The 2nd Castrol Throttle Max was successfully held on 12th May 2007 in Lucknow. This was the first time ever any motor sports event was organized in Lucknow. Such type of event was very much awaited by all the “speedy boyz” of the city since years. Castrol finally flagged off the event here including in other cities like Jalandhar, Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad and in many other places.
Day One: Scrutiny Day 11th May 2007 1600 Hrs
There were total 29 riders, who took part in Lucknow venue. 4 riders in “under 125 cc” and rest 25 in “125 cc and above”, including participants coming from Jodhpur and Kanpur also. The scrutiny day was on 11th May 2007 from 1600 hrs onwards, where performance oriented modified bikes were kept out of the venue as the event was only for stock bikes. However, the scrutiny process according to me was just for the sake of it. How can a mechanic/official check whether a bike is modified or not without even starting it's engine? The scrutiny card was allotted to riders, by just “visually” checking the engine, silences and clutch and brake levers. They were very meticulous about the bikes having chain covers but were not bother about whether the bikes was ported or not. Well, that was some thing I couldn’t get it.
Well, during Scrutiny day, unexpected gusty winds and heavy rain blew all the race track markings and stalls but fortunately, we all were already out from the venue as our scrutiny was done well before. Our next stop for the evening was Castrol Bike Zone where each one of our bikes were repaired and tuned to give better performance on the track.
Day two: Race Day 12th May 2007 0800 hrs
Got a call from Kushal, when I was still in my bed and realized that I should be at the venue by that time. Over to that, due to excessive outing past few days, I had 101 degree temperature when I woke up. First thought of not participating in the event but excitement took over my body pain. I rushed to the venue. Not to mention, I didn’t even took a bath and my breakfast. But thank god, not much was done till I reached there at 0845 hrs. One thing new which raised my eyebrows was seeing few “biker boyz” of the city with the riding gear ON for the very first time. People who used to think that wearing helmet put on extra weight on their bikes were total packed inside the jacket, knee guards and gloves on race day. No, it wasn’t that they realized the importance of riding gear but were sadly following the event rules which required wearing proper protective gears and I saw many bikers for the first time with a helmet and knee guards. Hopefully, after this event, they will shell out their hard earned pocket money on buying standard riding gears then putting that Xtra exhaust on their Hayabusas.
With second round of scrutiny getting over, we all were game for the event. With short briefing about the 3 rounds of the event by the officials, one by one participant were called on starting line and every one was trying to do their best. The very first participant (Sorry, don’t know that talented man name) was like …. WTF. He was from Jodhpur and definitely seems to be a pro-rider in dirt racing. He ended the round before we could even figure it out, how well he started. The combination of drifting and balancing by that rider was “never seen before” stuff for every one there. Much applause for him from the audience there.
N.O.W. Riders (Kushal, Zeeshan, Adeel, Abhinai, Sujeet) gave fair enough overall performance with our “would be member” Talha grabbing 1st overall ranking (Under below 125cc category, Group D) and Zeeshan getting 2nd overall ranking (Under 125cc and above category, Group D)
Kushal was the unluckiest dude on earth that day, bagging the best timings under Zigzag and Drag rounds but got disqualified, as he crossed the final braking line on both the events. I guess, it was not his day and neither was mine. In the drag round, I started well but never expected the track to be so bumpy. After crossing the finishing line with almost full throttle, it was really hard to hold the bike, flying through that un-even ground and seconds later, I did the biggest mistake by jamming the rear tyre in order to stop before the braking line. Some how manage to be on my feet while my bike goes skidding on grass. Nothing happened to me, due to riding gears but my bike had a twisted leg guard in the end. A very minute damage compared to the intensity of the accident. Falling is a part of biking and we all know that, so it was all very normal out there as soon as I was back on bike. Paramedics asked me if I am OK and I gave them thumbs up.
There was an xBhpian too named Abhishek Gupta, participating with his Pulsar 150, who came all the way from Agra just for the event. He was good with 6th overall standing, with me on his tail finishing 7th. Karizma 225 owners were having a bit tough time going through the corners due to its heavy weight and turning radius. Sujeet, being only into drags and with a short height, was not so impressive in Zigzag event but gave a competitive timing of 5.22 seconds in drag.
Not satisfied with their performance in Lucknow Venue, N.O.W. riders (Sujeet, Kushal, Rudra, Kushagra along with Zeeshan for cheering them up) are also taking part in Delhi venue and by the time this blog was written, I got the news that they have successfully registered today (18th May 2007) on the scrutiny day.
Zeeshan and Talha have graduated for the finals in Indore, which is to be held on 15th-16th June 2007. Wishing them all the best.
All together, it was a new experience for all of us and we hope that numerous such type of motor sports event continue to take place in the City of Nawabs, because the need is N.O.W.
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