Fourth edition of the Red Bull Road to Rookies Cup – Round 2

Red Bull Road to Rookies – Round 2

The Red Bull Road to Rookies Cup has a primary aim of giving young motorcycle racers a chance to prove their skills. These young riders between the age of 12-16 years will be a part of the Suzuki Gixxer Cup grid which is takes place as a part of the JK Tyre National Racing Championship. It is an initiative of Red Bull India to give wings to the fastest young motorcycle racers, along with giving an opportunity for the most talented rider to participate in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup qualifiers in Spain.

As a part of the JK Tyre Championship, the Rookies cup was held alongside the Suzuki Gixxer Cup at the Kari Motor Speedway. Young and talented riders made the most of this opportunity to showcase their skills on a Suzuki Gixxer 150SF. Five young riders made up the Rookies grid that would battle for a ticket to the next best step-up in the world of motorcycle racing, namely 12-year-old Ikshan Shanbag from Satara, Aditi Krishnan from Bengaluru (14), Aryan Gurav from Pune (16), Prashant R from Chennai (15) and Ehsaan Shankar from New Delhi (16).

As per the criteria for qualification, Aditi Krishnan and Aryan Gurav have been selected as the best, most talented riders to represent the country at Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup qualifiers in Spain on October 15, 16 and 17, 2019. The Rookies Cup riders will use a Moto3 spec KTM RC 250 R 4-stroke that replaced the 2-stroke 125cc bike in 2013.

Round 2 – The races

The second round of the Red Bull Rookies Cup showcased tough competition between the young riders. Ikshan pushed hard, putting all his effort into earning the top spot in both the races that took place over the weekend. In the first race, Ikshan charged through the 7-lap race in 10mins 35.841seconds, while Aditi Krishnan took the second spot with a cumulative time of 10:51.180mins while Pune’s Aryan completed the podium with a 3-second deficit (cumulative time).

The weekend was a winning spree for Ikshan as he once again dominated the second race. Ikshan completed the 10-lap race in 14:56.415mins, while Aditi finished second with a cumulative time of 15:20.919mins. Aryan finished the race in third place

Aditi Krishnan from Bangalore said, “It is encouraging that energy drink giant Red Bull is supporting and giving wings to young biking enthusiasts like me with tournaments like these. I am excited to travel to Spain and represent India at the Red Bull Moto GP Rookies Cup Qualifiers; I hope to make my country proud.”

The championship (12-16 years of age) is organized under the aegis of FIM and Federation of Motorsports Club of India (FMSCI), in association with Suzuki Gixxer Cup, a part of JK Tyre National Racing Championship. Ikshan Shanbag from Satara dominated throughout Round 1 and Round 2 of the competition and now has earned the glorious opportunity to witness the internationally acclaimed Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup in Spain.