Article Approved

Very well thought out article. I agree with most of it. Good to bring out this aspect. I have been thinking similarly on these lines for a while...

This is exactly what we need. As an initiative why don't xbhp conduct a racing event ,and give it good coverage..something on the grounds of the castrol power 1 challenge. I know there are a lot of limitations for this as we only have a couple of tracks and transporting the bikes from up north is a pain..but c'mon we can work out something like this..give it more coverage and make it an annual event..that will bring in the fresh talent.

What we need is the private companies to get into the sport, hats off to jk tyres, as they are the only ones organising a national chmpnship now. why don't all the big boys (Mobil, Pertronas, Castrol, etc etc..) sponsor our indian boys too. imagine a sbk, racing around the chennai circut with infosys or wipro .on the side fairing instead of Alice or alpinestars..

it's possible ,and as a initial step i beleive xbhp is entitled to do something about it..

The South guys participate a lot, but we from North India can't participate as much.

See, Distance becomes a factor. Not all of us can leave our lives and participate. Even if we do, our families do not support us much ...


But finally, I will support such an initiative! Go ahead Xbhp ...

So what say ken da how about a XBHP racing delhi?

Clubs & morotsports

hi all,,
coming to my case i after trying fr half a year i came to know that there are two motosport clubs in orissa which r very far away frm my place..ORISSA MOROTSPORT CLUB ,,a club which hasnt organised a single event till date since it has started.I called them time and again every week but they dont respond d calls...this summer i had travelled 300 odd kms jst 2 talk 2 them.,,but they didnt had time 2 meet at their office.ITS really disgusting..

THESE CLUBS R really USELESS...

Amazing thought dude. I like the idea of "xBhp racing". Sounds great. It would be really nice if something such as this is started in every city. We can reach out to a greater audience through this and promote the biking culture in a positive way. We can conduct training lessons and give safety tips to newbies about proper riding and the effective use of riding gears.

well that's good but what i have in mind is of taking biking to a pro level

There are plenty of clubs already promoting motorsports. The serious ones have no problems finding and approaching these clubs, and most of them have found a solution to their desires. The fact is, there are very few riders who are really interested at a serious level. As long as there are people interested, clubs will form.. but it is participation that is key.

Castrol Power 1 challenge is (for me) just a publicity stunt. There are 'real' motorsport events taking place throughout the year in various parts of the country. These are the ones where one (if good) can make a career out of it..

Gulf on the other hand has title sponsored big 'motorsport events'.. and promoted other motorcycling feats (like Overdrive K2K record run etc)..

Track racing is not the only form of motorsport. There's rallying, motocross, autocross etc.. North india has some great talent too and they participate with all heart. Yes, there are two race tracks in South India.. but there are equally tempting himalayan rally events..

I admire your interest in approaching these clubs..if there are enough participants from a particular area, clubs with interest in promoting the sport can help get sponsors and help organize events.. the hardest part is getting committed participants / no. of participants which is a prerequsite to getting sponsorship..

It saddens me..this whole promote biking culture thing..in all these years, this promotion has turned biking into a fashion statement there by diluting some of its true spirit. It's good that people now wear some riding gear (because they look at it more from a fashion POV) but it has completely killed everything else..

Castrol and other companies have started seeing potential to make $$ by pursuing these promotional events rather than putting their money more in motorsports..

Bajaj..the b4574rd5 don't sponsor a single motorsport event anywhere.. have found money to put into this MTV stunt mania whatever .. ..

I'm happy that in our country we do have serious motorsport events, and it continues to be true to what it stands for..

Prakrit,

Your thoughts are good.. I can't comment much on what XBHP's aim and stance is on this issue, but I'm happy that you've applied some good thought here..

(i'm all ears now)..

Regards,
Praveen

Never gonna happen. PERIOD. Most companies do want to sponsor motorsports in India nor there are any govt initiatives. All they are interested is cricket. Off late hockey, tennis and badmiton are getting noticed which is good. Sponsors need to concentrate on grass root levels. I for one dont understand why in the world has vijay mallya has got to run a F1 team. Its been close to three years since he took over the team and they have not earned a single championship point till date. The beauty is he's losing money running the F1 team and wants a chunk of tax payer’s money to bail out his airlines. Some might say that you can’t question the man's passion for the sport. But I say if he was really that passionate then he would have as done something to develop the sport at grass root levels. I have not seen kingfisher supporting any RRC or karting event. There's been no improvement since he took over the FMSCI chairman.

Some time back I had approached my employer, HCL for a sponsorhip of 1lakh to take part in the UCAL championships, result, I have been turned down twice. Reason they gave "company not in a position to sponsor such a huge amount", 1lakh, HUGE amount for a company of HCL's stature.

I have seen and experienced myself how guys struggle to participate in the RRC's. You need to spend about 15-20k to take part in a single round of the championship and if you win the race you get 5k which again is taxable. If this is the state then how in the world can we expect the sport to grow in our country.

Along with my rant on specific individuals & companies I also take this opportunity to appreciate Dinesh Reddy's effort in starting Red Rooster Racing and helping many Indian talents. There is no dearth of talent in India, FACT. I wish corporates/individuals understand the importance of Dinesh Reddy's intitatives and come forward to help budding Indian talents.

Arun,
You've missed one key aspect here..

Vijay Mallya is a 'very' successful businessman..and a very good thinker. there's a very good reason why he is one of the top industrialists in the country.. .. the truth is, Indian sport is not at grassroot level, we are already a shrub in the world motorsport forest..but since we are still a shrub, we need some exposure and nurturing to become a taller tree.. err. let me cut down on analogies ..

F1 is one of the top motorsport events. A presence there WILL get you noticed. GETTING NOTICED is important. And he represents Force India.. 'India' being part of the team name..(which means a great deal). When there's such presence, there is also some curiocity and interest for outsiders in exploring opportunities in India. Now, that is important.. because that brings in interest and money..

Yes, FI hasn't scored points,.. F1 is a tough sport, and no put-together team can get even semi-decent results rightaway. Yes, they haven't got points even after some time (and the disappointment is evident in some cases).. but more important is the fact that Force India has a presence, and that for me is fairly important point.

If he can get exposure, and then get investors here and show them the sport here, that's a new opportunity for investors and money will pour into the sport.. that's what we've been struggling with, and that's what is being addressed to here to a fair extent.

What improvement in FMSCI were you looking for?.. From what I see, I'm just happy that the MAI vs FMSCI fiasco has ended and it is smooth sailing from this point on..

We've had a fair number of people who've given the world an indication that we are a nation interested in motorsport.. some people I can think of right now are Mallya, Vicky Chandhok (who was almost running for FIA president)..Karun Chandhok (obviously), Karthikeyan, Narek Kumar & Gaurav Gill (PWRC!).. On bikes we've got Asia presence.. so, people outside know that we aren't at grass root level.. and given opportunities and support, we can surely come up to speed..

All parties see a benefit out of everything they do.. HCL will see if sponsoring will benefit them to what extent and then take their decision. Even great talent find hard to get sponsorships (Ex: Karan Kadam).. but, when there are followers to the sport then there's money riding over it.. where sponsoring becomes more like endorsing/advertising .. (Eg: Cricket).. It is a sad state.. infact all sports suffered it a few years back. But now that India is making some news on the international scene in a few other sports, there are some sponsors to take advantage of the wider audience.. The same goes for motorsports.. hence, getting exposure is important.. get exposure and get $$..

Yes, DR has put together a great team. You might also want to thank Mr.Mohan Nagarajan (Team Sidvin India).. who's put Naren Kumar and now Gaurav Gill on PWRC!.. and many other such people..

Lets hope that all of this keeps growing at a good pace

True he is a successful businessman and he is trying to make more business outta the sport. Having India on a f1 team's name is good but on such a team is questionable. Toro rosso bought the now defunct arrows/ jaguar team (not sure which 1 it was) and in a span of 3 years won a race let alone scoring a championship point. Force India is known as Farce India in many automotive communities, pains to see our country's name being joked about.

When mallya took over FMSCI, ppl were expecting a upward curve for indian motorsports. But this years Rolon championship was a doubt for sometime when UCAL pulled out. Mallya didnt come to the rescue. In his 2 year reign he could have brought in international investors (pertaining to bikes). Did he bring in any ? And to the building of F1 track near delhi, its another business venture for him where he can try and make more money. Nothing more nothing less.

All the above are car drivers. In india there is so much of bias towards cars. Bikes are so neglected when it comes to coverage and sponsorship. When you say our bikers have made their presence felt in asia, you dont know how much they struggled to put together their funds. They ran pillar to post and some have gone to the extent of pledging valuables for loans.

We and all at xBhp want indian motorsports (especially bikes) to go on the rise, lets hope for the best.

Well said Donarun ... Motorsports in India on a whole is always biased towards 4-Wheels. 2-Wheel compatriots don't get much. You have to come & see how food / pit / hospitality treatment are being allocated between the Car & Bike fellows. To be successful in Indian Motorsports you have to drive 4-Wheels & need to be either a son of a Multi-Billionare (or) Your Dad should have one of them of as his thickest Friend ( Ashwin Sundar, Bose's son Sidhart, Libra racing - Bala Vijay, etc all switched from 2 to 4 ).

In South, who been following racing for long, know exactly whom Mallya promotes and why ? Sad there isn't any one Indian majorly exposed & involved other than Mr.Mallya in Force India. When GM has got one of its Design Centre in Banglore, why can't Force India have something like that in South. Kovai - Banglore - Chennai the Triangle Cities would be a great strating point for something like that. I, am not saying that, they have to move their entire facility out of UK ... But a tiny part .. Softwares, Track testing, even exploring Kevlar Carbon parts & so on ( Ducati & Ferrari trust TCS ). May be he quoted once saying that there are no matured enough Indian Drivers to handle his Force India Formula One Car, Where he was directly bulling NK. May be according to him the same would hold true with the Indian Engineers too. If Mallya, would have had an Engineering College in Banglore things would have been different mate. He would have promoted SAE Formula India (or) a similar concept to expose the brains & talents out of his College. If, I would have had that kind of money to blow, I would rather finish last with one of my cars with an Indian Pilot on board. Bharat Mahata ki Jai.

Even the Superbike / Supersport round at the JK - National Chamionship is only a trick to spice up things. That's why, the whole lot SBK / SS don't race in this class. They are least interested in the Indian series because they are Car, LCV & HCV tyre manufacturer ... Then why Indian SBK/SS. Hat's of to UCAL & Rolon to keep the Indian motorcycle series alive, otherwise it would have gone to dogs.

Selfish Promotion of their Product based Race bike ( make money by selling kits )and the stupid attitude of Hero Honda ... has killed the current Best class the Group B - 210 to 265 for good. Even the rumored MOTO-3 is heading towards similar to what we do in this class. A few of them have invested more than a Lakh only in Engine upgrades for this Class and are much disappointed. Hero Honda, the Worlds No 1 manufacturer will only sponsor Cricket & Golf. Sad but true.

On the Other hand, most manufacturers are exploting the race track through their one make series and avoid serious competition amongst them & feeling ashamed to lose. We are struck with only 125 cc & 150 cc thumper races and going backwards instead of moving forward with higher cc & multi cylinder motors. Sad that the strokers won't be allowed to race from next year onwards. Can the Big-4 ever get away from Motorsports & sell their products in the West.

Getting to sporonship, Preetham lost the 250 Wildcard GP ride because he was short of funds by only 2.5 Cr. Guys, to get to World Champioship level now, you Know how much funding is required. Ask, the Indain SBK/SS fellows how much they spend for their Majorly requirement such as Tyres, Fuel, Transport / Accomodation other than Mobikes & Ridining Gear in a Year ( Joel Joe ... Get some insight ) & what support they get from the orgainsers.

If Yamaha, Honda, Suzuki, Bajaj-Kawasaki, Ducati & others are interested in promoting 2-Wheeler racing .... They can import 600 race only machines and give at an affordable rate by making a deal with the Sports & Tourism Ministry of India, FMSCI & Other governing bodies either for owning or even leasing -- only for track activities. Will this ever happen.

Also if you see, there are lovey Karts & Championships available to the Rich kids to bring their so-called hidden talents in Indian Motorsports ... What about 2-Wheelers. In the West, kids start with the popular CRF 50/70 at the age of 3~6 XR 100 / CRF 150F between 7~12 ... on Ultra light weight MX machines. I have personally seen some of these kids how commited & determined they are when they race each other ... that's absent even with some of our big race boys here. Hum, further ... The derivative of these little kids machines are sold as powerful heavy Sportsbike for US. When we can legally learn to ride them at 18 those buggers are already blasting with their 600's. Now tell how we can compete with them.

The Invidual Privater racing is done with the Demise of Group-B 250's & the Strokers. Getting a bike & parts fitting will all remain with the current attitude of the manufacturers. Long live the one make race series. Hat's of to a few people like, Redrooster Racing, Sadvin Racing, Ammen, 10-Ten Racing, Stroker Mechanics to keep the motorcyclist hope alive.


Cheers - TZ750.

++1 .. I agree with both of you..