TVS Racing championship goes to Europe for first time; Sarthak Chavan finishes 7th and 6th at Misano

The TVS Racing International Championship (TRIC), based on the TVS Apache RR 310, has reached Europe for the first time, in a moment of pride for Indian motorsport. The round was held at Italy's Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, where the Indian-built race bike competed against international riders.

TVS began the TVS One Make Asia Championship in 2020. The series has now been renamed the TVS Racing International Championship. It was already running as part of the Asia Road Racing Championship when the company took the step of holding a race in Europe as well. The Misano round was held during the race weekend of Italy's Coppa Italia National Championship.

Fourteen riders from different countries, including Spain, Italy, Portugal, Colombia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, South Africa and South Korea, took part. Sarthak Chavan, Chiranth Vishwanath and Rakshit Dave represented India. Chiranth, who had won the round at Motegi in Japan, qualified fifth at Misano. Sarthak had to start both races from the back of the grid after a crash during qualifying.

Local rider Christian Borelli won both races. Among the Indian riders, Sarthak Chavan drew attention, finishing seventh in the first race and sixth in the second. Chiranth finished 10th and 8th respectively, while Rakshit Dave finished 11th and 12th. The TVS bike recorded a fast-lap time about 3 seconds better than the Aprilia RS 457 one-make race bike. It was also up against the times of the Yamaha R7.

The race bike's specifications are also notable. With carbon fibre bodywork, a carbon rear subframe and forged wheels, its weight with fuel is under 125 kg. The RR 310's 312.2cc engine has been heavily modified to produce about 50 hp, and it revs beyond 12,000 rpm. The bike had earlier touched a top speed of 216 km/h. The highest speed recorded in the Misano races was about 190 km/h.

After the competition, international journalists were also given a chance to ride the race bike on the Misano track. This gave the Indian racing bike another opportunity to make its mark on a European circuit. For TVS, this was not just a racing event but an important milestone in the international journey of Indian motorsport.