After playing a pioneering role in identifying and nurturing India’s top racers for over two decades, JK Tyre & Industries Ltd. is embarking on a new mission to churn out world-class bike racers for the country.
The trendsetters for Indian motorsport, JK Tyre, have tied up with the global leaders in two-wheelers, Suzuki, to achieve this goal and will introduce a two-wheeler racing series that will become part of their iconic National Racing Championship, which is in its 20th year
The series will give an opportunity to every aspiring biker, in every nook and corner of the country to showcase his or her skills and dream of becoming a champion.
“We have charted the career of almost all our international racers right from their karting days till now,” pointed out Sanjay Sharma, JK Tyre’s Corporate Communication & Motorsport head. “Now that we have entered the two-wheeler market with our tyres, this is a logical step forward. We want to create champion bikers,” he added.
Among others, the F1 duo of Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandok, and even the new sensation on the block Arjun Maini, owe their rise to JK Motorsport’s vision and support.
The championship, baptised as JK Tyre presents Suzuki Gixxer Cup 2017 envisages two different categories, one for the age-group of 12-16 years and the other for the over 16-year-olds.
The young rookie category will also be the feeding line for the international program Red Bull Road to Rookies Cup. This is totally up JK Tyre’s alley, given their vast experience in spotting talent at the karting stage itself and moulding them to the highest echelon of racing in the world. Their partnership with Suzuki will follow the same path and offer the champion to participate in the prestigious selection program for the RedBull Rookie Cup – Road to MotoGP in Spain.
The main category will be for the over 16 years age bikers and will be part of the highly successful Suzuki Gixxer Cup. Close to 25 youngsters will be selected for this and they will race in the national championship to begin in Coimbatore in July.
To make it convenient for every Indian, JK Tyre Motorsport will hold selections rounds in four different parts of the country: Bengaluru in the South (June 4), Aizwal in the East (June 10), Pune in the West (June 18) and National Capital Region in the North (June 25).
The aspiring biker simply needs to register himself or herself for any of the rounds and reach the selection venue at the designated time and date. They will be provided Suzuki Gixxer bikes and abiding by all safety norm will participate in straight shootouts with each other, besides going through a personality test by JK Motorsport experts.
The names of the shortlisted bikers will be announced on June 27. They will then be inculcated into a training programme in Coimbatore where they will make the transition from talented rookies to potential world beaters. It won’t just be technical lessons and biking or racing classes though. They will undergo fitness training too, with a world renowned fitness expert personally charting each biker’s schedule.
“In other words, a youngster simply needs to have the talent and the passion for biking. JK Tyre, just like they did for youngsters with karting, and our car and formula racers, we will take care of everything here too. We will even ensure that they are groomed by image managers so that they can appear on world circuits confidently,” Sanjay Sharma said.
This is great news for Indian motorsport. We are confident a new breed of motorcycle racers will emerge as a result of this partnership,” Mr. Satoshi Uchida, Managing Director, Suzuki Motorcycle India Private Limited said.
“Motorcycle racing is an exciting sport and is gaining more popularity amongst the youth. Given JK’s dedication to Indian Motorsport and Suzuki’s racing spirit & passion, we shall do our best to turn enthusiastic bikers into champions,” he added.
