice. However, due to the incessant rains the previous night, we were restricted to use the short loop, as the rest of the track was still filled with puddles. Anyway, we suited up and hopped onto our race-prepped TVS Apache RTR 200 4Vs. We were divided into two groups, with Jagan Kumar being our instructor and KY Ahmed for the other group.
The drill required us to ride in 4th gear with strictly no brakes. My confidence started building as I applied all the learnings into practice. The cherry on top was when I had to shadow Jagan Kumar, trying to follow his lines, braking markers and turn-in points.
Session 2 – Body Position and Vision
You’d often hear the coach saying, ‘Look where you want to go, and you will be there.’ As clichéd as it sounds, it works like magic. The idea is to look as far as possible while turning into a corner and apply the same technique during exits. The other part of this session was body positioning. Here, we were taught to slide out of the seat, with half of your bottom out along with the knee and elbow pointing in the direction of the turn.
But, the important part of the learning is to swiftly slide out on the seat, rather than hopping on it. The latter upsets your rear suspension, and may even cause a crash if you aren’t careful. As easy as it may seem, it is equally difficult to do this in synchronization. Even after five practice laps, I was struggling with getting both right at the same time.
Session 3 – Race Start, Braking and Free Practice
For the final session of race starts and braking, we were summoned to the start-grid, where Harry helped us perfect the race start. The drill involved engaging the front brake firmly, while partly pulling the clutch, and maintaining the throttle at around 5,000rpm. Once you feel the clutch’s bite point, and the front forks are loaded, drag the clutch gradually without dumping it, and progress through the gears while gradually increasing the throttle. Dumping the clutch would result in an unexpected wheelie, which may ruin your race start.

In the braking session, we were required to go full-throttle on the home straight before applying brakes after a set marker (cone), while downshifting the gears simultaneously. In the first attempt, I braked quite hard, while dumping the clutch. Result – the rear started sliding, scaring the wits out of me. So, in the second attempt, I was cautious to brake optimally, while downshifting through the gears and using engine braking to come to a stop. Needless to say, my braking distance improved significantly.
With the final set of theory and practice sessions done, we were given 15 minutes of free practice to apply all the learnings at once. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. I committed quite a few mistakes in the initial laps but quickly rectified them in the following laps. With a fair idea of the race track and all the practice, it was time for the qualifiers.