W ith my right foot pressed hard down on the accelerator, the Skoda Octavia RS was charging down the 1.3 km-long back straight of the Buddh International Circuit at over 230 kmph. Then before I knew it, my foot shifted to the brake pedal, pressing equally hard to bleed off the speed before the sharp right at the end of the straight with my hands moving fast to control the steering.

On some other cars, the tyres would have been protesting and I might have ended up in the gravel. But with the RS, which is equipped with active suspension technology and sports tyres, I was confident that I would not only make it through this corner but also enjoy the sweeping triple-apex parabolic turns 10 and 11 .

Truth be told, I’ve driven at the BIC many, many times in all sorts of ca

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