Mahindra Racing plans for MotoGP debut

Mahindra Racing, set to make its debut at Qatar later this month at the Motorcycle World Championship, had its final pre-season test in the run up to the MotoGP season with riders Danny Webb and Marcel Schr?tter at Jerez, Spain, last week-end. Despite a predominantly wet first day at the test, held on the 4.4-km Jerez circuit, significant mileage was covered in the dry weather of the last two days (March 5 and 6), a release from Mahindra Racing said on Monday.

Faster of Mahindra's two riders over the three-day test was 19-year-old Briton Webb. "We've definitely taken a step forwards. On Friday we didn't get much running because of the weather, and on Saturday we suffered from a few electrical gremlins, but I'm satisfied that there's more speed to come from the bike, and I've a fair idea where that speed can be found," Webb said.

Schr?tter had an early fall on the first day which hindered his progress at the test. "My fall was not too bad but I was not able to push as hard as I would otherwise. I tried to concentrate on developing the set-up of the bike and developing my confidence with it and everything is pointing in the right direction to continue improving," he said. The team ran through a programme to evaluate new components and team manager Nicola Casadei was impressed with the results.

"Jerez is a good testing ground as it's a punishing circuit and our previous knowledge here gives good basis for evaluation. We tested a new carburettor on Danny's bike and initial impressions are good, so we will now analyse the data to see if we will have it on both bikes for Qatar," Casadei said. "We could do with more time to test, but we will just keep improving through the season," he added. The team's bikes will now be freighted direct from Jerez to Qatar where Mahindra will make their race debut at the Losail International Circuit in the first round of the 125cc World Championship.

Long term goal to care for Indian riders: Mahindra

Last year, when Mahindra announced its entry into two-wheeler racing and that too at the big league (FIM MotoGP 125cc World Championship), it was greeted with more skepticism than excitement by many motorsport enthusiasts in the country.

But last weekend, when German rider Marcel Schrotter won the first championship points for the Indian team at the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez, the management and the riders had reasons to celebrate. The 13th-place finish and three points not just marked the entry of Mahindra Racing into the points table, but it was also proof that the team was not just making the numbers in MotoGP, but fighting for some serious silverware.

Anand Mahindra, vice chairman and MD of Mahindra Group, believes the team has a long way to go to reach its full potential. And apart from "establishing themselves as a force in the circuit and further enhancing the reputation of the country in the sport," Mahindra's long-term goal is to start a programme through which Indian riders can be nurtured for the big league.

"That is indeed our long term goal," says Mahindra. "But that is for later. My belief is that we can't nurture riders if we don't know the game ourselves.

"We want to establish ourselves as one of the strongest teams in the circuit and then we will slowly bring up Indian riders. Of course, slowly we will graduate to Moto2 (250cc). That's the next logical step," he adds.

"We are just two races old and it's great that we already made a mark by scoring our first points. But there is a lot more to do in this season itself," says Mahindra.

"Our riders, Danny Webb (of England) and Marcel, are very experienced in the circuit. Last Sunday's race was proof enough of their quality. As a manufacturer, we are glad that we were able to provide the riders the best hardware possible. That was my primary concern," he added.

The Mahindra bikes were indeed competitive in wet conditions at Jerez on Sunday with Webb setting sights on a top-10 finish before he crashed out. Schrotter, the junior rider in the team, took over though. Starting 23rd on the Grid, the 18-year-old German made his way through the field to finish 13th.

Nico Terol wins at Jerez and scores Mahindra Racing’s first ever points!

On a wet race day at Jerez, Spain, Nico Terol of Aprilia won the 2011 Spanish 125cc Grand Prix which his team mate Hector Faubel locked in a close battle for the race lead for a large part of the race. Faubel took the race lead on lap seven but Terol quickly snatched it back on the 11th lap and from then on led the race with Faubel fighting for track position all the way and briefly passing him once again before Terol retook the race lead. Faubel had a fall on the last lap leading to him finishing down in 11th place.

Super exciting race that, like 125s have always been. While Danny Webb riding of the Indian MotoGP team, Team Mahindra Racing crashed out of the race, his team mate Marcel Schrotter managed to bring his GP125 bike in 13th place, thus giving Team Mahindra Racing their first points of the 2011 125cc MotoGP Championship. A proud moment for India, really. Meanwhile, The WTR-TenTen Racing team from India could make it to the race as the talented Indian rider Sarath Kumar just missed the 107% qualifying time by a whisker.

Asked about the location of the new plant, he said: "It should be a place where it has an advantage for exports over and above catering to the Indian market."
Suzuki, however, did not comment on investments and the size of the proposed plant. He said the long term plan for India Yamaha is to manufacture mass market products at the third plant while the upper segment and premium bikes are rolled out from the Surajpur plant.

2011 Mahindra Mojo 300 Motorcycle to be priced around 1.8 Lakh!

The 2011 Mahindra Mojo 300 sports motorcycle which was originally scheduled to hit Indian roads in the first quarter of 2011 will now be launched only in the Indian festive season of Dusshera-Diwali. Murmurs doing the rounds previously suggested that the Mahindra Mojo 300 was being reworked in critical areas to boost reliability and this could result in the price of the 292cc sports tourer to be bumped up.

But all that seems to be history now as the 2011 Honda CBR250R has just been launched at an ultra competitive INR 1.43 Lakhs. As though realizing that the Mojo 300 needs a killer price tag to stay competitive, a Mahindra official, insisting on anonymity told Team ICB that plans were afoot at Mahindra Two Wheelers to make sure that the original price point of INR 1.8 Lakhs for the Mahindra Mojo 300 would be retained.

Also, as scheduled Mahindra is all set to launch the 292cc, 26 Bhp, 24 Nm, DOHC, Liquid Cooled, Single Cylinder engined Mojo during the Indian festive season. So, heightened competition seems to have hustled the honchos at Mahindra Two Wheelers into rapid action to make sure that the Mojo 300 has a fighting chance at the hustings. And this, is a wonderful thing as you, the Indian biker stand to benefit the most as things get more competitive in the 250cc+ premium sports motorcycle segment.

Mahindra makes promising appearnce in Qatar

Mahindra Racing – part of the US $11.1 billion Mahindra Group – made its race debut with a fight for a point under the floodlights of the Losail International Circuit for the opening round of the 125cc class of the MotoGP World Championship.

British rider Danny Webb made strong progress from 22nd on the grid to be fighting for 15th and the point which it brings for much of the race, just losing the place with just two laps left in the 18 lap race, meaning that Mahindra finished shy of a debut point by just 0.394 seconds.

Marcel Schrötter on the second Mahindra GP125 finished in 21st after also being involved in race long battles for position.

It was a solid first race weekend for the Indian-owned Engines Engineering designed and built Mahindra GP125. After promising practice sessions, all held at night at the 5.38km circuit, the riders were a mere 0.006 seconds apart in qualifying, lining up in 22nd and 23rd on the 30-bike grid.

Marcel Schrötter on the second Mahindra GP125 finished in 21st after being involved in race long battles for position.

Team Principal Mufaddal Choonia was proud of the team’s debut: “This was an emotional day for us as for the first time the Mahindra GP125 has raced in a World Championship race. By fighting for a point on our debut we think the paddock has seen the promise of Mahindra Racing.

“We have been moved by how much support we have received outside of the paddock too, especially with our Facebook page - www.facebook.com/MahindraRacing - which gained over 5000 fans during the course of the race meeting.

“Both our riders and the team showed tremendous promise and potential for the season ahead and we hope to be battling our more experienced rivals for points in the very near future.”

Leading Mahindra’s charge, 19-year-old Danny Webb from Tunbridge Wells, England, was happy with his race performance: “To finish in 16th after starting in 23rd was a tough battle and I was fighting all the way. I got a good start and was making up places in the early laps, but no-one was having any dramas up ahead so it was difficult to get any further forwards.

“It was frustrating to lose out on 15th and a point, but I’m pretty sure we’ll have at least one in the next race.”

Eighteen year-old Marcel Schrötter from Pflugdorf, Germany, finished in 21st: “I tried my best today, and I know that myself and the team are improving step by step so I’m positive for the future.”

CEO of Engines Engineering, Alberto Strazzari gave his perspective on Mahindra Racing’s debut. “This was a fantastic weekend from an engineering perspective. The bikes have performed very well. The speed of the GP125 was good which means the power from our engine can take the fight to our competition. It was frustrating not to get a point today, but we are hoping for better in the next race.”

Mahindra Racing will next be in action at the Spanish GP at Jerez on April 1-3.

Mahindra Racing Makes Promising appearance In Qatar

Mahindra Racing - part of the US $11.1 billion Mahindra Group - made its race debut with a fight for a point under the floodlights of the Losail International Circuit for the opening round of the 125cc class of the MotoGP World Championship.

British rider Danny Webb made strong progress from 22nd on the grid to be fighting for 15th and the point which it brings for much of the race, just losing the place with just two laps left in the 18 lap race, meaning that Mahindra finished shy of a debut point by just 0.394 seconds.

Marcel Schrötter on the second Mahindra GP125 finished in 21st after also being involved in race long battles for position.

It was a solid first race weekend for the Indian-owned Engines Engineering designed and built Mahindra GP125. After promising practice sessions, all held at night at the 5.38km circuit, the riders were a mere 0.006seconds apart in qualifying, lining up in 22nd and 23rd on the 30 bike grid.

Team Principal Mufaddal Choonia was proud of the team’s debut: "This was an emotional day for us as for the first time the Mahindra GP125 has raced in a World Championship race. By fighting for a point on our debut we think the paddock has seen the promise of Mahindra Racing.

"We have been moved by how much support we have received outside of the paddock too, especially with our Facebook page - www.facebook.com/MahindraRacing - which gained over 5000 fans during the course of the race meeting.

"Both our riders and the team showed tremendous promise and potential for the season ahead and we hope to be battling our more experienced rivals for points in the very near future."

Leading Mahindra’s charge, 19-year-old Danny Webb from Tunbridge Wells, England, was happy with his race performance: "To finish in 16th after starting in 23rd was a tough battle and I was fighting all the way. I got a good start and was making up places in the early laps, but no-one was having any dramas up ahead so it was difficult to get any further forwards.

"It was frustrating to lose out on 15th and a point, but I’m pretty sure we’ll have at least one in the next race."

Eighteen year-old Marcel Schrötter from Pflugdorf, Germany, finished in 21st: "I tried my best today, and I know that myself and the team are improving step by step so I’m positive for the future."

CEO of Engines Engineering, Alberto Strazzari gave his perspective on Mahindra Racing’s debut. "This was a fantastic weekend from an engineering perspective. The bikes have performed very well. The speed of the GP125 was good which means the power from our engine can take the fight to our competition. It was frustrating not to get a point today, but we are hoping for better in the next race."

Mahindra Racing will next be in action at the Spanish GP at Jerez on April 1-3.

Qatar appears for Mahindra Racing

Mahindra Racing – part of the US $7.1 billion Mahindra Group – will make its race debut on March 17-20 at the 5.38km Losail International Circuit for round 1 of the 125cc MotoGP World Championship.
Mahindra is the first Indian motorcycle manufacturer to enter a team into the prestigious MotoGP World Championship with its GP125 racing motorcycle, entered in the 125cc class.

Produced by Mahindra’s Italy-based Engines Engineering division, the GP125 will be ridden by riders Danny Webb from Britain and Marcel Schrötter from Germany.
Qatar is likely to present a tough debut venue. Its desert location means sand is often blown on to the track, making finding a good bike set-up difficult on the constantly changing surface. It is also the season’s only night race, held under floodlights, giving added difficulties to the riders.Speaking about Mahindra’s participation in the MotoGP Championships, Mr. Anand Mahindra, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Mahindra Group, said, “It is a matter of great pride for us to represent India in the world’s most prestigious two-wheeled race series. Mahindra Motorcycles will compete with the best in class, and it will be an ideal opportunity for us to showcase our strengths in the engineering and IT domains. MotoGP is the ultimate test for the finest talents in motorcycle racing and an immensely popular championship with a cult following. Our participation will also help us leverage the power of global branding for the Mahindra Group.”

Team Principal Mufaddal Choonia heralds the team’s debut. “I am very proud to be part of the first Indian team in MotoGP racing. This is a big challenge for everyone involved and we are all working very hard to ensure we are competitive.
“Mahindra are a US $7.1 billion multinational group, and we build three things: products, services and possibilities. We are new to the two-wheeler market and our entry in MotoGP shows our ambition.“Ultimately, we are not in the sport to make up the numbers, we are here to win. That might sound ambitious, but that’s the way we are. I know that this is a big task, but we are all focused and we are in the battle for the long term” said Choonia.Leading Mahindra’s charge is 19-year-old Danny Webb from Tunbridge Wells, England, who starts his fifth season in the category.
“I think my experience and potential attracted the team to me, and the strength and back-up of the Mahindra Group combined with the expertise at Engines Engineering drew me to them. Qatar’s our first race together and we’re focused on improving steadily through the season.

“I like the Qatar track but racing at night is an unusual challenge. It’s a bit like being in a Playstation game, and you have to learn to ignore the shadows from the riders behind you as the floodlights makes it look like they are riding into you all the time. I’m confident we’ll do a good job.”Eighteen year-old Marcel Schrötter from Pflugdorf, Germany, is entering his second season in the category. “I’m looking forward to Qatar and it will be great to be racing again. I am still learning the GP125, and the bike is still being developed so it is difficult to know how well we will go in our first race but I will be pushing hard all the way.”

Watching over activities during the four days action in Qatar is team manager, Nicola Casadei. “It is fair to say that testing was not as straight-forward as we hoped as we were interrupted by a lot of rain, but we have a good understanding of the bike. We know our strengths and we know where we have to improve. Qatar will give us a good gauge of where we sit relative to our rivals.”

The Grand Prix of Qatar opens with practice sessions for the 125cc class on March 17-18, followed by qualifying on March 19 and the race on March 20.