There is no exaggeration in stating that TVS has done more for Indian motorsport than any other manufacturer. After literally winning hundreds of domestic championships over the years, TVS was the first Indian manufacturer to create an overseas one-make racing series. This was back in 2020 with the TVS One Make Asia championship, and the company has now taken another big step. Recently renamed the TVS Racing International Championship (TRIC), this series has been taken to Europe for the first time, and we were on the ground to witness it.
Making Waves In Europe
While the TRIC championship will continue to be a part of the annual Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) circuit, TVS wanted to conduct a round in Europe, and they did so at the revered Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. For this particular round, the TRIC championship was held on a race weekend with the Coppa Italia National Championship. More exciting (for me, that is!) was that I got a chance to ride the same bike on the circuit the next day!
We arrived at the track early on Sunday morning to catch the TVS garage bursting with activity as the bikes were being warmed and prepared for action. There are multiple categories of racing in the Coppa Italia championship, including superbikes, 600s, a one-make Yamaha R7 category and a one-make Aprilia RS 457 class.
The TVS TRIC grid has truly become international over the years, and the 14 riders lining up this weekend included entrants from Spain, Italy, Portugal, Colombia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, South Africa, South Korea and more. Indian riders had a strong presence as well, with Sarthak Chavan, Chiranth Vishwanath and Rakshit Dave representing our country.
Chiranth came into this round fresh off a superb win at the Japanese round in Motegi, and he qualified in fifth. As for Sarthak, a crash in qualifying meant that he would start both races from last. Both riders then faced a very different sort of motivation for their races, while Rakshit Dave would start from 11th.
Amidst plenty of close racing, local star Cristian Borrelli managed to win in both races. Despite starting from last, Sarthak was the best Indian finisher in both races, taking P7 in Race 1 and P6 in Race 2. Chiranth finished in 10th and 8th, while Rakshit brought it home in 11th and 12th in Race 1 and Race 2, respectively.
As you would expect, a relatively unknown (in these parts) Indian championship turning up at an Italian race track didn’t catch much local attention at first. But by the end of the weekend, Team TVS had certainly earned some recognition and respect. Their lap times were around 3sec quicker than the RS 457 championship and nearly on par with the much bigger Yamaha R7s, which is commendable.
We Got To Ride Too!
We, along with some international journalists, were given the opportunity to ride the TVS race bike as part of an open track day event the next day. I’ve ridden this bike before, so I know how far it exceeds most expectations, and the surprised grins on the other journos’ faces after their first session echoed this sentiment. After all, the numbers behind this motorcycle don’t lie.
With full carbon-fibre bodywork, a carbon rear subframe, forged wheels and more, it weighs less than 125kg fully fuelled. The 312.2cc engine from the RR 310 has been massively modified, and it now revs to over 12,000rpm while producing about 50hp. TVS has previously achieved a top speed of 216kph, although here at Misano, the highest speed recorded in the races was about 190kph.
With the warmers peeled off the Dunlop racing slicks and the handlebar/footpeg ergos adjusted to be as accommodating as possible for my 6’1” frame, I eased out off the pit lane and onto mighty Misano. The race RR immediately felt just like how I remembered – small, incredibly reactive, but somehow not nervous and twitchy. As I slowly started to understand the flow of the track, I found myself deeply enjoying this bike.
The engine revs freely and with surprisingly well-controlled vibrations. It also surprised me with how there’s usable mid-range torque, as I discovered when occasionally going into corners one gear too high. The initial sharpness of the brakes took some getting used to, but the Dunlop tyres were super reassuring at my ‘journalist pace’ that was miles off how blindingly fast these racers are.
Multiple delays in the day thanks to crashes in the public track day sessions meant my second stint was pushed to the end of the day with fading light. As I worked towards trying to ride how the bike wanted – with maximum momentum and minimal time wasted on the brakes – I was reminded of the sentiment I felt when I first rode it at Buriram in 2022. This remains the finest single-cylinder track bike I have ever ridden, and the fact that I was doing so on an Italian GP circuit made for a rather special emotion.
In fact, as the fantastic day wrapped to a close, I could catch more than a glimmer of pride and joy across the entire TVS team’s faces. Getting to this moment has taken decades of struggle, sweat, blood and tears; and while it surely is a special milestone, I have no doubt that it’s only another rung in the ladder of this company’s fabulous upward journey. Well done, TVS!