The first ever Professional Motorcycle Racing Team from Odisha, “Team 7 Racing” was launched in June this year making its debut in Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship. The team consists of two professional motorcycle racers Udipta Kumar Rath (25) and Piyush Ranjan (19). The team has taken a start from the Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2017 from 9th to 11th June, as it’s debut, where Udipta K. Rath took over in the Super Sport 300-400 cc category, while Piyush Ranjan raced the Super Sport 200-300 cc and also the 250 cc open in the Honda One Make Championship.
This duo from Team Seven is catching up the pace with every round. They are seen crashing and learning with every step, attenuating themselves and their bikes for a better performance. Udipta, who crashed in the practice session, managed to qualify at 7th position surprisingly during the qualifying round on 9th June. The next day in Race 1, he had to retire due to some technical glitch in the gear lever. On 11th of June, he started Race 2 from 7th position and was seen at the 5th position until lap 2. But his bike somehow started losing the grip and he had to slow down to finish the race again at 7th.
Piyush, on the other hand, was one among the two athletes in the 200-300 cc category and because the other racer did not start the session, the Federation allowed him to race within the 300-400 cc category with his CBR 250 cc bike but with the condition of not gaining any championship points. He yet qualified at 9th and finished Race 1 in the 7th position. Meanwhile, he was also racing in the 250 cc open category in the Honda One Make Championship, where he had 3 crashes within a time period of 30 minutes during the practice session on 9th June. Unaware of the cause, he tried setting up the suspension a bit during the available slot prior to the qualifying. But 3 unfortunate crashes had already made the bike infirm, which resulted into a broken fairing during the qualifying round later the same day and he could only finish at 12th position. On 11th, he started the Race 1 with 12th and miraculously finished at 7th position, but in Race 2 he crashed while fighting for the top 6 in the 8th lap.
Udipta, who is already taking part in Pirelli Malaysia Superbike Championship in 600 cc category, Piyush is all set to his debut in the same from round 3 of the championship. They thank their sponsors (JYOTE GROUP, MOTOZIEL, MILK MANTRA) and their supporters (KMSC, FMSCI, MMSC) for their helping hand in every circumstances.
Team Seven is very optimistic about the fact that they are in the championship table right after their debut. They are targeting the championship though but they keep learning as a priority. Hoping that the gaps be filled in the second round, we are waiting for this duo to hit high on the scoreboard after the final round.
Ghaniya Aureen
Team Seven Racing