Wednesday, June 1, 2011

TVS Motor introduces Max4R LX

TVS Motor Company today announced the launch of Max4R LX, a variant of its recently introduced Max4R motorcycle, thereby offering customers the choice of a sturdy and durable commuter that is easy to ride on uneven rural roads. While Max4R LX promises the same comfort and safety as that of the Max4R, it comes with a well cushioned long seat, making commuting with family much more convenient.

Equipped with a four-stroke, air-cooled 109.7cc durable engine thatproduces high torque and enhanced pickup, the Max4R LX is toughest bike in its class. Max4R LX is a powerful blend of hardiness, reliability, high efficiency and low cost, making it a promising motorcycle for rural and semi-urban use. Added features boost the motorcycle’s handling, stability and safety.
“Ever since the launch of Max4R, which has been very well received by our customers, we have received several requests for a commuter version, with similar features. Riding conditions in rural areas demand that a motorcycle has sturdy shock absorbers for smooth ride comfort and reinforced spokes and stronger frame which can take the pressure of constant riding on uneven surfaces.

During the rainy season, road conditions these areas can prove a deterrent to rider safety. In order to counter this, we have retained all the features of the Max4R including the bigger brakes and larger tyres in this variant as well at no extra cost” said B V Sreedhar, Vice President, Business on Wheels, TVS Motor Company.

This motorcycle is also available with the option of a mobile charger, since rural areas often go without electricity for most part of the day. So in an emergency situation, the rider can use his motorcycle to charge his mobile phone. The Max4R LX comes in colours of Black and Red with vibrant graphics.

“We have introduced the Max4R LX for those customers who have both specific utility needs and also require a reliable commuter motorcycle. We have ensured that highest quality standards and maximum customer expectations have been incorporated in this motorcycle” B V Sreedhar added.

Max4R LX is priced at Rs. 39,090/- ex-showroom Maharashtra similar to that of Max4R and is immediately available in all authorised TVS dealerships across the state.

Friday, May 20, 2011

TVS records sales jump of 14% during April 2011

TVS Motors, the leading two-wheeler maker in the Indian market, reported a sales jump of 14 percent in the month of April 2011. The major contributors to this growth include high sales of TVS scooters, and company’s three-wheelers that registered a substantial growth.

The company said in a statement released on Sunday, "The company registered sales of 167,744 units as against 147,172 units in the corresponding month of the previous year." The scooter sales of the company surged 31 percent during the month to 35,074 units as compared to 26,860 units sold in the same month last year. On the on other hand, the motorcycle sales of the company surged 5 percent to 69,573 motorcycles during April 2011.

In the domestic market, the company sold a total of 141,619 units of its two-wheelers in April 2011, as compared to 125,471 units sold in the same month last year. The cumulative exports of the TVS Motors stood at 25,275 units in April 2011 as against 19,657 units dispatched to the foreign markets in April 2010. The exports during the month include 22,564 units of two wheelers and 3,561 three wheelers.

Saturday, April 30, 2011

TVS Motor revenues raise 42 % in FY '10 - 11

Strong and complete product portfolio enabled TVS Motor Company to consolidate and achieve its stated guidance numbers of two million two wheelers during the year April 2010 to March 2011. New products, which were introduced during the year, were well received in the market, while current products gained momentum. The company witnessed expansion in its international business with entry in to new countries.

During the year ended March 2011, TVS Motor Company registered a growth of 32 percent in sales with overall two-wheeler sales growing from 15.19 lakh units in the previous financial year to 20.04 lakh units in the year ended March 2011. Motorcycles registered a growth of 31 percent increasing from 6.38 lakh units in the previous year to 8.33 lakh units in the year ended March 2011. Scooters grew at 51 percent from 3.1 lakh units in the previous year to 4.67 lakh units in the current fiscal. Three wheeler sales of the company grew substantially from 14700 units in the year ended March 2010 to 39200 units in the current year. The company's total revenue grew from Rs. 4430.14 crores in the year April to March 2010 to Rs. 6289.31 crores in the year ended March 2011. Profit Before Tax stood at Rs. 250.09 crores compared to Rs. 76.17 crores reported in the previous year. Profit After Tax during the year ended March 2011 stood at Rs.192.58 crores as against Rs. 88.01 crores registered in the corresponding period in 2009-10.

The company’s international business saw a significant increase with sales growing by 36 percent. During the year, the company’s two wheelers entered two more countries Mexico & Brazil. In Brazil, the distributor set up a motorcycle assembly plant that will significantly add to the sales. The company’s 3 wheeler entered Egypt during the year. The company exported 2.39 lakh units in 2010 - 2011 compared to 1.65 lakh units in 2009-10, a growth of 45 percent over the previous year.

New product launches during the year were mainly in the motorcycle segment with the introduction of TVS Max4R, TVS Apache RTR 180 ABS and TVS Sport with electric start. During the year, the company set a precedent, by introducing ABS (Anti-lock Braking System) on a motorcycle for the first time in the history of the Indian two wheeler industry. The company introduced ABS in its premium segment motorcycle TVS Apache RTR 180, giving the bike formidable stopping power and superior braking control that compliments its high performance capability.

During the year under review, the company launched a unique ‘Anywhere, Anytime Service’, for the first time in the three wheeler industry in India, for its three wheeler TVS King. The service has been launched in Chennai and Bangalore and is expected to be rolled out to other major cities during the year ending March 2012. Fully equipped service auto rickshaws with tools, spare parts and trained technicians are positioned at strategic locations to offer “service on call”. In the event of any emergency, all that a customer needs to do is to call a specific number and one of these mobile service auto rickshaws will attend to his problem in a matter of minutes.

PT TVS Motor Company Indonesia has so far sold over 50000 two wheelers. During 2010-11, PT TVS sold around 20,000 units compared to around 15,000 sold in the previous year. The company has three different products in its portfolio and will continue to add more in the future offering a complete product range for Indonesian customers. A super bebek with high tech engine and exciting features is in the pipeline and will be launched during 2011-12. The company is targeting markets outside Indonesia and will also increase its presence in more provinces, thereby increasing its network to 240 outlets by March 2012. This will lead to improved performance in 2011-12.

TVS Motor Company will further consolidate its position during 2011-12. While upgrades of existing models will be introduced across segments, two new two wheelers are expected to be launched during 2011-12. These products will help to significantly increase the market share of the company. While exports will continue to be the focus area of growth, the three wheeler business of the company is also expected to gain further momentum with products now being made available across the country.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Auto exports show 30% growth in 2010-11

Automobile exports from India grew at a robust 29.64 per cent in 2010-11 riding on two-wheelers and commercial vehicles despite a sluggish demand from Europe, one of the main markets for small cars.

According to the figures released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), total exports from the country stood at 23,39,333 units in last fiscal compared to 18,04,426 units in the year—ago period.

During the fiscal, commercial vehicles and two—wheeler sectors witnessed good growth in exports, SIAM President Mr Pawan Goenka told reporters here.

“The only low was the passenger vehicle segment, mainly because of slow recovery of the European market,” he added.

India’s total passenger vehicle exports during last fiscal were up by a mere 1.64 per cent at 4,53,479 units as against 4,46,145 units in the previous fiscal, SIAM said.

Passenger car exports from India touched 4,47,403 units in FY’11 as against 4,41,709 units in the previous financial year, up 1.29 per cent.

In 2010—11, India’s largest exporter Hyundai Motor saw a decline of 18.41 per cent at 2,33,069 units.

Domestic market leader Maruti Suzuki was a distant second, registering 6.93 per cent fall in overseas sales at 1,36,026 units in 2010—11.

However, exports growth in the last financial year was robust in the two—wheeler category, which registered 35.04 per cent rise at 15,39,590 units as against 11,40,058 units in the previous financial year.

The surge in two-wheeler exports was led by Bajaj Auto and TVS Motor Company with sales of their motorcycles and scooters in various overseas markets.

Bajaj Auto’s overseas two-wheeler sales rose by 34.11 per cent to 9,72,437 units from 7,25,097 units in 2009—10.

TVS Motor Company registered a rise of 38.52 per cent at 2,29,132 units as against 1,65,414 units in FY10.

Domestic market leader Hero Honda saw its bike exports increase by 36.20 per cent at 1,33,063 units against 97,699 units in the previous fiscal, SIAM said.

Commercial vehicles also registered a very robust growth at 69.51 per cent in exports during last fiscal at 76,297 units, compared to 45,009 units in 2009-10.

While light commercial vehicles saw an export jump of 91.28 per cent at 47,025 units, the medium and heavy commercial vehicles segment’s overseas sales grew 43.31 per cent at 29,272 units in 2010-11, SIAM said.

Three-wheeler exports rose by 55.86 per cent to 2,69,967 units from 1,73,214 units in the previous fiscal, it added.

Schrotter, who is in his fourth year in the 125cc Championship, was very happy with the bike's performance after the race.

Monday, March 21, 2011

TVS Motors’ brand ambassador is Virat Kohli

TVS Motor Company has roped in Indian cricket star Virat Kohli as brand ambassador for its sports range of motorcycles.

“TVS Motor Company has signed on one of India’s brightest and most promising cricketing talents, Virat Kohli, as brand ambassador for its all new TVS Sport motorcycle. Kohli will feature on all advertising and retail material related to TVS Sport,” the Chennai-based TVS Motor Company said in a statement.

“Virat is a perfect fit to the brand. Both are about youth, have bountiful energy, vigour, go-getter attitude and a high degree of flamboyancy. We are confident that this new association will work wonders for the brand,” the TVS Motor Company Marketing-President, Mr H.S. Goindi, said.

The motorcycle manufactured at the company’s Hosur plant boasts new features including dual tone colours. With a LED tail lamp cluster, the bike is equipped with an electric start and an all black handle bar. The bike is priced at Rs 38,600 (ex-showroom Delhi).

On his appointment as brand ambassador, Kohli said: “I am excited about this development and look forward to being part of the brand’s successful growth.’’

Friday, March 18, 2011

Bigger capacity TVS Apache RTR220/250 not occuring in 2011!

Analyzing the words of TVS Motor Limited’s President-Marketing, HS Goindi, speaking to BusinessStandard here is somethingthat Apache RTR fans wouldn’t like to hear. First of all, Mr Goindi says this,

“We are working on two products. It would take us another eight to nine months to launch these motorcycles commercially in the market”.

Now, what that means is TVS Motors isn’t launching any motorcycle in 2011. That effectively puts paid to all the rumors circulating about the larger capacity TVS Apache RTR220 hitting Indian roads in 2011.

This theory further gains credence by the fact that TVS usually does not launch more than once product each year in each segment and the RTR series of motorcycles’ various installments are testament to this.

Having just unveiled the 2011 TVS Apache RTR180 ABS, TVS Motors wouldn’t be in a tearing hurry to launch a bigger Apache in 2011 as servicing the demand for the RTR180 ABS and analyzing the market feedback of the first ABS equipped motorcycle in the country should keep TVS pretty occupied.

Coming back to the higher capacity Apache, which has for long, been due from the TVS stables, fuel injection and ABS technology could most probably make it to the 200cc plus Apache  when it does get launched sometime post 2011.

We hope that TVS Motors brings out it’s 200cc plus Apache RTR at the earliest as the segment is just hotting up with the likes of Honda and Mahindra all set to launch 250cc premium sports motorcycles in the Indian motorcycle market.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

TVS aims in launching India’s cheapest motorcycle

The country’s third largest two-wheeler manufacturer, TVS Motors, is mulling a low-priced motorcycle to shore up volumes in the Indian market. The product, when introduced, would be the cheapest motorcycle in the country.

TVS Motors, which currently manufactures mopeds, scooters and motorcycles for the domestic market, is considering a new product to bridge the price gap between the company’s range of mopeds and motorcycles.

“There is room for introducing one more product at the lower end of the motorcycle segment. Our cheapest motorcycle comes for Rs 36,000 while the most expensive moped is tagged Rs 25,000. There might be a new product positioned in this range,” said H S Goindi, president (marketing).

He, however, admitted it would be a challenge to make a profitable product in the segment at such aggressive price points. “The Indian market is demanding, the quality of motorcycles on offer here is very high in terms of finish, engine performance, styling and fuel efficiency. The challenge would be to offer good features at competitive price points,” he said.

Industry experts note the 100-110cc segment account for 60 per cent of the nine million motorcycles sold every year and is the mainstay of companies like Hero Honda and TVS Motors. To launch inexpensive products in the category is, therefore, critical for two-wheeler companies in the country.

Honda Motor Corporation (HMC), which too is working on a low-cost bike priced at around $ 600 for sale in emerging economies, has decided against introducing the product in the Indian market. Shinji Aoyama, president and chief executive officer, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) had earlier said, “The low-cost bike is not suited for the current requirements in the market here. At present, we are not considering launching the product in India.”

The motorcycle is being developed at the company’s research and development centre in China, mainly for markets in Africa.

TVS Motors, at present, is working on developing two new motorcycles which are likely to hit the Indian roads in the course of 2011-12. Goindi informed, “We are working on two products. It would take us another eight to nine months to launch these motorcycles commercially in the market.” He, however, declined to share details about the segments which the products would be launched in.

Additionally, the company is also firming plans to re-launch products in the electric scooters segment. TVS Motors has developed an electric variant of Scooty Teenz and a new scooter, which are being tested in 50 towns across the country.

Depending on the feedback received a commercial launch would be made in the coming financial year.

TVS Motors, which is the third largest two-wheeler manufacturer in the country, has sold 1.6 million units in the domestic market between April and February this financial year, registering a growth of 31 per cent as compared to the corresponding period the previous year.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

TVS to introduce variant of Apache RTR 180 with ABS soon

TVS Motors will soon launch a variant of its Apache RTR 180 with ABS. This is the first time that 'A made in India' bike will feature the technology. CNBC-TV18's Overdrive team went to Chennai to check it out.

If it wasn't for the tiny ABS sticker on the side you wouldn't know the Apache RTR 180 was any different. A closer look will reveal the sensors and ECU but the proof of this pudding is in the eating or should we say testing.

A test rig is in place that stops the bike from falling over from people getting hurt during the tuning phase of the ABS. There are long technical explanations for how and why ABS operates.

Simply put, the ABS computer monitors both wheels for rotation and when it detects a wheel about to lock, it can release and build pressure accordingly. It sounds simple but it isn't until you try panic braking on slippery surfaces with ABS off, that the need for and utility of the system sinks in.

The ABS equipped Apache should hit showrooms in the next few weeks and we expect it to cost between Rs 13,000 and Rs 15,000 more than the stock RTR 180.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

TVS Motors shows 24% growth in Feb 2011

Mumbai, Mar 1: One of the leading bike manufactures in India, TVS Motors has marked 24 per cent growth in the month of Feb 2011 strong contributions from scooters, buoyant exports and domestic sales.

In Feb 2011, TVS Motors sold 177,412 units against 142,676 units sale in the month of 2010. The company’s cumulative sales for the period April 2010 to February 2011 stood at 1,855,460 units. During Feb 2011, company clocked highest ever exports and 3 wheeler sales.

In the two wheeler segment, TVS recorded a growth of 23 per cent with sales of 173,200 units in Feb 2011 against 140,544 units reported in Feb 2010. Cumulative two wheeler sales for the period Apr 2010 to Feb 2011 increased by 32 per cent with sales of 1,820,027 units over 1,375,176 units in Apr to Feb 2010. Te domestic sales of two wheelers also increased by 25 percent in the same period.

Scooter sales continued to impress growing by 49 per cent with sales of 40,335 units as against 27,017 units recorded in Feb 2010. Motorcycles grew by 13 per cent growth accounting for sales of 71,462 units in Feb 2011 as against 63,394 units in Feb 2010.

Three wheeler sales of the TVS Motors touched a new high in Feb 2011with sales of 4,212 units of three wheelers against 2,132 units sold in Feb 2010.

Monday, February 28, 2011

M&M to rectify Stallio gearbox

Automaker Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) has offered to rectify a problem in the gearbox of some of its 110cc Stallio motorcycles. The Stallio marked the entry of the maker of utility vehicles and tractors into the highly competitive motorcycle market.

Responding to a query on problems with the Stallio gearbox, M&M in a statement said: “We... are aware that certain parts of the bike require some fine tuning and adjustment in a small proportion of the product. We are proactively addressing the same.”

However, the company did not furnish any details on how many motorcycles have a gearbox problem and need to be rectified.

Since its launch in September 2010, M&M has sold over 5,135 Stallios until January this year. However, average sales of the Stallio during the last two months have been less than 400 units a month. In comparison, the country’s leading two-wheeler makers like Hero Honda, Bajaj Auto, TVS Motor and Honda sell an average of over 100,000 bikes a month in the 75-125cc segment.

While recalls, repairs and retrofits are fairly common in the passenger car industry — recent domestic instances include Honda’s recall of some versions of the City and Tata Motors’ retrofit of the Nano — there have been very few cases for motorcycles.

M&M has also encountered delivery problems with the Stallio. Its two-wheeler dealers have been asking potential buyers to wait for at least a month for delivery. The bike costs Rs 52,300 (on the road in Mumbai). The company maintains that demand for the bike has been very strong since launch, and that it has been unable to meet it because of inadequate supply of parts by vendors.

“When we launched the Stallio, the response we received was very positive and we had significant demand. However, today we are faced with certain supply-chain related constraints of some critical components. This is a short-term phenomenon and will be sorted out latest by June 2011,” M&M stated.

The company is trying to resolve supply-side issues by ramping up production at its facility in Pithampur near Indore. Brakes have also been applied to plans to add new dealers, particularly in areas where the brand has a strong pull, because of low volumes.

Most of M&M’s stable of two-wheelers includes automatic scooters such as the Rodeo, Duro and Flyte. Motorcycles are more popular in semi-urban and rural areas, as is evident from the success of models belonging to Hero Honda and Bajaj in those areas.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Diversification helps TVS Motor

TVS Motor Co. Ltd seems to be reaping the benefits of diversification, but higher input costs are threatening to puncture its profitability.Electric bicycles in India

In the past four years, as its market share in the motorcycle segment fell, TVS has been aggressively selling scooters and three-wheelers. While sales in the bike segment grew 40% from a year ago, sales of scooters and three-wheelers grew faster.

TVS’ revenue for the three months ended December grew 51% from a year ago. Its average realizations also improved 7% over the period, helped by a price hike in November and an increasing proportion of sales in scooters and three-wheelers. Pune Used Cars

However, operating profit expanded only 57%, while operating margin improved to 6.55%, an increase of 24 basis points over December 2009.

That’s because TVS was stymied by rising input costs. Raw material cost as a percentage of net sales rose to 76.8% in the December quarter against 68.5% a year ago. Consequently, TVS’ revenue for the three months ended December grew 51% from a year ago.

While net profit growth at Rs. 55.75 crore was up 137% from a year ago, it was pushed up by a Rs. 7 crore increase in investment income and Rs. 9 crore savings on interest expenses.

These numbers were better than Street expectations only marginally. There was thus not much investor reaction as the stock closed the day 0.98% up, compared with a 0.36% gain for the Sensex.

Investor enthusiasm could have been dimmed by the headwinds facing the two-wheeler segment. Higher inflation and petrol price hikes make owning and operating a two-wheeler costlier, thus crimping demand, while sales might also cool off a bit on a higher base. Rising commodity prices are also an increasing worry—operating margins are down sequentially for both TVS and Bajaj Auto Ltd —that could hurt on costs. Tata Showrooms in India

TVS’ Indonesian operations, too, are not expected to contribute till 2012. However, the stock is trading at a discounted valuation to its peers. Another factor in TVS’ favour is its increasing non-bike portfolio.

Scooters are the fastest growing category among two-wheelers, at 52% this fiscal, and TVS has the second largest market share in the category. Three-wheelers, too, are growing at a healthy 23%. As of now these segments are small compared with motorcycle sales for TVS, but they are increasingly making up for a greater proportion of volumes.

Monday, January 31, 2011

TVS Strategy

In the past four years, as its market share in the motorcycle segment fell, TVS has been aggressively selling scooters and three-wheelers. While sales in the bike segment grew 40% from a year ago, sales of scooters and three-wheelers grew faster.used cars sale in india

TVS’ revenue for the three months ended December grew 51% from a year ago. Its average realizations also improved 7% over the period, helped by a price hike in November and an increasing proportion of sales in scooters and three-wheelers.Tata Dealers in india

However, operating profit expanded only 57%, while operating margin improved to 6.55%, an increase of 24 basis points over December 2009.

That’s because TVS was stymied by rising input costs. Raw material cost as a percentage of net sales rose to 76.8% in the December quarter against 68.5% a year ago. Consequently, TVS’ revenue for the three months ended December grew 51% from a year ago.

While net profit growth at Rs. 55.75 crore was up 137% from a year ago, it was pushed up by a Rs. 7 crore increase in investment income and Rs. 9 crore savings on interest expenses.electric scooter in India

These numbers were better than Street expectations only marginally. There was thus not much investor reaction as the stock closed the day 0.98% up, compared with a 0.36% gain for the Sensex.

Investor enthusiasm could have been dimmed by the headwinds facing the two-wheeler segment. Higher inflation and petrol price hikes make owning and operating a two-wheeler costlier, thus crimping demand, while sales might also cool off a bit on a higher base. Rising commodity prices are also an increasing worry—operating margins are down sequentially for both TVS and Bajaj Auto Ltd —that could hurt on costs.

TVS’ Indonesian operations, too, are not expected to contribute till 2012. However, the stock is trading at a discounted valuation to its peers. Another factor in TVS’ favour is its increasing non-bike portfolio.

Scooters are the fastest growing category among two-wheelers, at 52% this fiscal, and TVS has the second largest market share in the category. Three-wheelers, too, are growing at a healthy 23%. As of now these segments are small compared with motorcycle sales for TVS, but they are increasingly making up for a greater proportion of volumes.

Monday, January 24, 2011

TVS Motor Company Revenue Grows 51 % in Q3

Sustained growth across all product segments has enabled TVS Motor Company to achieve strong revenue growth of 51% in the third quarter with sales revenue growing from Rs. 1089 crore in the quarter ended December 2009 to Rs. 1647 crore in the quarter ended December 2010.

Profit before tax, during the quarter under review, grew by 177% from Rs. 25.41 crore recorded in December 2009 to Rs. 70.29 crore in the current quarter. Profit after tax grew by 137% from Rs. 23.54 crore in the previous comparable quarter to Rs. 55.75 crore in the quarter under review. Cumulative profit after tax for nine months ended December 2010 grew at 128% from Rs.66.20 crore to Rs.150.90 crore. The directors have declared an interim dividend of Re. 0.50 per share on the enhanced capital of Rs.47.51 crore as compared to Re. 0.70 per share on the then capital of Rs. 23.75 crore.Maruti Dealer in India

Total two-wheeler sales of the company grew at 39% in the third quarter, increasing from 3.72 lakh units in the third quarter of the previous year to 5.18 lakh units in the current quarter. Motorcycle sales grew at 40% from 1.51 lakh units in the quarter ended December 2009 to 2.11 lakh units in the reporting quarter.second hand cars bangalore Scooters continued its upward growth, increasing by 64% from 0.76 lakh units in the quarter ended December 2009 to 1.24 lakh units in the current quarter. Two wheeler exports registered 17% growth with sales increasing from 43,696 units in the quarter ended December 2009 to 51,394 units in the current quarter. The company's three wheeler sales during the quarter grew 212% from 3,225 units in the quarter ended December 2009 to 10,079 units in the quarter ended December 2010.

At the end of the quarter under review, PT TVS Motor Company Indonesia sold 14,809 units (April '10 to December '10) in comparison with 10,448 units (April '09 to December '09) registering a growth of 42% over the same period of the previous year. Expansion of dealerships has been a key focus area and the company has added two new provinces to the existing thirteen. Upgraded models of TVS RockZ and TVS Apache will be launched in the fourth quarter. With improved sales network and product portfolio, PT. TVS is expected to vastly improve its performance in 2011-12.

TVS Wego has won the prestigious "Scooter of the Year Award" at the recently concluded CNBC TV18 Overdrive Awards 2011, NDTV Car and Bike Awards 2011, Bike India Awards 2011 and Business Standard Motoring Awards 2011.Maruti true value Eminent panels of jury members including auto enthusiasts and industry experts chose TVS Wego on merits of its design elegance, engine efficiency, smoothness of handling and ride quality.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

TVS Lead Gulf Cup

The 14 races of the Gulf Cup Dirt Track racing thrilled the Nashik crowds at the specially laid-out course by organisers Sportscraft at the Idgah Ground, Golf club, Trimbak Road.

The event began with Indian expert class foreign motorcycles upto 250cc group A race 1, which was won by KP Arvind. The racers showed why they are the category’s expert class by creating ‘frets’ from wet ground at the curves from the opening lap of the 13, which were utilised by all the competitors.

The novice class races had up to 15 competitors and produced great action for the gallery as the amateurs tried a number of manoeuvres to overtake their opponents at the turns. One of the unique races in event was the scooters up to 110cc race, which was won by Pinkesh Thakkar of Pune. Although the racers moved slower than the ones on the bikes, the very fact that they were racing on scooters made it an interesting watch.

R Prakash produced a stunning finale to the event by recovering from a tumble in the last couple of laps to finish first in the private expert class, foreign motorcycles up to 250cc.

Pradeep HK from TVS Racing Team was best in the Indian Expert class, winning both the Races in Indian Expert Group ‘B’ Motorcycle up to 260 cc 2 & 4 Stroke.