Tata Prima truck racing begins this month

Tata Prima Truck Racing’s inaugural race will be held at the Buddh International Circuit on March 23. A special 2.1 km track has been prepared on which 12 international truck racing drivers will pilot their race-prepared Tata Prima 4038 trucks. 

The special track called ‘short loop’ will be around 2 minutes and 10 seconds at an average speed of about 60kmph. The new layout will retain the opening four corners of the original layout, but gets a short 180-degree bend which bypasses the remainder of the track to rejoin at the final corner.

The T1 Prima truck racing championship will see six teams participating with two trucks allotted per team. The event calendar has been added to the list of FIA (Federation International de I’Automobile) and FMSCI (Federation of Motor Sport Clubs of India).

The assault machine Tata Prima 4038 with a power rating of 370bhp produced at 2,100rpm will max out at 110kmph. While this sounds less, imagine a seven tonne truck hitting that speed lap after lap and cornering at speeds that will scare the daylights out of sane humans. To achieve this feat the race-prepped trucks get 22 key modifications. To list a few it gets a mandatory roll-cage, a 90-litre fuel tank, water cooled braking system, differential guards, free-flow exhaust and a smaller race steering wheel.

The race day consists of two races a qualifier and the final race. The T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship will also witness two-time British truck racing champion, Steve Horne participating in it. Horne is one of the longest serving truck racers who has been a key player in encouraging multiple aspects of India’s truck racing championship.

This first of a kind truck race in India begins in 16 days, until then watch this space for more.