Balehonnur Autocross Report!

mclaren1885 · 20th March 2009, 15:15

It had been a long time since I had travelled out of town with friends. So memo called up and said lets go to Balehonnur and we were off. The journey was awesome, thanks to doomsday, memo, memo's friend Avinash and Shabbir all taking turns to show their humorous side.

We reached Balenohonnur, a picturesque small village around 50kms from Chikmangalore. The sight of the autocross track was awesome. Filled with slush, the roaring sounds of two strokes and the roll caged rally cars.

We soon headed off to the Ashram to freshen up, a quick drive from there we reached the venue. Hrishi managed to get us some VIP passes and soon we got to watch some awesome riding and driving skills put to use.

I don't have the bike pics with me now, so shall upload some of the car pics. Rest will come up once I reach Bangalore.

Car classes began from the 800's to the esteem's to the baleno's. Then there was the Indian Open. I think Karan from Race Dynamics won the 800, 1600 and the Indian Open class IIRC. Plenty of seasoned rally/autocross drivers like Lohit Urs, Ranjit Ballal, Rahul Kantraj, GS Joshy, Chetan Shivram, Baban Khan etc took part.

Due to the slusshy conditions most cars had a tough time to negotiate a couple of turns on the well designed 1.5kms track.

mclaren1885 · 20th March 2009, 15:38

Clouds made the autocross really exciting to watch.

Balehonnur Autocross Report!-img_26831.jpg

RAC Esteem driven by Karan I think.

Balehonnur Autocross Report!-img_26531.jpg

GS Joshy's Baleno in action.

Balehonnur Autocross Report!-img_26761.jpg

Balehonnur Autocross Report!-img_26781.jpg

As sideways as I have seen a FWD go.

Balehonnur Autocross Report!-img_26841.jpg

rjstyles69 · 20th March 2009, 15:47

et tu Brutus should have told me man, would have loved to join you chaps. I was pondering on going to Balenhonnur and catch the action but eventually gave up since I never had company.

siddartha · 20th March 2009, 15:50

i came to know of it the previous evening when i went to RAC , hence i couldnt make it .

mclaren1885 · 20th March 2009, 16:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by rjstyles69

et tu Brutus should have told me man, would have loved to join you chaps. I was pondering on going to Balenhonnur and catch the action but eventually gave up since I never had company.

Damn! You could have joined us. There was space in the Innova too. You would have loved to go click click.

mclaren1885 · 20th March 2009, 16:33

Balehonnur Autocross Report!-img_26851.jpg

Team Ideal baleno driven by Samarth, I guess he won 2nd place.

Balehonnur Autocross Report!-img_27061.jpg

RAC baleno that set the fastest time for the day.

Balehonnur Autocross Report!-img_27421.jpg

Hrishi tries his hand at panning.

Balehonnur Autocross Report!-img_27661.jpg

Balehonnur Autocross Report!-img_27681.jpg

siddartha · 20th March 2009, 16:36

the panned pics are damn cool.

doomsday · 20th March 2009, 16:50

Thanks for posting the pics, Rahul. Just a small correction my name is spelt as Rishi without a 'H'.

I understand the cause of the confusion though.

Didn't get enough time behind the lens to experiment, would have tried some more stuff. Seriously viewing these cars coming flat out into a corner sideways from the viewfinder sometimes gets hair raising. Shooting fast mug plugging cars is so much fun.

All in all, we had a great, only a slightly tiring weekend, driving and driven around 700 kms in 28 hrs to and fro including being at the event for the whole day. Well worth it, excluding the hailstorm

marking the culmination the end of the event.

mclaren1885 · 20th March 2009, 17:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by doomsday

Thanks for posting the pics, Rahul. Just a small correction my name is spelt as Rishi without a 'H'.

I understand the cause of the confusion though.

Sorry for the confusion Rishi.

Quote:

Didn't get enough time behind the lens to experiment, would have tried some more stuff.

Yup, same here. Was wondering whether to watch the race with the naked eye and steer away from trouble or try M mode shooting. I guess a tripod was required for getting better pics, most of the panned ones have had shaky hands.

mclaren1885 · 20th March 2009, 19:07

The star of the show for me was surely the brand new Swift D driven by Lohit Urs. Running the HKS Hypermax suspension and RD ECU set to P1 mode it set the 3rd fastest time of the day behind the two balenos. It was just ~3.xx odd seconds slower than the full spec group N rally balenos and Lohit mentioned that it was the first time he was driving this car. If he had more practise he could have easily shaved of 2 secs of his timing.

Here is the car in action, notice it still doesn't even have number plates.

Balehonnur Autocross Report!-img_27711.jpg

The trusted Innova that took us to and fro.

Balehonnur Autocross Report!-img_27961.jpg

doomsday · 20th March 2009, 19:42

Agreed, the Swift was the most non-dramatic of the lot- going about its business without as much a murmur. It was cornering really flat and Lohith well knew how to exploit it- it needs to be driven unlike rally cars. He clocked the third fastest timing in just two laps, I'm sure given a few more laps he would've shaved off considerable time.

Edit: I somehow managed to get the front on this one pin-sharp even inspite of loong shutter speeds.

mclaren1885 · 20th March 2009, 19:52

Rishi, if you have the bike pics can you post them please? I deleted them from my cam as I ran out of space.

20th March 2009, 21:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by mclaren1885

The star of the show for me was surely the brand new Swift D driven by Lohit Urs. Running the HKS Hypermax suspension and RD ECU set to P1 mode it set the 3rd fastest time of the day behind the two balenos. It was just ~3.xx odd seconds slower than the full spec group N rally balenos and Lohit mentioned that it was the first time he was driving this car. If he had more practise he could have easily shaved of 2 secs of his timing.

This is just the ECU and the HKS suspension at work?

Wow! Faster than the esteems? How? Ofcourse the driver matters, but at that level, there is not much difference between drivers is there?
What tyres?

mclaren1885 · 20th March 2009, 21:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by rippergeo

This is just the ECU and the HKS suspension at work?

Wow! Faster than the esteems? How? Ofcourse the driver matters, but at that level, there is not much difference between drivers is there?
What tyres?

Not to sure about the tires, but it surely was not running stock. Yes the car had no other mods apart from the ECU, suspension and tires. And we all know that this engine is best past the 20k km mark.

Venom_rider · 21st March 2009, 01:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by mclaren1885

We reached Balenohonnur, a picturesque small.......

LOL Mclaren... I am aware that you love your Baleno, but Balenohonnur!!!

Nice pics & report, thanks for sharing.

20th March 2009, 15:15	#1
mclaren1885 BANNED Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Bangalore (the city of modded cars) !! Posts: 4,820 Thanked: 45 Times View My Garage Infractions: 0/1 (10)	Balehonnur Autocross Report! It had been a long time since I had travelled out of town with friends. So memo called up and said lets go to Balehonnur and we were off. The journey was awesome, thanks to doomsday, memo, memo's friend Avinash and Shabbir all taking turns to show their humorous side. We reached Balenohonnur, a picturesque small village around 50kms from Chikmangalore. The sight of the autocross track was awesome. Filled with slush, the roaring sounds of two strokes and the roll caged rally cars. We soon headed off to the Ashram to freshen up, a quick drive from there we reached the venue. Hrishi managed to get us some VIP passes and soon we got to watch some awesome riding and driving skills put to use. I don't have the bike pics with me now, so shall upload some of the car pics. Rest will come up once I reach Bangalore. Car classes began from the 800's to the esteem's to the baleno's. Then there was the Indian Open. I think Karan from Race Dynamics won the 800, 1600 and the Indian Open class IIRC. Plenty of seasoned rally/autocross drivers like Lohit Urs, Ranjit Ballal, Rahul Kantraj, GS Joshy, Chetan Shivram, Baban Khan etc took part. Due to the slusshy conditions most cars had a tough time to negotiate a couple of turns on the well designed 1.5kms track.
	() Thanks

20th March 2009, 15:38	#2
mclaren1885 BANNED Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Bangalore (the city of modded cars) !! Posts: 4,820 Thanked: 45 Times View My Garage Infractions: 0/1 (10)	Clouds made the autocross really exciting to watch. RAC Esteem driven by Karan I think. GS Joshy's Baleno in action. As sideways as I have seen a FWD go. Last edited by mclaren1885 : 20th March 2009 at 15:44.
	() Thanks

20th March 2009, 15:47	#3
rjstyles69 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Bengalooru.. Posts: 4,343 Thanked: 842 Times View My Garage	et tu Brutus should have told me man, would have loved to join you chaps. I was pondering on going to Balenhonnur and catch the action but eventually gave up since I never had company.
	() Thanks

20th March 2009, 15:50	#4
siddartha BHPian Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: bangalore Posts: 671 Thanked: 24 Times	i came to know of it the previous evening when i went to RAC , hence i couldnt make it . Last edited by siddartha : 20th March 2009 at 16:05.
	() Thanks

20th March 2009, 16:33	#6
mclaren1885 BANNED Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Bangalore (the city of modded cars) !! Posts: 4,820 Thanked: 45 Times View My Garage Infractions: 0/1 (10)	Team Ideal baleno driven by Samarth, I guess he won 2nd place. RAC baleno that set the fastest time for the day. Hrishi tries his hand at panning.
	() Thanks

20th March 2009, 16:36	#7
siddartha BHPian Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: bangalore Posts: 671 Thanked: 24 Times	the panned pics are damn cool.
	() Thanks

20th March 2009, 16:50	#8
doomsday BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 420 Thanked: 11 Times	Thanks for posting the pics, Rahul. Just a small correction my name is spelt as Rishi without a 'H'. I understand the cause of the confusion though. Didn't get enough time behind the lens to experiment, would have tried some more stuff. Seriously viewing these cars coming flat out into a corner sideways from the viewfinder sometimes gets hair raising. Shooting fast mug plugging cars is so much fun. All in all, we had a great, only a slightly tiring weekend, driving and driven around 700 kms in 28 hrs to and fro including being at the event for the whole day. Well worth it, excluding the hailstorm marking the culmination the end of the event.
	() Thanks

20th March 2009, 19:07	#10
mclaren1885 BANNED Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Bangalore (the city of modded cars) !! Posts: 4,820 Thanked: 45 Times View My Garage Infractions: 0/1 (10)	The star of the show for me was surely the brand new Swift D driven by Lohit Urs. Running the HKS Hypermax suspension and RD ECU set to P1 mode it set the 3rd fastest time of the day behind the two balenos. It was just ~3.xx odd seconds slower than the full spec group N rally balenos and Lohit mentioned that it was the first time he was driving this car. If he had more practise he could have easily shaved of 2 secs of his timing. Here is the car in action, notice it still doesn't even have number plates. The trusted Innova that took us to and fro.
	() Thanks

20th March 2009, 19:42	#11
doomsday BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 420 Thanked: 11 Times	Agreed, the Swift was the most non-dramatic of the lot- going about its business without as much a murmur. It was cornering really flat and Lohith well knew how to exploit it- it needs to be driven unlike rally cars. He clocked the third fastest timing in just two laps, I'm sure given a few more laps he would've shaved off considerable time. Edit: I somehow managed to get the front on this one pin-sharp even inspite of loong shutter speeds. Last edited by doomsday : 20th March 2009 at 19:44.
	() Thanks

20th March 2009, 19:52	#12
mclaren1885 BANNED Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Bangalore (the city of modded cars) !! Posts: 4,820 Thanked: 45 Times View My Garage Infractions: 0/1 (10)	Rishi, if you have the bike pics can you post them please? I deleted them from my cam as I ran out of space.
	() Thanks