Detailed Report – Tata T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship 2016

• 3^rd season of Tata T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship 2016 held in India
• For the first time Indian truck drivers participated in the event
• Season 3 featured two race categories – SUPER CLASS – Comprising of Indian race truck drivers and PRO CLASS – Comprising of internationally acclaimed drivers

I have been reading about the T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship since its first season in 2014, but did not get an opportunity to witness the event. All I assumed was Prima T1 racing was mainly to promote Tata Prima trucks and their reliability.

This year I was lucky to get an invite and in the 3^rd season the T1 racing was going to be a step forward as compared to previous 2 events promised Tata Motors. The T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship 2016 was a 2 day affair with Saturday 19^th being the qualifiers and 20^th the main race day.

Tata Motors have tied up with MMSC (Madras Motor Sports Club) who have organised the event and also developed the entire curriculum and rules for training and selecting the Indian drivers.

On Day 1 the conference started with inputs as to the amount of hard work and the long hours which went into making this event a success and also the big announcement of Indian drivers to race in the 3^rd season of T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship.

For the first time 12 Indian racers would compete in Season 3 of the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship and 12 International Race Truck drivers like in Season 1 & 2. The Season 3 featured two race categories: SUPER CLASS – Comprising of Indian race truck drivers and PRO CLASS – Comprising of internationally acclaimed drivers

We tried to capture most of the presentation but what caught our heart was this beautiful video which says it all.

After watching the video, it was clear T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship was just not a marketing stunt by Tata Motors but an effort to uplift the drivers and also give them the much needed respect they deserve.

The 12 Indian drivers selected for the T1 PRIMA TRUCK RACING CHAMPIONSHIP

The 12 International drivers and teams for the T1 PRIMA TRUCK RACING CHAMPIONSHIP

Tata Motors partnered with other automotive brands, for Season 3 of the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship which are:

1. WABCO – Official Braking Technology Partner
2. JK Tyre – Official Tyre Partner
3. Castrol – Official Lubricant Partner
4. Cummins – Official Engine Technology Partner
5. Tata Motors Finance – Official Commercial Vehicle Financing Partner
6. Tata Technologies – Official Technology Partner

The partners like Wabco, JK Tyre and Castrol developed products to enhance the performance of T1 Prima racing trucks.

The T1 Prima Truck for 2016 Championship

The Tata Prima 4038.S will compete in the T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship 2016, with the 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.

For Season 3 of the T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship, Tata Motors has undertaken significant changes, for increased performance and safety. 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

Day 2 started with a lot of Band Baja Barat along with photo sessions of the trucks, drivers and dignitaries on the race track.

Alongside some edge of the seat action at T1 2016, Season 3 will also host 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, are few amongst the many other surprises that T1 season 3 has to offer.

The heat could not stop the fans to cheer the race drivers and it was quite a mesmerizing to see these big machines race against each other. The first batch of Indian drivers raced followed by the international drivers and then the second batch of drivers raced.

Jagat Singh and Nagarjuna won the first even Indian TRUCK RACE, at the T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship Season 3. (You got to see the first video again and see what winner Nagarjuna had to say).

David Jenkins, Rick Collett and Graham Powell finish FIRST, SECOND & THIRD in the PRO CLASS, Comprising of internationally acclaimed drivers.

The India truck drivers face a lot of challenges and with such events companies like Tata Motors want to provide the much needed motivation and moral boosting. Currently the industry is facing a shortage of good truck drivers. With the government spending a lot on infrastructure, global players entering the Indian trucking scene and also offering world class products, its important the truck also get adequate training on driving especially on highways and good road manners.

We hope 2017 will see more excitement and further upliftmen of the Indian Truck drivers.

Click here to read all the press releases for the Tata T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship 2016

Tata T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship 2016 Image Gallery