In 2001, Aamir Khan’s Lagaan, nominated under the best foreign film category at the academy awards, captured the imagination of the whole world. The fictional tale of a group of Indian villagers challenging the British rulers to a game of cricket to get their land taxes waived and live in dignity became an epic-sports drama of Indian cinema. Cut to 2016, and Tata Motors created a motorsport history by introducing Indian truck drivers for the first time ever to the professional Truck Racing. The only difference here in the real life was that the Indian drivers were pitched against the Indian drivers in Super Class Race and not against the more accomplished British truck drivers who participated in the Pro Class Race.
However, both in the reel and real life, the caliber of the players, how they handled pressure, their temperament and most important their mettle that enabled them to compete in such high-profile sports was tested. It is only after going through these personality traits and several emotions the winners, Mr. Jagat Singh and Mr. Nagarjuna emerged victorious in their respective races in front of over 50,000 people, with the ‘Heroes of the Highways’ taking home the highest price money ever for an Indian motorsports event, Rs. 10 lakhs being awarded to each of the first place winners.
Unlike Lagaan, the India truck drivers were trained by some of the best race instructors in India, roped in by MOMA, over a period of three months. Competing in the Super Class category comprising some of the most experienced drivers, the Indian drivers were selected through one of the most comprehensive training and selection programs, from Tata Motors fleet customers’ operations across the country. Whereas having finished fourth in the first 8-lap race of the two Pro Class races comprising of international (British) drivers, David Jenkins of Team Tata Technologies took top honours in the final 20-lap race, with Rick Collett and Graham Powell, both from Team Tata Cummins, taking second and third place respectively, in an-action packed Pro Class race.
Idea to inception
“We have come a long way since 2014 not only in improving the Prima but also establishing the prowess of the brand Prima. This season, with involvement of Indian drivers we have tried to bring attention to the driver community in India by picking up normal highway drivers to race. The journey from Road to Race-Track is nothing short of a fairy tale for many of the Indian drivers. The series of many firsts for these drivers made it an extremely emotional experience for most of them,” beamed R. Ramakrishnan, Senior Vice President, Product Strategy & Planning and Customer Value Creation, Commercial Vehicle Business Unit, Tata Motors.
While Season 3 witnessed Indian drivers competing in black Prima race trucks, which were identical to each other both in look and built, the six teams competing in the Pro Class of the T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship Season 3 represented six teams that participated in the previous two seasons of the championship with one new team. They were Team Castrol Vecton (Champions of both the Seasons), Team Cummins, Team Tata Technologies Motorsports, Team Tata Motors Finance (The New Team), Team Dealer Warriors and Team Dealer Daredevils.
Tata Motors also partnered with some of the country’s leading automotive brands, for Season 3. They were WABCO – Official Braking Technology Partner, JK Tyre – Official Tyre Partner, Castrol – Official Lubricant Partner, Cummins – Official Engine Technology Partner, Tata Motors Finance – Official Commercial Vehicle Financing Partner, and Tata Technologies – Official Technology Partner.
‘Prime player’: The Race Truck – 2016
The race truck for Season 3 of the championship saw a total 43 additional modifications, for a faster, more exciting race. The Tata Prima 4038.S boasted of a massive power of 370 BHP @ 2100 RPM and a top speed of just over 130 km/h. To make these Prima trucks fit for racing, key modifications were made to meet a mix of safety and performance needs as per guidelines from the BTRA. These included significant changes in fuel tank, brake cooling system, propeller shaft guards, racing seats and safety belts, exhaust, steering wheel among others. The trucks have gone through multiple quality checks and tested at Tata Motors Jamshedpur’s world-class testing facility, for high speed run and control, with many key modifications made to meet a mix of safety and performance needs.
The following are some of the changes to the T1 2016 race truck:
- Reduced centre of gravity by 100 mm, to improve dynamic stability at high speeds
- New lighter suspension system, to improve the ride and handling characteristics
- New improved shock absorbers, for stability during high speed corner turns
- Improved brake cooling system with jet nozzles
- New lightweight aluminium fuel tank & water tanks
- New tyres of 315/70 R 22.5 introduced in place of 315/80 R 22.5, from last season
- Front Flat wheel where mounting face offset is 127 in place of 175 from last season
Like previous seasons, alongside some edge of the seat action at T1 2016, Season 3 also hosted some of the country’s most prominent names from the music and entertainment scene. From the sensational Hip Hop heartthrob Badshah to the vivacious damsel of melody, Neeti Mohan, the scintillating Garima Yajnik, with her foot-tapping Indo-Western numbers and last but not the least, the ruling diva of Bollywood music, with her memorable feast of melody and dance numbers, Sunidhi Chauhan, were a few amongst the many other surprises that T1 season 3 had to offer.
Tata Technologies behind Prima’s ‘right-weighting’
Like all the stake holders involved, it was the emotional connect to see Indian drivers participating that aggravated the thrill for Tata Technologies. The company has been part of the Tata Prima Truck Racing Championship since the inception in 2014. The company has been a strategic partner to Tata Motors and has only evolved the relationship from day one. “Our engineers have been part of the initial World Truck Design, the modification in Season 2 and a little bit of tweaking in Season 3 to achieve the ‘right weight’ for brisk performance,” explains Samir Yajnik, President Global Delivery and COO Asia Pacific, Tata Technologies Ltd.
“In this season the truck is even lighter as we have reduced the centre of gravity, reducing the weight. It has been achieved with weight reduction primarily because of the use of aluminum fuel tank and water tank and overall adjustments even in the suspensions. The use of right knowledge stems from the experience derived from working with different companies around the world in light weighting using mixed material, carbon fibres, aluminium structures and EVs in big way.
Tata Technologies speaks about right-weighting because if one puts right weight of the right amount of materials, it guarantees right performance. “It’s not merely about speed in the market; it’s also about overall performance that too at what price. All these factors go in deciding light weighting, beamed Yajnik.
Apart from light-weighting Tata Technologies works on the whole social mobility and connected vehicle space. “It is going to be important how these trucks are tracked on road. Our role is to feed the way they are monitored into the design and engineering process. This will improve the characteristics and the attributes of the vehicle. That close loop of using cloud data, using big data of how these vehicles are run and link that to monitor the performance of the vehicle is going to be the big things and very useful to the operators involved,” averred Yajnik.
JK Tyres strengthens the Prima Racing truck
JK Tyre has been associated with the T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship since Season 1 when it introduced the ‘Jetracing’, the first-ever truck racing tyre. “This year the tyres have lower resistance that means you will reach faster and we have met a lot of design changes like the aspect ratio and the rear wheels we have given it a little more load handling,” explained Mr. Vivek Kamra, President – India, JK Tyre and industries Ltd.
Coming from the pioneers of radial truck tyres in India, JK tyre plunged into the opportunity to aid Tata Motors design and develop the tyres for such a high profile racing event. “Not only can these tyres help clock 130 kmph they are designed and developed for 160 kmph. We are getting hints that we may as well export tyres to UK,” revealed Kamra.
Castrol VECTON RX Fuel Saver’s pioneering lubricant technology
Castrol continued its commitment to Tata T1 Prima Racing Championship Season 3 by once again being chosen as the exclusive lubricant partner for the racing trucks at the prestigious event.
“Castrol VECTON RX Fuel Saver with System5 technology, which we launched during Season 2, delivers fuel efficiency of up to 3 per cent to consumers who drive Tata vehicles. It helps lower operating costs for them due to its fuel (diesel) saving proposition. It was indeed a proud moment for us as this was the first time Tata Motors had endorsed a lubricant as fuel efficient for their vehicles,” said Rajeev Govil, VP – OEM and Workshop, Castrol India Ltd.
Castrol VECTON RX Fuel Saver engine oil was launched jointly after rigorous testing on Indian roads by Castrol and Tata Motors. “Castrol VECTON RX Fuel Saver 10W-40 incorporates Castrol’s pioneering System 5 technology. It has been developed and rigorously tested for over four years in Castrol’s laboratories in India and Pangbourne in UK, and on the roads. This co-engineering effort between Tata Motors and Castrol is yet another example of the collaborative manner and the true partnership spirit in which both our companies operate”, Govil revealed.
This season the event had a better connect because there are Indian drivers involved from different fleet operators across different parts of the country. “We are sure they will experience and acknowledge the smooth engineering strength of Castrol VECTON RX Fuel Saver. It will only spread the use and belief that we have in the oil ourselves,” beamed Govil.
Castrol is in the phase of ramping up the production and distribution of Castrol VECTON RX Fuel Saver in India due to its superior fuel saver value proposition. “It has the potential to save almost Rs. 40,000 per annum for a truck which travels about 100,000 kms in a year,” averred Govil.
“As far as our approach to work with OEMs and franchised workshop dealers is concerned, Castrol works to develop enduring partnerships which last over time. With Tata, Motors, we also collaborate in areas like safety and skill development. In 2013 Castrol and Tata Motors worked together to develop a workshop safety manual aimed at improving safety in workshops. We have recently launched a CSR project called “Jagruti Ekjut” which will help enhance the level of safety awareness of the Tata Motors dealership staff. Under this programme, Castrol will provide training to Tata Motors workshops personnel by safety experts. This will help embed a stronger safety culture in the Tata Motors dealerships and create safety champions among them. We also partner Tata Motors in the SkillFest programme – a global service advisor programme – which was first launched by Castrol in India and has now spread across 26 countries,” Govil added.
WABCO proves its mettle once again
WABCO, the global technology leader and tier-one supplier of safety and efficiency systems to the commercial vehicle industry was proud to be associated with Tata Motors in T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship Season 3. “It is a big recognition to the work we have been doing and all the hardwork that our engineers and employees are putting in India. It goes on to showcase that the leading manufacturer like Tata Motors has shown for the race truck and particularly it tells that this can go in all the Tata Motors trucks that face sever challenging road conditions on road”, said Mr. Jacques Esculier, WABCO Chairman and CEO.
“In future we also wish to bring collision mitigation system as well as automatic transmissions to this part of the world. We continue to equip Tata Prima with anti-lock braking systems, modular compressor, high processing air performers and air actuation systems this season as the speed continue to go up to 130 kmph,” revealed Mr. Esculier.
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“I have been driving Prima for 36 months before I was shortlisted for the event. Although I was used to driving it, every-body in the race was driving the Prima. It was then left to the skill, mental stiffness yet calm approach to the racing that made me the winner. I really want to thank Tata Motors for such an outstanding event and helping us experience the glory of once in a life time.”
– Jagat Singh, Winner of first Super Class Indian Driver’s Race
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“It was very important to win this race for me as I have gone through so many hardships in life. The entire truck racing experience is the one that I am going to cherish as it not only made me better driver but a disciplined one. I have suddenly become a hero for all the drivers in my company and elsewhere in India and I believe this experience is surely going to change my life ahead.”
– Nagarjuna A, Winner of second Super Class Indian Driver’s Race
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“All our drivers are very excited and they want us to nominate them next year. The respect, the dignity that these drivers have got is really envious as despite being the backbone of the Indian trucking industry they are hardly acknowledged. The racing initiative with the Indian drivers is going in the right direction in bringing the much needed respect to the important stake holder in the chain. This should go ahead and help reduce driver shortage that most of the fleet operators face.”
– Nitesh Agarwal, DARCL Logistics
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“Tata Motors have done a fantastic job by organizing such a fabulous event. This is a big morale booster for all the truck drivers in India that even in a profession like truck driving one can aspire to become a successful truck racer. It will also motivate the second generation of the drivers to join their fathers profession after they see that the whole ecosystem respects them for their driving and values their contribution to the society.”
– Nirmal Kumar Goel, OSL Logistics (center in pic)
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“We practiced for 16 days in Chennai, but I enjoyed the practice more at the BIC and of course the race here as I could overtake and maneuver at will due to the width of the race track. I enjoyed a lot with other fellow drivers and it was a great learning experience. I forgot all my worries and work issues, in fact from the training to final race day it was a fun filled stay. I loved the powerful engine of the race truck that I mastered while my stay here.”
– Rajkumar Mahato, 2nd Runner-up
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“There is no opportunity to truck drivers in India. With an international event like this inviting and promoting Indian drivers will certainly establish a culture of respect and diginity amongts the hardworking ordinary truck drivers. The Racing organized by Tata Motors will engrave a sense of loyalty, dedication and ethics in the driver community towards their work and overall benefit the fleet operators in the country.”
– Mohanlal Luka, Lakshmi Road Carrier