Master Speedster
He lives on the fast lane. For Udipta Kumar Rath, the thrill and exhilaration of life comes from the rush that his bike pumps into his bloodstreams once it hits the tracks.For the 25-year-old racer, who idolises Valentino Rossi, bike is life. Not only is he the only professional racer from the state, he is also completely self-taught. He picked up a a Yamaha RX 100 when he was just nine and fell in love with it. “I started assembling motorbikes to learn the mechanics of the vehicle.
As my father’s job with National Water Development Agency took the family to different districts, I got to ride in different terrains,” says Udipta, who belongs to Bhuban town in Dhenkanal district of Odisha where no racing infrastructure is available.When college brought him to Bhubaneswar in 2007, he got a chance to chase his dream. Udipta and seven others formed Team Motoheadz. “The journey from being a stunt rider to participating in MotoGP—Grand Prix motorcycle racing event, in fact, started here,” says Udipta, who has participated in Suzuki Gixxer Cup 2016 and Pirelli Malaysia Superbike Championship 2017.
The team would perform stunts on Pulsar 180 on the streets of Bhubaneswar, which drew attention and appreciation from PepsiCo. This got them an invitation to participate in Mountain Dew India Jaanbaaz. They performed in 12 cities of Odisha and nine others in India before Udipta was picked up by TVS for racing training. And there was no looking back after that.
“I headed to TVS Racing Training School in Chennai for professional training in 2015. I participated in TVS One Make Championship and emerged second runner-up at the national level. As it was my rookie year, the win was a big push and inspiration for me,” says Udipta, who did engineering in Electricals and Electronics from The Techno School at Patrapada in Bhubaneswar.
But his big moment came when he took part in the Malaysia Superbike Championship at Sepang International Circuit (SIC) in 2017 and managed to complete three rounds finishing 10th on points table. However, an accident in the fourth saw him eliminated. “I was at my best and turned out to be the fastest finisher in three rounds but in the fourth, my bike gave away,” he says. Udipta was thrown six feet into air and woke up in a hospital bed. “I was told I went into coma for 30 minutes,” he says. The accident toughened him and his practice for this year’s Pirelli Malaysia Superbike Championship—it starts on May 11—is on. Udipta wants to cross five rounds with a good score to make it to the Top 3 in Malaysia, which would get him an entry to the Asia Road Race Championship and from there to Superbike World Championship.
Living in Chennai for the past two years, Udipta practices on the tracks of Madras Motor Race Track in Chennai and Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore for more than 8-10 hours daily. “I also undergo physical training and focus on fitness—yoga, meditation, cycling and swimming,” he says. However, the lone ranger from Odisha continues to struggle for funds. He has been able to continue, thanks to the financial support from two groups, but he hopes the Odisha government would come forward to help.
While his parents—Uday and Kshyamabati—have been his biggest support system, he thrived on YouTube videos and racing handbooks to learn the skills. Someday, he dreams to race on the world’s best circuits like Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, and Jerez Circuit in Spain, and hopes his dream will take him to the tracks where his role model Rossi had burnt his tyres.
What’s next?
Udipta, who rides KTM Duke 340 in India and competed on Yamaha R6 in Malaysia championship last year, will now participate in Honda CBR 350 one-make championship. Piyush Ranjan, second runner up national champion in Honda One-make Championship 2016, will be in his team for the tourney. It will be for the first time that a team representing Odisha will participate in the highest class of championship. The title sponsor for national championship racing team is open.