It was on the 30th and 31st in the month of August – a day for the speed junkies, the ones who had a craze for cars and bikes. The Federation of Motor Sports Club of India (FMSCI) conducted a Drag Race at the track in Kari Motor Speedway – a purpose built auto racing circuit or race track, located in Orratukuppai, Chettipalayam, Coimbatore, India.
The race was conducted in the memory of Late Mr. Sundaram Karivarthan, legendary figure of Indian motorsports. Apart from being a successful formula car racer, he was also a designer and constructor of several formula cars, his most famous design being the Formula Maruti open wheeled race car. His low cost cars helped other racers, notably Narain Karthikeyan, Karun Chandok, and Armaan Ebrahim in their entry into motorsports. A wealthy industrialist, he was later killed in an air crash, aged 41.
The track was named after him as Kari Motor Speedway. The event was one of the biggest events in South India, attracting participants from all over the country. Category wise, the event was held from 150CC normally custom made bikes till 1500CC superbikes and 500CC Normal cars to above 4000CC Super Foreign Cars.
Bikes like Ducati, Yamaha, Aprilia, Triumph, Kawasaki, Suzuki, BMW, Honda, Hyosung and cars like Audi R8 , Audi RS5 Coupé , Nissan 350Z , Mini Cooper S, Lamborghini Murcielago, Aston Martin Vantage, etc., participated in the event.
Local participation from Coimbatore included team Über Werkstatt AG and Team Cotton City.
Hangouts like Cafe Moto, located inside the TriStar Apartments near Lakshimi Mills signal is a perfect place to chill with friends during such events. One can gather in the midst of motorsport enthusiasts, making new acquaintances, clicking pictures with friends, while enjoying the food, discussing cars and bikes.
Track day is totally different from Race days. Unlike the competitive racing days, it is an opportunity to drive one’s car on a track in a spirited manner and to learn driving skills. A track day involves driving in a car or on a motorcycle around a track. Motorcycles and cars are not mixed at events. There are specific track days for motorcycles and specific track days for cars.
And the cost is reasonable too, making the experience accessible to many who never dreamed that they could do it. Track days take place at many of the famous race tracks throughout the world. Hence, every day people who are not professional or even amateur racers have the opportunity to experience driving on race tracks.
Track specifications
- Length Full track:1 kms (9 turns)
- Go-kart tracks:1 kms and 800 mts
- Direction: Clockwise
- First race: 2003
- Cars upto F 3 and all bikes allowed.
Directions
Getting to the Coimbatore race track can be a bit of an ordeal and frustrating for the people who are new to Coimbatore. One should reach for the Podanur (Pothanur) Chettipalyam road and ask for directions to the race track. The track is about 25kms out of the city of Coimbatore.
To understand more about the track at Kari Motor Speedway, read the article here:
http://www.thekriegers.in/trips/a-weekend-at-kari-motor-speedway/
