The 2019 edition of the Pune Invitational Supercross, India’s biggest supercross race is all set to kick off on February 10 at Mundhwa Playground, Deccan Paper mill road, in Pune. After the successful completion of four editions, this year’s edition will put down the top gear and amplify the performances to newer speeds and heights!
A brainchild of Aashan Sports, the Pune Invitational Supercross promises to bring a whole new dimension to Supercross racing in India, bringing in both national and International talent on a single platform in order to give fuel to this offbeat sporting event in India to cement its footprint on the global map.
This edition will witness, for the very first time, national and international riders competing in the single race category called the ‘All Stars Race’, giving Indian riders the opportunity to feel and taste the global exposure.
Also gracing the occasion was India’s ‘speed – throb’ Arvind K P , who last month became the second Indian rider to complete the Dakar Rally. He said, “It’s is indeed a matter of great pride to be associated with such a league. The league has turned out to be a harbinger for the sport where the national and international riders get a chance to showcase their talent. The quality of the league has immensely value added to overall development of the sport. Also, the league has played a significant role in providing young riders a platform to showcase their talent and also give them a feel of competitive sport at a very young age.”
The curtain raiser unveiled the names of few firebrands from the national and international motorsport landscape who will accelerate the heart beats of the spectators. The likes of Travis Pitt, Dustin Phares, Aaron Mare, Michael Docherty, Vitaly Gusev, Georgy Gusev, C D Jinan, Rugved Barguje, Ishan Dasanayake, Prithvi Singh. This edition will also see a surge in participation of junior riders like Yuvraj Konde Deshmuk, Karan Karle, Sarthak Chavan, Prajval Vishvanathan and Tanika Shanbhag (16, Satara) the only girl in the fray who will battle it out against her male counterparts – promising a supercross event the likes of which have never been seen before!
The much-awaited auction where more than 30 riders were brought to the auction pool was also a part of the curtain-raiser. With a hefty purse value of 3 Lakh points each , Six teams – Ajmera Racing India, Stallion Riders, P B Racing ,Ibex Sports, Lileria Motorsports, Gagan Developers Supercross Team bided fiercely, all wanted to have the best riders in their bag. Four categories namely SX- 1 – Foreign Pro, SX- 2 – Indian Pro, SX- 3 – Indian Experts, SX- 4 – Indian Rider (Juniors) will include a total of 30 riders. Each team will have a mixed bag of riders in their kitty thus making it evens steven for all the teams. The teams had to choose 6 riders with a fixed team composition of SX- 1 – 1 rider must in each team, SX- 2 – 1 rider must in each team, SX- 3 – 2 rider must in each team, SX- 4 – 2 rider must in each team.
Speaking on this occasion, Eeshan Lokhande, Joint Director, Aashan Sports said, “Pune Invitational Supercross, which started as an experiment to give boost to the unconventional sports in India, today it has excelled to unimaginable heights! Our infrastructure and the stature of our riders makes us India’s biggest Supercross racing event.”