The mood at the Manav Rachna Innovation and Incubation Centre (MRIIC) is upbeat these days! Team Kalacar is all set to participate at the National Karting Racing Championship (NKRC) being held in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, at the Mohate’s Racing Circuit from 29th September-October 2, 2016. The excitement among Team Kalacar’s members seems palpable as they gear up for a national level event which they hope will take them places!

The National Karting Racing Championship (NKRC) will have around 170 Teams participating from all over the country. With a prize money of Rs 10 lakhs across all categories, Team Kalacar—which had earlier bagged IGC Go Kart Championship’s ‘Best Team at Social Media’ trophy and cash prize–is raring to go at the Championship, determined to continue their winning streak and bring laurels for the Institution.

Team Kalacar’s Creative Edge

Commenting on the car’s conception and creative edge, Team Captain Shivam Sharma, 3rd Year 5th semester Mechanical Engineering Student of MRIU, explains, “Putting together this petrol-driven go-kart vehicle was as exciting as it was challenging. The car weighs 100 kgs, and all its manufacturing details, every nitty gritty, has been undertaken by our 20 member Team Kalacar. The vehicle is our labour of love with a top speed of 80km/hr and a 135cc Bajaj Discover engine. In 6 seconds flat, the vehicle can reach from 0-40km/hour, which is one of its major USPs.”

The car was designed by some of the Team’s most innovative minds—Rishabh Khanna, Anshul Narula, Siddharth Yadav and Abhishek Ratra–all of whom put on their thinking caps and designed this ingenuous creation while working round the clock at MRIIC. Others in the Team, namely Rohan, Moin, Sahil, Raman, Aman, Devapratim, Kartik, Gurpreet, Priyajit, Puneet, Tanmay, Tanzeel, Inderjit, Amul and Rahul were no less enterprising as they rallied round to meet the challenges headon, even when it came to handling last-minute technical glitches. The Team also feels greatly indebted to Faculty Advisor Mr Sunil Kumar from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, MRIU, and Mentor Mr Abhishek Chauhan, Deputy Director, MRIIC, without whose help their initiative would have been a mere flash in the pan.

Speaking about the Championship, Team member Rishabh Khanna. informs that the Team is optimistic about qualifying in the acceleration test, endurance test and auto cross test (where the participants will have to form a figure of 8). The Team worked especially hard on the car’s weight reduction plan since it would give them additional points at the Championship. Conforming to safety standards was another daunting task as the Team fitted the vehicle with a restrictor in its acceleration pedal. The car also has a positive steering lock and a brake over travel switch to control the motion of the brake pedal.

While flagging off Team Kalacar’s car at the Manav Rachna campus, Dr M.K. Soni, Executive Director & Dean, Faculty of Engineering & Technology, Manav Rachna International University said, “The energy and enthusiasm in developing a racing car to compete at the national level by Manav Rachna’s Engineering students is highly commendable. It speaks of their indomitable spirit and their intense passion to excel at the highest levels. We wish Team Kalacar all the luck in this forthcoming Championship and know their zealous commitment will pay rich dividends.