Idemitsu Honda India Talent Hunt is Honda’s initiative to identify young racers and groom the best for their racing career. After last rounds in Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Aizwal and Delhi, the talent hunt headed for Pune. Idemitsu Honda India Talent Hunt has received a great response receiving 13 participations and the youngest was 13 years old.
The participants go through three levels of tests. The first level marks their physical fitness followed by race orientation and track-riding skills. A jury interview of the participants and the guardians followed to understand their passion for motorsport as a career.
Post first phase, the shortlisted candidates of the Pune talent hunt will be trained at Honda’s Ten10 Racing Academy. In the second phase of the training, candidates get an opportunity to ride on track. After this, Honda will pick the best riders and provide training that focuses on physical, mental strength and track training. These shortlisted riders will be in the Honda Talent Cup’s CBR 150R category in the 2019 season.
Speaking on the occasion, Prabhu Nagaraj, vice president of brand and communication, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. said, “The Idemitsu Honda India Talent Hunt is a part of our new motorsports direction and building a structure to develop young talent in the country. Committed towards developing an iconic India rider, our talent hunt stars Mikail bagged the 1st spot and Kritik Habib the 3rd spot at the Idemitsu Honda Talent Cup 2018 season. Moving forward with this round in Pune, we are delighted to see the passion towards motorsports among these young participants and I am confident that these budding riders will change the scenario of motorsports in India and make the nation proud at the international podiums as well.”