Suzuki Gixxer Cup was hosted in Chennai last weekend. The 5 day event also witnessed Red Bull Road to Rookies Cup, alongside the Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2016.



The Red Bull Road to Rookies Cup is the first of its kind series which provides young and aspiring Indian racers a launchpad to the international racing arena! The first round of the Road to Rookies Cup was held in conjunction with Round 2 of the Suzuki Gixxer Cup, where 8 talented young riders between the ages of 13 to 16 years participated in 3 races with the elder and more experienced novice riders from the Gixxer Cup.



Race 2 was the perfect opportunity for Sri Lankan Rookie Aaron Gunawardena to display his top form as he started the race from last on the grid (due to a crash in Race 1) and yet finished first with a hairs breadth of just 1/1000th of a second!

The Novice category was won by Amarnath Rajan followed very closely by Antony Peter who was just 7/100th of a second behind.

Meka crashed out of the Open race, leaving R Rajinikanth to battle with Vivian Gladwin and Vishwadev Muraleedharan for the top 3 positions.

Aaron made it a double by winning Race 3 in the Rookie category from Varoon and Alexander while Amarnath narrowly clinched first spot from Antony Peter with 3/100th of a second in yet another thrilling Novice Race.

The Open race witnessed an amazing comeback from Meka, who started last on the grid and eventually ended 2nd after Vivian Gladwin and just a tenth of a second ahead of Vishwadev!

The results for all 9 races are:

Rookie Race 1
Laps: 4
1st: Sachin Choudhary 9:19.705
2nd: Varoon 9:20.037
3rd: Alexander 09:29.225
Best Lap: Varoon 2:16.892
Novice Race 1
Laps: 4
1st: Amarnath Rajan 9:04.774
2nd: Antony Peter 9:05.213
3rd: Joseph P Mathew 9:06.261
Best Lap: Joseph P Mathew 2:13:281 (100.3 kmph)

Open Race 1
Laps: 6
1st: Meka Vidhuraj 13:28.003
2nd: R Rajinikanth 13:28.145
3rd: Vishwadev Muraleedharan 13:28.614
Best Lap: Vivian Gladwin 2:12:232 (101.1 kmph)

Rookie Race 2
Laps: 4
1st: Aaron Gunawardena 9:05.809
2nd: Varoon 9:23.893
3rd: Alexander 9:29.492
Best Lap: Aaron Gunawarden 2:12:772 (100.7 kmph)
Novice Race 2
Laps: 4
1st: Amarnath Rajan 9:05.810
2nd: Antony Peter 9:05.883
3rd: Peddu Sri Harsha 9:10.865
Best Lap: Amarnath Rajan 2:13.621
Open Race 2
Laps: 6
1st: R Rajinikanth 13:36:688
2nd: Vivian Gladwin 13:37:359
3rd: Vishwadev Muraleedharan 13:39.738
Best Lap: Vivian Gladwin 2:13:204 (100.4 kmph)
Rookie Race 3
Laps: 4
1st: Aaron Gunawardena 9:07.216
2nd: Varoon 9:23.711
3rd: Alexander 9:28.228
Best Lap: Aaron Gunawarden 2:14:348
Novice Race 3
Laps: 4
1st: Amarnath Rajan 9:07.142
2nd: Antony Peter 9:07.172
3rd: C Raj Kumar 9:08:101
Best Lap: Antony Peter 2:13:971 (99.8 kmph)
Open Race 3
Laps: 6
1st: Vivian Gladwin 13:32:558
2nd: Meka Vidhuraj 13:33:316
3rd: Vishwadev Muraleedharan 13:33.408
Best Lap: Vishwadev Muraleedharan 2:13:072 (100.5 kmph)

The riders across all 3 categories were extremely pleased with their Suzuki Gixxer SF race machines and the enhanced braking in the front and rear disc brake addition from last years bikes. They cannot wait to get back on track for the next round of the Gixxer Cup and Road to Rookies Cup from the 1st to 4th September 2016 at MMRT Chennai.

News Source: Suzuki Motorcycles and Scooter India Press Release