Veer Patel of Pashankar Racing lives up to these words to the hilt. A fearless rider from Ahmedabad, Veer is described by his team coach, the Dubai-based Aldrin Samuel, as a ‘prodigy’ who is self-assured and fast.
Veer, who started racing at the age of 14 in 2004, won his first major title when he raced away to victory in the second round of the MRF Supercross Championship that was at held at GMR Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Shamshabad, on Sunday.
“It is the first major title of my career,” said a jubilant Veer after emerging as the best rider in the Foreign Open Group ‘A’ 250CC-500CC. The young rider, who finished second in the first race, came out victor in grand style in the second. “I did not get a good start in the first race. But in the second, I got off to a fine start and I never looked back,” said Veer, who is leading the National Championship by six points by virtue of this result on Sunday.
The young Veer is following in the footsteps of his father Raju Patel, who won many laurels in his prime. “I always liked the way my father rode his bikes. Riding bikes came naturally to me,” said Veer, who disagrees that racing is risky business. “I don’t think so. It is a thrilling sport. You have to enjoy it,” added Veer, who is in his third year of racing.
Veer says that he has always been fascinated by speed. He was ninth in 2004, sixth the next year and in 2008, he finished in second place.
Samuel, an expert in tuning two-wheeler racing vehicles for the last 12 years, feels Veer has the talent to emerge as one of the top riders of the country. “He has tremendous control over the bike and has the confidence to handle pressure. Racing is all about mind game and speed. I am sure he can win the national championship this year. He is a much improved rider,” said Samuel, who, however, feels that Veer should be a little more aggressive on his bike.
Veer credits his win to Samuel. “He finetuned my vehicle superbly and gave me useful tips in the second race. That helped me finish at the top,” said Veer.
In Sunday’s race, Veer made most of the absence of leading riders like Pradeep and Santosh. He had to make some technical adjustments on the slippery track at Shamshabad.
“I made a few mistakes in the first race and by the time I realised what was happening, it was too late. But in the second, I was determined to do well. The most important factor was that I was off to a good start and soon had better control of the track,” said Veer, who touched a speed of 110 to 120 km and showed his exquisite skills on obstacles like table top and triple jumps.
Veer said he was fully ready for the Coimbatore round that will be held next week
Courtesy: N Jagannath Das (newindianexpress.com)
