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Bhubaneswar, Sept 21: A career in motorcycle racing is at its nascent stage in India and in a state like Orissa, it is but hard to find enough support and encouragement for a young lad to pursue a career in this sport. However, for Udipta Kumar Rath, who has been representing the state at the National Motorcylcle Racing Championship (NMRC) for quite some time, these setbacks were never a matter of much concern.
After managing to get away with a podium finish by securing third position at TVS One Make Championship in 2015, Udipta is all geared up to better his standing in this year’s Suzuki Gixxer Cup.
The national motorcycle championship is being organised by Federation of Motorsports Club of India (FMCI), which was set up in 1971 with an objective to standardize rules and regulations for motorsporting events in India.
“Currently, my overall standing is 10th on the points table after three rounds. There will be two more rounds that will have a total of four races. So, it’s still possible for me to do a podium finish even though my aim is to be the champion,” Udipta told over a telephonic conversation at Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore.
Udipta was recently promoted to the expert category for the championships held by FMCI after his recent success. He said that his performance worsened at the round two of the championships where he finished in 10th, 12th and 13th in the three races due to his injury.
In one of the races at the round three, the youth from Orissa was the second fastest finisher. He finished eighth in the points table after round three.
Talking about the 2017 session, he said he was ready to be related with an independent team from Orissa a NMRC. “I am expecting that some organisation or individual entrepreneurs take their interest in motorsports, so that we can really claim the national championship as a state.”
The fourth round of the championship is going to be held at Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida, which has a track length of a little more than 5 km. The final round of the session is scheduled to take place at Madras Motor Race Track in Chennai in December.