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A strong wind picked up a dozen years back in Chennai. Today after all those years, that wind which started off as a 21 year old lad is a hurricane which has taken Indian Motorcycle Racing by storm. Rajini Krishnan is by far the most decorated motorcycle track racer that India has had in the recent past.
Rajini had his first visit to the track at the not so young age of 21 and the very next year, he jumped into the fray and won the 150cc 2 stroke Championship in 2003. From there was no looking back as he racked up the National Championships having won 11 of them on the trot and still winning in the 2013 season. As he won the inaugural race at Buddh International Circuit on the 15th of September.
The Triple 600cc National Champion is a self made man. He only needed to hear the sound of powerful bikes vrooming past him to get addicted to the adrenaline rush and he then went ahead and taught himself the fine art of motorcycle racing. A disciple with only himself to follow, his greatest challenge in his initial years was having to race with inferior machinery. Only after he showed his potential by getting regularly onto the podium with his lower spec bike, did he manage to grab the attention of the bigger teams. TVS and Red Rooster played an important part in helping him develop and evolve.
In a motorcycle racing career, as in life there are many firsts, the first podium the first win and the first championship. Sometimes there are other overlooked firsts as well. Like the first time that this champion rode abroad, what struck him most was the level of facilities provided to racers. The basic feeling of being given importance, was something that Rajini experienced for the first time when he rode in Japan thanks to Red Rooster Racing. The first thing that he does before every race, is to start with a small prayer. He is also the first Indian to be sponsored by another country in the form of QMMF at the Losail Championship.
READ MORE HERE
This article was first published in the October 2013 issue of the xBhp Magazine.
Rajini had his first visit to the track at the not so young age of 21 and the very next year, he jumped into the fray and won the 150cc 2 stroke Championship in 2003. From there was no looking back as he racked up the National Championships having won 11 of them on the trot and still winning in the 2013 season. As he won the inaugural race at Buddh International Circuit on the 15th of September.
The Triple 600cc National Champion is a self made man. He only needed to hear the sound of powerful bikes vrooming past him to get addicted to the adrenaline rush and he then went ahead and taught himself the fine art of motorcycle racing. A disciple with only himself to follow, his greatest challenge in his initial years was having to race with inferior machinery. Only after he showed his potential by getting regularly onto the podium with his lower spec bike, did he manage to grab the attention of the bigger teams. TVS and Red Rooster played an important part in helping him develop and evolve.
In a motorcycle racing career, as in life there are many firsts, the first podium the first win and the first championship. Sometimes there are other overlooked firsts as well. Like the first time that this champion rode abroad, what struck him most was the level of facilities provided to racers. The basic feeling of being given importance, was something that Rajini experienced for the first time when he rode in Japan thanks to Red Rooster Racing. The first thing that he does before every race, is to start with a small prayer. He is also the first Indian to be sponsored by another country in the form of QMMF at the Losail Championship.
READ MORE HERE
This article was first published in the October 2013 issue of the xBhp Magazine.
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