BHPian 2000rpm recently shared this with other enthusiasts: I could be a part of the event organized by Skoda. What should I say. Fantastic car, Amazing venue, well-managed event and awesome company! Time – 03:30 am Emotion – Sleepy, tired (Hotel Decent, decent to rahega na??) What happened – Check-in to a hotel nearby, spotted fellow BHPian Dr. Gokul on the hotel register (I flew directly from Mumbai post work) Time – 10:00 am Emotion – Fresh, Excited (Chalo, aaj kuch toofani karte hai) What Happened – Good sleep, Nice tea and catch-up with a fellow BHPian Dr. Gokul Time – 11:00 am Emotion – Calm (Jaldi jaake aaram se photos khenchenge) What Happened – Uber guy who was dropping us to the venue, figured that we are going for something special. He was super happy to have gotten entry to the BIC. He was more than happy to take us to the right gate after having re-directed multiple times. We reached the venue and were amongst the first. There was a racing simulator which I tried. The simulator was configured for Skoda Vision Gran Turismo Concept! The way I drove on the simulator was horrible (Was asking myself if I deserve to drive on the tracks!!!) Time – 12:30 Emotion – Super glad (mujhse bhi zyada pagal log hai gaadiyon ke mamle mein!) What happened – As more BHPians poured in, we started meeting fellow BHPians and was an absolute pleasure meeting everyone. The event was very well planned and drives for owners were happening. We were absorbing our first visit to the BIC from the pits. Checking out the cars on display and on the track. Time – 14:00 Emotion – Excited (mujhe to Green wali gaadi chalani hai!! Official Name – Mamba Green) What happened – We had lunch and Aditya started the briefing. I expected a long one but, it was short, to the point and off we went with our teams. Time – 15:30 Emotion – Super Excited (Job chodke racer ban jaau??) What happened – We were taken to a smaller track (more like a large parking lot) where we did the Slalom and Moose Test. The demo done by the instructor, kinda showed me my place in the racing world!! I remembered the scene where Matt Damon takes Mr. Ford for the ride in Ford vs Ferrari (only I had imagined myself to be Shelby, but I was Mr. Ford here!!) Time – 16:00 Emotion – Humbled (Mujhe Racer nahi banna bhai, maaf karo!!) What happened – We moved from the Slalom track to the main track and were offered a familiarization ride in either the Kushaq or the Slavia. I chose the Slavia ofcourse! The Slavia actually did quite well, I could clock 180 kmph on the long straight and the car handled pretty well also!! While I was waiting for my turn in the Octavia, the official photographers were doing a great job at clicking amazing pictures for Skoda as well as on our phone cameras. Some of them are uploaded here Time – 16:30 Emotion – Serious, Responsible (This shit is serious and I need to focus) What happened – When I got into the…….Octavia (I got the black, not the green 🙁 ). The car felt very premium, the feel is low slung and reminded of my Civic. I adjusted the car as much as possible to my height. In fact I was adjusting the car even out of the pits until we hit the race track!! I was dead focused at this point. My first lap, my muscle memory from the Slavia betrayed me and this car took me by surprise. This was fast, raspy and a wild beast on a leash (unlike the Slavia which was like riding a horse). The car was way better than my expectations and I managed about 211 kmph on the long straight, compared to 180 on the Slavia. My 2nd lap time was sub 3 minutes based on the video I have captured. Is it good or bad, I have no idea, but have a benchmark number now. Time – 5:00 Emotion – Happy, relieved, what next!? What happened – Bid good bye to fellow BHPians and the organizing team, one of them dropped me to the venue gate where my Uber was stuck. On my way out, I saw a gathering of locals seeing what are we upto on the Slalom, thinking were were crazy people to put such amazing cars through this torture. During my cab ride, was reflecting on the journey of the day. Felt really lucky about the whole experience. Below are some thoughts About Skoda – They have given us some great cars. I cant think of one boring car by Skoda in India!! The cars we experienced were:Kylaq – The car that surprised me the most was the Kylaq, its a pocket rocket. In fact, the car did maneuvers far beyond I would have imagined!!Kodiaq – The most luxurious of all, easy to recommend / try for anyone looking at a premium SUVSlavia – Surprised me with the Performance to Price Ratio!Octavia – The Mamba Green VRS is the closest you would every get to a car from NFS!!Overall – Experience of a lifetime, would rate this higher than the Coldplay concert I attended earlier in the year! Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.
