CHENNAI: It’s been a good couple of days for Honda Racing. On Saturday, their rider Anish Shetty secured the national title in the Pro Stock 165cc category of the MRF MMSC National Motorcycle Championship. Their riders Mathana Kumar and Rajiv Sethu finished on the podium in Super Sport 165cc category.
For Honda’s vice president of brand and communications, Prabhu Nagaraj, it is a good way to wrap up what has been a fruitful year. 2018 has seen Honda’s talent identification programme put some young riders on the international map with their performances at the Asian level suggesting a promising future ahead. “This season has been excellent for us both in domestic and international activities,” Nagaraj said. “We had said we would start identifying talent and we started the Honda Talent Hunt. We have been to multiple cities, and we will be in New Delhi next week. The young riders will participate out there with the best in Asia and that experience will help them grow. We even have kids as young as 7 or 8 at our academy.”
If there is one thing that the season has taught the people in charge at Honda, it is that young Indian riders often struggle to make the transition from national to international level, as evidenced by the initial performances of Rajiv Sethu and Anish Shetty in the Asian Road Racing Championship. Nagaraj says there are plans in the pipeline to set this right. “There are challenges. We understand those challenges.
That’s why we are creating this platform,” he said. “When they ride internationally, it is difficult for them to adapt. One of the changes we are going to make next year is that they will be riding a similar level of bike at the national level. Another gap area which we have identified are technicians. We will have the Indian team continue on the Asian circuit and that will help them gain experience.”