Indian Supercross Racing League Round 3: Big Jumps, Big Slides, BigRock!

Supercross, a racing sport where motorcycle riders go over jumps and obstacles on temporary dirt tracks constructed inside arenas and stadiums, has always been exhilarating to watch on TV whenever X Games was on. Well, some time ago, a bunch of Indians thought about creating their own league in this part of the world and the CEAT Indian Supercross Racing League was born.

By the way, those Indians in question consist of people like ex-motocross racer Eshaan Lokhande, the co-founder of the league. Rally legends CS Santosh and Gaurav Gill are team owners, BigRock Motorsports and Gujarat Trailblazers respectively. 

The first season started with a bang as Indian racing enthusiasts got to witness some exhilarating dirt racing action during the first two rounds in Pune and Ahmedabad. And the season concluded with CS Santosh’s team, BigRock Motorsports, winning the championship. They secured titles in the 450-cc International, 250-cc International, and the 250-cc India-Asia mix class in the third and final round in Bangalore, their home turf.

BigRock Motorsports had a 50-point lead over Mohite’s Racing going into the season finale, and at the end of the third round they won the overall team’s title by 82 points. BB Racing secured the third position, followed by SG Speed Racers, Reise Motorsports, and Gujarat Trailblazers.

In the 450-cc International class, despite BB Racing’s Jordi Tixier winning both races and the All-star race, Matt Moss of BigRock Motorsports secured the championship by just four points. Jordi Tixier was especially exciting to watch as he found himself towards the midfield in each of three races but crawled back with great vigour and aggression to finish first at the end. Reid Taylor of BigRock Motorsports finished fourth and third to clinch the overall 250-cc International class championship. In the 250-cc India-Asia mix class, Thanarat Penjan, also from BigRock Motorsports secured the title by finishing second in both races.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing for the organisers, though, as a sudden venue change from Delhi to Bangalore meant that they had to transform a barren wasteland into a professional supercross racetrack in 4-5 days. Also, the track had to comply with all the regulations of the FIM (Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme). And Bangalore, being always enthusiastic about anything racing, attracted over 8,000 spectators, which is a new global record for the maximum attendees at a Supercross event. 

This proves two things. One is that supercross races can basically happen anywhere. It is not like other racing formats such as MotoGP which requires  large permanent built-up racetracks. Supercross just needs a venue, arena or like in the case of the third round in Bangalore, even a farm field where lots of dirt will be poured in, jumps and crests will be created and voila, a racetrack out of nowhere! 

Secondly, it also shows the commitment of the Indian Supercross Racing League to create a motorsport competition of the highest standards in India. And the Indian racing fans have responded with the same level of excitement and passion by turning up to races in such huge numbers. It feels like this league will become a big platform for developing and popularising the sport of supercross in India and for the next bit of action, hold on till the end of 2024, as that’s when season 2 is expected to start.