[raajks]

My dream and my reality - Polo R Cup 2014

Rewinding 10 years back,
A gokarting circuit in Chennai, along with a large gathering of friends and family we decided to have a go karting race for fun. First time at the wheel of the kart I found myself to be good when compared to my friends and family and won the race. A lurking thought resonated in my mind on pursuing racing.
This thought was quickly dismissed once the Monday morning blues set in.



Pursuing cars and driving continued but did not take a serious thought towards racing or driving.


July 2008,
3 years after being in the forum, met quite a few like minded individuals at this fabulous forum. I realized I loved driving and I loved being on track-days or driving on the ghats at speed. I decided to move this passion to the next level and go through some driver training with Gaurav Gill - The best rally driver in India. The driver was an eye-opener, it opened new doors towards driving on loose surfaces and made me explore the dark art of left foot braking, Scandinavian flicks and the sideways spin

I put my learnings in action but attending a few auto crosses and doing well in them



Oct 2009,
Driving had turned into an obsession and I wanted to take this to the next level.
I could have done a whole season on rallying but I did not want to put my investment on an esteem as I did nt feel the car had enough to emotional factor to put forth my passion.


I traded up to a Cedia Sports, I was doing track days in the US of A and getting a good feel of track driving and driving on loose surfaces.
An opportunity came along to train with Karamjith Singh - 9 time Malaysian Rally champion and PWRC champion. The training helped to me to add finesse to my skills and be appreciate of brining in smoothness to your driving.
It was about getting speed and technique together in an art form.

I started being a regular to track days and to auto crosses.
Was also a regular in being a Zero car for the K1000 rally.
I now had a basic backing of Mitsubishi from spares and service.







Dec 2011,

After winning three local karting tournaments and reflecting on what needs to be done to take my driving passion to the next level, I decided to focus on my career and make money to sponsor my own dream. There is an inherent charm to sponsor one’s dream and make it a reality.



I continued to be a part of karting, driving and kept my training going but stuck to my choice of making money. In these three years I closed out on all my loans and ended-up with zero financial commitments.

Jan 2014,
After numerous drives on the ghats and showing a sense of speed and car control, my darling spouse urged me to take it to the next level and enroll myself in the Polo R Cup. Apart from my spouse if there one more person who I want to credit this move to, It would be Sirish Vissa.
Inspite of me being in the US and returning a little later than expected, I managed to make it to the drivers list.

May 23rd 2014 - Polo R Cup Pre-practise session
A dream come true, Season’s opener

Fitness camp

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMVkaucm85U

Round 1:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqPGs1d3p68

In closing, As I sponsored my dream. I realized having sponsors is not a bad idea at all. Thanks to Praveen my PR guru for keeping my sponsors dream alive and to Jayant (Diesel_ Convert), Ravi Sudarsan, Kryptonite, Siddarth, Kiloalpha, Karthik, for being a great friends!

Watch out for updates as the season progresses

[raajks]

The drivers or the gladiators for this year



That's me



That's my steed

[GTO]

Heartiest congratulations & wish you good luck with the season. Would be great to read your perspective on what the car is like to drive

Here's three awesome related threads:

1

2

3

[Motoringlover]

Originally Posted by raajks

That's my steed

Mate - thanks for sharing your perspective, wish you the very best for the season.

I have always wanted to get perspective on what spec of engine do you drive, please do speak about changes/Mods allowed on the engine, changes to transmission, improvements on handling, Fuel grade used, and last but not the least, are these cars road legal or just meant for the tracks.

Please bear with me, if these questions are too basic and amatuerish, its always been a desire to learn more on this.

Best wishes - ML.

[carfreak]

All the best to you raajks!!

Btw i still have your Mitsubishi Cedia!

[nishantdlv]

Raajks! Your journey is truly inspiring!
Makes me rethink; what am I doing, I should be doing what I love!
Knowing your passion and making it as a your career is really amazing!

Congratulations & wish you all the very best for the season.

[brraj]

Congratulations on achieving your dream.
How did you get down to size zero? i cant belive its you. A bit more explanation on that will help people to gain good PTWR .

[Arch-Angel]

Congrats Raj! Nice going and i hope sincerely that you do what you love and of course, Good luck .

[Nikhilb2008]

Nice write up! Congrats and keep the dream alive!

[kryptonite]

Nicely written. Congratulations buddy! I hope to see you win a race soon.
Dream big....Go Raaj!

[shetty_rohan]

Congrats Raj, and thanks for sharing. Hope to see you on the podium

[raajks]

Thanks for the wishes and responses folks! It does make a difference.
For any form of sport, fitness is key. It is also important to be fit so that you can compete well. This is my sole motivation to keep myself fit so that I can compete well. My hope is that I get better and better as each race progresses.

About the car:

Extracted from the following link,
http://www.autocarindia.com/auto-new...ew-301621.aspx

Engine: 1.4-litre TSI
Power: 180 bhp@6200rpm
Torque: 25.5kgm@2000-4500rpm
Drivetrain : Six-speed DSG with paddle shift, limited slip differential
Tyres: 200/605 R17 JK Tyre slicks

The Feel:
It feels amazing to be in the car
The car is quick and the suspension set-up makes it really a fun to drive machine.
With the beefy front brakes, the natural tendency of the car is to under-steer

The brakes are to used so that the engine revs are kept at the right RPM for downshifting, else the DSG box would just refuse to downshift. It is important to brake hard and come of the brake as quickly as possible so that you can throw the car around the corners.

There are different driving styles that people have,
1) Silky smooth: A smooth driving style where you complete your braking and take the car entry and exit in a smooth way. This will help to manage your tyres better

2) Rallye Racing: Hold the car at the scuff of its neck and throw it around. Tyre grinding approach

What I have noticed is that a mix of these two driving styles helps to manage an under steery car better and still helps you to go faster while managing the tyres.

Mental state:
Staying calm, feeling the car and enjoying the moment is key.
The moment you are tensed,
1) Over driving the car
2) Missing the braking points and apexes become common mistakes.

I feel at bliss when I am behind the wheel of the car. Its amazing

Thanks for the support folks! Stay tuned for more updates!

Next race: 11 - 13th July 2014 at Kari Speedway, Coimbatore

[ram_hyundai]

You are living the dreams of many out here.Good going till now.I congratulate you personally for the planning and execution right from you GO Karting days.Even i had spent some time with the Dannys karting centre in chennai.But had to deviate in between due to official commitments.

[raajks]

Here we go again, Round of Polo R Cup 2014 at Kari Speedway, Coimbatore.

[wmax]

nice write up bro!!! converting your dreams into reality....not everybody's cup of tea. Though we all have similar dreams but hats off to you as you took the steps forward and make it a living. Good luck for the upcoming event. Waiting for further updates. cheers!!!