The Hindu : Sport / Racing : Motor : Pramod Joshua rules the roost

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jun 22, 2009
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Sport

Sport - Racing : Motor

Pramod Joshua rules the roost

Sports Reporter

— Photo: M. Periasamy

Pramod Joshua.

Coimbatore: The weather that looked a bit threatening the previous night turned kind all of a sudden much to the surprise of the sparse holiday crowd. And, Pramod Joshua of Team TVS Racing made the best use of it to start the season’s opener with an emphatic win in the MAK Rally of Coimbatore, a round of the FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship for two-wheelers, at the Kethanur windmill farm, near here, on Sunday.

Riding a TVS Apache RTR, the 28-year-old Bangalore-based rider chalked out a clear-cut strategy before attacking the stages one by one. He gave his best shot in every other stage. And, after a solid run in almost five stages, he decided to cut short on speed to take his bike safely home.

Pramod, who along with his mates delighted the local crowd with his heroics in the MRF National Supercross championship in Coimbatore last week, said the terrain was really challenging.

“I must say it is best suited for riders like me. Last year, with the four-wheeler drivers making merry in wet weather conditions, the terrain, I must say, was full of ruts. Thankfully, the Coimbatore Auto Sports Club has done a great job in getting it to shape.”

He said he enjoyed rallying every other stage. “I have travelled across the country but I have always loved riding here. To tackle this tricky terrain, one must not rely on skills alone but also use his head. A little bit of matching and adjusting to the situation will definitely do a world of good. I did exactly that and it clicked.”

The defending champion did face some stiff competition from within the team. “It was good in a way but if managed to get through it was because I did my homework well. I was pretty confident of winning even before I could get into the stages.”

There was joy in the TVS camp as five of its riders topped the chart. K.P. Aravind, R. Natraj, T.K. Viswanath, M.S Ravindra were the other Team TVS Racing riders to steal the day’s honours.

The team’s manager, K. Thiruvenkadam, was obviously pleased with the performance of his wards. “I am happy that our riders have all come up with some solid performances. They have taken the sport to the higher level with some consistent riding. We fielded five riders and all of them, irrespective of the class or size, have done a great job.”

The results (overall): 1. Pramod Joshua (TVS Apache RTR) 01:22:49; 2. K.P. Aravind (TVS Apache RTR) 01:24:25; 3. R. Natraj (TVS Apache RTR) 01:26:24.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport