TVS Eurogrip Protorq Extreme Tyres Review: Confidence-inspiring

Many exciting things have happened in my short stint at ZigWheels. But, being invited to attend the TVS Eurogrip – Tread Talks Racing Edition 2022 definitely takes the cake. Checking out TVS Eurogrip’s new tyres and then putting them through their paces at the Madras International Circuit, a fast, flowing racing circuit in Chennai? It was a no-brainer and I seized the opportunity with alacrity that was borderline psychotic. 

Anyway! When we reached the Madras International Circuit, we were greeted by P Madhavan (Executive VP- Sales & Marketing and TVS Srichakra Ltd.), V Sivaramakrishnan (CTO, TVS Srichakra Ltd.), while Silvio Montanari from TVS Srichakra’s Product Design and Development Centre in Milan, Italy was also there and they all gave us insights into what the company has in the pipeline for India. 

All in all, they had four tyres to talk about, of which the Protorq Extremes were the ones that TVS had in store for us that day for thrashing around the track. 

After talking quite a bit about the tyres, it was time for us to put them through their paces. And for that, I had not only the perfect testing ground, but also a great testing weapon in the form of the TVS Apache RTR 200 4V. I suited up, swung my leg over the bike and pulled my helmet visor shut. ‘Here goes everything’ I muttered before setting off on the race track. 

I took it easy for the first couple of laps, going through the corners at speeds that were slow (extremely) and lean angles that were practically non-existent. It was about after the third lap that I decided to start pushing a bit. You don’t get a race-prepped Apache RTR 200 4V to yourself at a race track everyday, do you? 

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 My lean angles gradually increased, corner after corner. The kink after corner three is one of the fastest turns on the track and I found myself tipping the bike over at triple digit speeds. Now this, coming from someone who’s daily driver is the humble Hero Passion X Pro, meant that these speeds were not only borderline scary, but being even slightly leaned was becoming unnerving for me.  

My amateur skills also meant that I made mistakes, lots of them. I went in too hard, braked too much and even had to make last moment direction changes in some corners. And yet, there was a sense of calmness. The tyres maintained their composure at all times and didn’t throw any surprises my way. 

They were more of the caring mother who encouraged me to wander, rather than the edgy friend who dared me to push my limits. I could almost feel them patting my back and whispering in my ears, asking me to make more use of their potential….if I wanted to.

The only things holding me back were my own inhibitions. My amateur skills also meant that I was finding my own limits a lot earlier than I was even probing those of the Protorq Extremes. Unfortunately, by the time I built up enough confidence, it was time for us to give up the track for the real racers. 

My Takeaway

My overall takeaway from the experience was an extremely positive one. Yes the spec sheets say that the tyres have a rounded and extended profile, a great groove configuration, etc, but what I’ll tell you is that the Protorq Extremes are built from pure confidence. What they do, when you try to corner, is deliver all that confidence into you and that means they’re on your side, helping you go faster and that reassurance is all that matters for beginners like me. 

Yet, if you’d want to read about them from someone more experienced, you should check out what our veteran racer Ishan had to say when he raced with them in TVS’ Young Media Racer Programme and also ended up taking home this year’s championship.