The truck racing events in India just got a boost with Tata Motors announcing the 2015 season of the T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship. For the second time, international drivers behind the wheels of Tata Prima trucks will race at the Buddh International Circuit, Noida for the honor of the T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship. This event will happen on the 14th and 15th of March, 2015. This would add the whole new dimension of truck racing in India, which happens to be one of the largest truck markets in the world.
Truck racing involves modified versions of heavy tractor units on racing circuits. Although truck racing in India is still in its nascent stage, it is bound to pick up looking at the enthusiasm and the response it generated from the 2014 edition of the Prima Truck Racing Championship. Tata Motors also announced that it plans to have trucks racing for the championship every year following the success it had in the year 2014, which was the first championship of its kind in India. This annual event will be conducted by Tata Motors and will be held somewhere around February-March every year.
There will be 12 Tata Primes racing for the championship and six teams. International drivers will be driving the trucks. However, the company has started a program ‘T1 Drivers Programme’ that is designed to provide a platform for potential drivers to venture into truck racing. The six teams racing this year are - Team Castrol Vectron, Team Cummins, Team Dealer Warriors, Team Tata Technology Motorsports, Team Dealers Daredevils and Team Allied Partners. Last year’s championship trophy was taken home by Team Castrol Vectron. At present, the championship is only limited to Tata trucks. “I can't indicate the time-frame, but at some point of time it may include other brands too,” said Ravi Pisharody, Executive Director, Commercial Vehicle Business Unit of Tata Motors
The trucks used for this race are Prima 4038S, modified for the track. Powered by an 8.9 liter diesel engine with an 8-speed transmission, this monster churns out a maximum power of 370 bhp with 158 kgm of peak torque. This year, Tata claims a more aerodynamically designed truck with better acceleration. The top speed will be pegged at 130 kmph though; internationally it is 140 kmph to 160 kmph. This year’s trucks will also see a lot of alterations on the fuel tank, exhaust and brake cooling system.
This year, the T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship is planned by the Madras Motor Sports Club under the aegis of the international motor racing body FIA and the National body FMSCI. The first day of the event will have the trucks racing for ten-lap sprint, five more than last year. The second day, i.e. the finals will involve over 15 laps with each lap of 3.1 km in length.
