The Atomic Racing school is a relatively new outfit that has been teaching riders for about a year now. Founded by racer Siddhanth Koundinya, the school teaches in two levels – the Engage platform is for anyone looking to improve their skills while the Elevate programme is catered around racers – current and aspiring. This being my first time riding with Atomic, I started off with the Engage session.
The two-day training programme started off, quite literally, with a walk – a great way to begin things as it gives you a fresh perspective of the race track. A trick commonly used by racers at the start of a competitive weekend, walking the track allows you to fully appreciate its width and pick up more subtle details in the surface and surroundings that could otherwise be missed at higher speeds. It took a good 40min to walk the relatively short 2.1km of the Kari Motor Speedway, but it was time well-spent.
The next two days were spent absorbing theory sessions in the classroom and heading out on track after each lesson to practise. Our calm and insightful instructor, Avinash Premnath, was constantly working with the students to figure out what was causing them trouble and how to fix it. Atomic is clear about the fact that they are a race team and a racing academy – they say as much on their website. This filters down to the style of instruction and much of the education is centred around improving the student’s skills on the racetrack. This not a basic riding school and you are expected to arrive already equipped with the basic knowledge of how to ride a motorcycle. The school will then teach you how to go faster – and more importantly, how to do so safely.
Atomic Motorsports is quite multi-faceted. The team competes in the national racing championship and also provides open-track riding sessions that run on the school dates. A seat in the school costs Rs 17,999, or for Rs 9,999 you can book a slot in the open-track session that runs while the students are in the classroom. Participants are expected to bring their own protective gear and motorcycle, but the team will rent out a bike to those who need one.
Atomic organises school sessions quite frequently at all three racetracks in India and you can keep an eye on their website or social media pages to see when the next session will be.
