BANGALORE: For possibly the first time, Bangalore saw a gathering of about 200 superbikes at the India Superbike Festival 2014 held at Phoenix Market City recently. Many of these bikers flaunted their skills and astounded the audience for over two days.
“The event did not permit any bike below 6oo cc - this made it a pure superbike event, unlike bike festivals in other places like Goa,” said Thomas Mammen (Tony) whose 2012 Suzuki Hayabusa won the ‘Most Accessorized Motorcycle’ award in the festival. Thomas has been part of the biking fraternity for the past nine years. “Sadly, I only get to take out my superbike early in the mornings before there’s any traffic,” he said.
One of the guests invited to this festival was the ‘Wheelie King’ himself - Rohit Giri - a Bangalorian Motorist who won The Malaysian Super Series Championship in 2008 and finished among the Top 5 in The Losail World Racing Championship at Qatar, Doha.
“The festival had an incredible turnover for a first-time event. I met many friends from the biking world, spoke to fans and posed for photos,” he said. Rohit also trains up-coming motorists - young amateurs and professionals - and sends them abroad for exposure.
Another motorist Zaid who rode away with the ‘Loudest Motorcycle’ award said that biking is one of the most thrilling sports. “The machine becomes part of the man - the feeling is almost otherworldly,” he added.
The city has also hosted a few other motorbike events in the past. “Being a motorist myself, I know what both riders and the audience want in a bike event - good tracks and cash prizes,” said Viji, who organised ‘Supercross 2013’. “Five or six years back, most motorists in India were from the North and it’s only in recent times that the biking fraternity has grown in Bangalore with increasing expert mechanics and sponsors,” he said. The next ‘Supercross’ is planned around December this year.
However, the biking world appears to be a closed group in the city with only those who are already immersed in the biking scene participating in such events. And the best way to promote anything seems to be the social media. “There is no need to make big announcements to get bikers and a bike-loving crowd together, just a few posts on Facebook or any social media site does the trick,” says Rohit Giri.