"Getting To Ride Your Machine In A Controlled Environment Is A Blissful Experience"

KTM India organised a Track Day event on the most prestigious racing track on the map of India, the Buddh International Circuit on 26th April 2015. An exclusive Orange Day for the proud owners of KTM Duke 390 and KTM RC 390.

The event was hosted & fully sponsored by KTM, so that the riders and potential customers could experience the Racing DNA of their KTMs. It was certainly a day intended to unravel the "Katoom" and allowed every proud owner to ride and experience the true KTM performance, interact with fellow riders and share their experiences.

The two KTMs are now available at any KTM store. Whilst the KTM Duke 390 is priced at 1.87 lacs (ex-showroom), the KTM RC 390 is priced at 2.10 lacs. Both the bikes are designed by using light but high strength alloy components, thus making KTMs bikes one of the best power to weight ratio in its class.

The event was managed by Mr. Lalit Suri and Mr. Neeraj Sharma from KTM, There was a classroom session organised by Apex Racing Academy to let each rider understand the basics of KTM bikes and the Formula 1 track. A set of Do's and Dont's were shared in a compulsory briefing by BIC official Udai Raj Singh Bisht. The riders were asked to bring their own riding gears, filled fuel tanks, shoes, gloves and FIA approved helmet. KTM also provided the riding suits to the rider's who did not had the racing suit on a very nominal rate of 1000 INR which was taken at an initial registration process.

The riders were divided in 3 groups and a total of 2 sessions of half-hour easch were planned for each group. There was a separate session where KTM Duke 390 and KTM RC 390 were tested for their power, potential and race skills. Between the two sessions was the Media round, where in we were allowed on the track to expirience the power and nimble handling on the #RC390, The RC is known for its mean nature and high power delivery, in the scorching heat of 42'C that day it was tough to ride the machine, however to my surprise the RC handled very well on the track.

The track was cut from the middle, right after T4 to take a sharp right-hander and you can choose to enter pit lane from there or continue to main straight. Starting from the pit lane, first initial lap was a slow lap behind one of the Apex Academy rider who showed us the exact lines what we would be the best to carry good speeds. The #BIC is very wide track and there can be several perfect and fast apex lines the rider would need to decide the line he is most comfortable in. After the T1 and tighter T2 chicane comes the sharp hairpin bend #T3 which is utmost tricky as it is situated on an isle, here you would find one or two new riders definitely visiting the run-off area.

After you take the #T3 comes the a straight of 1.5kms where they placed a few cones to slow down new rider's on the straight, After accelerating hard on T3, comes T4 which is a right-hander, and after you are done with this the track is cut to move you back into either the pit lane or the start-finish line. Professional rider's were seen doing laps in average 1min 30secs, There were no transponder's on our bikes, hence we couldn't track the time records.

KTM gave us the suits with Knee Slider's and on our way back, I was utmost happy to see them scraped from both the sides.

Every arrangement that was done was well planned; first aid assistance was available for any mishap and bike experts were available to take that quick check on your machines. Food and beverages, coffee, snacks everything was taken care of very well.

Amit Nandi,Senior Vice President Probiking quoted, "KTM comes with rich background of racing, and this event was held to unravel the potential of the KTM bikes. To reach out to proud owners and the prospective customers. We have more upcoming Orange Day events for every KTM owner."

KTM has made a great mark and impact on the society with keeping this track day, and we hope there are other manufacturers who learn this art from KTM, that the company is not just to sell the machines but also to let the customer expirience what is made of and what is it capable of. There is absolutely no fun in buying a superbike and riding it on street roads, one would never be able to judge or relish its true potential.

Question to a fellow rider : "Has the track day made you into a better rider?"

His Answer: "Hell Yes! Getting to ride your machine in a controlled environment, free of all distractions, is a blissful experience. I’ve learned a lot about braking and acceleration and cornering in those few kilometers, that I couldn't on the thousands of kilometers I’ve done on road. I’m eager to go back there again, and hopefully would see you improving your skills alongside me as well!"

Signing off with a big grin for the enjoyment I had this day....

Digitally Your's

Nitin Gupta