About Sameer Contractor
Sameer ContractorConnect with this authorWith an unquenchable thirst for everything automotive, Sameer has always been the go to auto guy that his friends needed. So, it isnt exactly surprising that he chooses to do what he does. A Batman fanatic, Sameers wants to go roof-scaping on the Tumbler, while the Bat motorcycle is certainly on the cards and he plans to build one himself. An avid foodie, he has a road trip in order that will be taking him across the world in search for the best roads and the best cuisines. While his stress buster involves taking aimless motorcycle rides, do not get offended by his sarcasm.
Articles of Sameer Contractor
Kia Partners With Amazon To Sell Charging Stations For Electric Vehicles In The US
Kia Motors America (KMA) in partnership with Amazon Home Services has announced a new program for its plug-in vehicle customers. The program will see Amazon sell and install electric vehicle charging stations at the customers house or office. The tie-up makes Kia, the second automaker after Tesla in America to offer the service online with the electric charging network. The manufacturer says the process of purchasing and installing a charging station will be as easy as buying other products on Amazon.
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Most Affordable Bugatti Launched; Priced At Rs. 25 Lakh
If you thought this was a click-bait headline, we wouldn't blame you for it. Bugatti and cheap or affordable rarely go together in a sentence and only even then, the figures resemble a small country's GDP. This time, however, we actually mean it. Bugatti, the creator of hypercars like the Veyron and the Chiron, has launched its most affordable offering. This time though, it's in the toy sector with its new Bugatti Baby II ride-on electric vehicle. Inspired from the Bugatti Baby I, the toy car can be driven by both kids and adults, and is priced at $34,000 (around Rs. 25 lakh).
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F1: Bottas Beats Hamilton For A Brilliant Win In 2019 Australian GP; Podium For Verstappen
Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas dominated the 2019 Australian Grand Prix as the lights green for the Formula 1 season. Bottas edged past teammate Lewis Hamilton to secure his first win of the season and his first since the 2017 Abu Dhabi GP, with the Briton coming in second by a distant 20.886s over the race leader. Taking the final spot on the podium was Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen with the new Honda engine, marking the manufacturer's first podium finish since the 2008 British GP. In a surprise twist Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel finished fourth at the end of the race with newbie Charles Leclerc coming in fifth.
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MotoE: All 18 Moto E Electric Race Bikes Destroyed In Fire At Jerez
The new all-electric MotoE electric motorcycle championship had all of its racing bikes destroyed in an overnight fire at Jerez on March 14, 2019. The 18 Energica Ego Corsa electric bikes were at the MotoE paddock and were at the track for a three-day pre-testing. All the bikes had taken to the track on the opening day on Wednesday, while the incident reportedly happened at 12.15 am (local time) in the early hours of Thursday. According to reports, the fire completely engulfed the paddock structure destroying all the bikes, and has put the series in jeopardy for 2019.
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F1: Bonus Points Will Be Awarded For Fastest Lap In Upcoming Season
Formula 1 drivers do set the fastest lap times during every race but there hasn't been a reward or incentive of sorts for achieving the feat. That will change though with the upcoming F1 season which starts this weekend. F1 bosses and the FIA were in discussions to award additional points to drivers and teams for setting the fastest lap time during the race. The Strategy Group gave it the green light, followed by the Sporting Working Group. The F1 Commission and ratification by the World Motor Sport Council also followed suit. The new award rule will be enforced from the season-opening Australian Grand Prix to be held on Sunday.
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Volkswagen Motorsport India Reveals Rear-Engined, Rear Wheel Drive Polo Winter Project Car
Celebrating its tenth anniversary in the country, Volkswagen Motorsport India, part of the Volkswagen India Group, has revealed a special Winter Project Car. Using the Volkswagen Polo body shell, the Polo RX Winter Project car has been developed completely by the factory team's engineers and technicians in India and is a one-off build that can be bought by anyone for track day purposes. The Polo RX is a rear-engined, rear-wheel drive car that is powered by the same engine that is also used on the Volkswagen Ameo Cup car. The team used its "winter" break to come up with the Polo RX track car, which is how it earns the name.
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Aishwarya Pissay And Ashish Raorane Complete 2019 FIM Bajas World Cup
Indian riders Aishwarya Pissay and Ashish Raorane completed the 2019 FIM Bajas World Cup rally in Dubai over the weekend. Both riders entered as privateers in the international rally, although Pissay was backed by TVS Racing. The two-day rally saw the riders compete on the sand dunes of Dubai with Ashish finishing 22nd, while Aishwarya finished 26th in the overall standings.
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MotoGP: Dovizioso Beats Marquez By 0.023s To Win 2019 Qatar GP
In a deja vu of sorts, the 2019 MotoGP season started with the same visual as 2018 with Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso winning the season opener at Qatar. The Ducati rider won the Qatar GP by a hair's length over reigning world champion Marc Marquez of Honda finishing second 0.023s behind. The Qatar GP was at its dramatic best with LCR Honda's Cal Crutchlow taking the last spot on the podium, reiterating the MotoGP remains as unpredictable as ever for the rest of the season.
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MotoGP: Vinales To Start 2019 Qatar GP On Pole; Marquez Starts 3rd
Yamaha's Maverick Vinales will be kick-starting the first race of the 2019 MotoGP season on pole. The Qatar GP qualifying saw the rider off to a brilliant start setting the fastest time on Saturday, as teammate Valentino Rossi dropped out in Q1. The rider set a lap time of 1m53.546s at the Losail circuit, 0.198s ahead of Andrea Dovuzioso if Ducati who starts second followed by reigning world champion Marc Marquez of Honda in third place, who was just a thousandth of a second slower than the Ducati rider.
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Formula E: Sam Bird Wins Hong Kong ePrix Amidst Crash Investigation, Double DNF For Mahindra
The 2019 Hong Kong ePrix ended amidst much drama as Virgin Racing's Sam Bird secured first place at the end of the race. Bird, however, is being investigated by the stewards for a late contact with long time leader Andre Lotterer of DS Techeetah. The incident pushed Lotterer down to 14th, while Edoardo Mortara of Team Venturi finished second. The last place on the podium was taken by team Abt's Lucas di Grassi. It was a disappointing day for the only Indian team Mahindra Racing as both its drivers saw an early retirement from the the fifth race of the 2018-19 Formula E championship.
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MotoGP: Aprilia Racing Teams Up With Gulf Oil For 2019 Season
Global lubricant giant Gulf Oil has announced its association with Aprilia Racing works team for the 2019 MotoGP season. This is the lubricant company's first association with MotoGP, having been associated with World Superbike Championship (WSBK) over the previous seasons. The association with Aprilia has been described as a multi-year partnership, which Gulf says strengthens the brand's diverse product portfolio. The 19 race MotoGP season all set to commence next month in Qatar on March 10, and will culminate in Valencia on November 20, 2019.
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Aishwarya Pissay To Compete In FIM Bajas World Cup 2019 In Dubai
TVS Racing talent Aishwarya Pissay will be competing in the FIM Bajas World Cup 2019 that will be held between March 7 and 9, in Dubai. This is the Sherco TVS rider's second international rally having made her debut in the Baja Aragon rally last year. Aishwarya will undergo a few days of training in the sand dunes of Dubai, leading up to Bajas World Cup. The TVS Racing rider will be participating as a privateer entry, competing on a non-TVS bike at the event. This is because the manufacturer does not have presence in Dubai but will remain her principal sponsor.
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WSBK: Ducati's Bautista Wins By 15 Seconds In World SBK Debut At Phillip Island
Aruba Racing Ducati rider Alvaro Bautista made a dream debut in the World Superbike (WSBK) Championship in the opening race of the 2019 season. The Spaniard won the first race of the season at Phillip Island, Australia by a margin of 14.983s, beating reigning WSBK champion Jonathan Rea of Kawasaki Racing to the top spot. Bautista was astride the Ducati Panigale V4 R and maintained his momentum right after taking the lead on the opening lap. While the former MotoGP rider had shown impressive pace during the practice sessions, a victory and that too by such a huge margin was certainly unprecedented.
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Exploring The Land Of The Thunder Dragon On TVS Apache Motorcycles
We joined the TVS Apache Owners Group in Bhutan for the manufacturer's first international customer ride as we explored the Land of the Thunder Dragon astride the TVS Apache RR 310 and the TVS Apache RTR 200 4V.
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2019 Honda CBR650R Bookings Open In India At Rs. 15,000
Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) has announced the introduction of its new middleweight capacity motorcycle - CBR650R - in the country. Bookings for the Honda CBR 650R have commenced at a token amount of Rs. 15,000 across the company's Wing World dealerships, while the manufacturer has announced prices will be under Rs. 8 lakh (ex-showroom) for its newest offering. The Honda CBR650R replaces the CBR 650F globally and in India too, and is the more track focused derivative based on the 650 platform. The bike was first revealed at the EICMA Motorcycle Show in Milan last year.
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Benelli To Add 40 New Dealerships In India By The End Of 2019
Benelli India is back and this time its new partners want to capture the premium end of the motorcycle market with full force. The Italian brand partnered with Adishwar Auto Ride India, its former dealer turned partner, which is now at the helm of operations in the country. Speaking on the sidelines of the TRK 502 launch recently, Benelli India revealed its expansion plans for India that will see the manufacturer bring five new bikes this year, while it plans to expand its dealer presence to over 40 outlets by the end of 2019. Having revived operations in August last year, the company currently has 12 dealerships operational across the country.
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2019 Volkswagen Ameo Cup Registers Highest Number Of Entries For Drivers' Selection
The Volkswagen Ameo Cup recently completed its drivers' selection programme for the 2019 season, and registered the highest-ever turnout for the championship. The series saw more than 1600 registration and over 125 appearances for the programme, of which 15 drivers were selected to compete in this year's championship. The shortlisted drivers will be tutored and trained by Volkswagen Motorsport India to compete in the one-make championship set to begin in June this year. The drivers' selection round was held on February 9-10, 2019 at the Indi Karting Track in Kharadi, Pune.
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Benelli To Bring 5 New Motorcycles To India In 2019; To Start With Leoncino
Italian bike maker Benelli revived its operations in India late last year with its new partner Adishwar Auto Ride India, and the manufacturer finally introduced its first new offering - the TRK 502 - as part of its second innings in the country. However, the Benelli TRK 502 is just one of the many products for the year and the company has confirmed the launch of five new products in 2019. Post the TRK, Benelli will be bringing in the Leoncino 500 to India next, which will hit the market by April or May this year. Expanding its presence in the 500 cc segment, the Italian brand's next launches will likely be the Imperiale 400 and the 502S motorcycles.
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Benelli TRK 502 & TRK 502 X Adventure Bikes Launched In India; Priced From Rs. 5 Lakh
The Benelli TRK 502 is the newest adventure tourer on sale in India comapny's first offering in the ADV segment. This is the second innings of Benelli Bikes in India after the company collaborated with Mahavir Group. The Benelli TRK 502 is the first launch after the new collaboration.
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Formula E: Di Grassi Snatches Victory From Wehrlein In A Last-Second Pass In Mexico e-Prix
Lucas di Grassi secured an absolutely sensational win in the 2019 Formula E Mexico e-Prix as the Team Abt driver made a last-second pass over Mahindra's Pascal Wehrlein to take cross the chequered flag. It was a true heart stopping moment as the two drivers battled for the top spot with Wehrlein in the lead, who defended his position till the last corner despite his battery levels at one per cent. On the final straight, di Grassi passed Wehrlein yards before the finish line pushing the Mahindra driver in second place.
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