‘TVS Racing committed to encouraging motorsport in India’

The TVS Racing principal, B. Selvaraj, talks to Sportstar about his team and its achievements in motorsport.

"We are the first manufacturers to bring the ‘One Make Championship’ to India in 1994 with the aim of recruiting racers and providing a platform to young talent who want to make a career in motor racing," says the TVS Racing principal, B. Selvaraj.

A brief history of the team: TVS Motor Company made its debut in racing in 1983 with its 50cc mopeds. Five years later, the racing arm was named TVS Racing. We are the first manufacturers to bring the ‘One Make Championship’ to India in 1994 with the aim of recruiting racers and providing a platform to young talent who want to make a career in motor racing.

The team has been actively participating in on and off-road racing events such as supercross and motocross, dirt tracks, rally etc. We won the premium category of the Sri Lankan National Championship in 2011 and 2016.

2015 was a landmark year when we decided to go global and participate in Dakar. TVS Racing collaborates with the racing department of Sherco, France. Our engineers and mechanics worked with Sherco to prepare motorcycles for the Dakar. We are proud to say that Aravind K. P. from TVS Racing marked his debut at the Dakar 2017.

TVS Racing’s goal: We are committed to encouraging motorsport in India. Besides key racing events in India, we participate in races in Sri Lanka and now global rally events like FIM Bajas World Cup round in Spain, the FIM Cross-Country World Rally Championship round in Morocco and the Dakar Rally. The team performed well at the Dakar 2017 and finished 13th and 22nd with one stage win.

The role of TVS racing in the development of its riders/drivers:

We have a well thought-out strategy for each rider right after his/her selection in the team. We handpick our riders through various sources — One Make Championships, motocross and supercross events, private racers who performed well in regional level racing events. Once they are inducted into the team we prepare individual training calendars for each of the riders in consultation with them. We help them with the best possible training in India and abroad as per their potential. For beginners, we conduct training sessions thrice a year in association with the MMSC (Madras Motor Sports Club). All our racers (road racing, motorcross, supercross and rally) get access to the best possible training and facilities. We support the California Superbike School and our riders have the option of going there and riding at the school. We send riders for advanced MX, rally and road racing training sessions in the U.S., Australia, France, Spain and in Asian countries.

TVS Racing’s achievements: Over the years, TVS Racing has grown a lot; the team has participated and won several road racing events, motocross and dirt track. The team holds a record of 90 per cent wins on an average in all the events that we participate in. We also participate in championships in Sri Lanka. We have won over 175 championships till date. Today, TVS Racing is the school to some of the finest racers in the country.

In supercross and rally, TVS Racing’s Abdul Wahind Tanveer won three championships this year while R. Nataraj won two championships. In the Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship, K. Jagan won the crown five years in a row. Our team won the Desert Storm Rally 2017 in the Ultimate Bikes category. In fact, TVS Racing has concluded a highly successful year winning 11 championships across all forms of two-wheeler motorsport events — supercross, rallies and road racing.