Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India has resumed the hunt for young racing talent by conducting round 2 of IDEMITSU Honda India Talent Hunt 2021 at the Aruani Grid in Bengaluru. Since its launch in 2018, the IDEMITSU Honda India Talent Hunt has gained success as a unique platform that identifies the best of young Indian riders and develops them for a racing career, spanning national and international road racing and endurance championships.
The second round of IDEMITSU Honda India Talent Hunt 2021 in Bengaluru saw participation of 14 amateur riders from 8 cities (Bengaluru in Karnataka; Tirupur and Karur in Tamil Nadu; Kolhapur in Maharashtra; Kannur, Kottayam, Thrissur and Perintalmanna in Kerala). The round saw riders coming in from age as young as 11 years going up to 17 years. Interestingly, the round also saw a 11-year-old young girl break the ranks. The participants included both aspiring as well as experienced young riders who are looking for a platform to fulfil their dream of becoming an iconic rider.
In Level 1, all 14 candidates went through rigorous 3 levels of tests. First being a grueling physical fitness session followed by judging the young guns’ riding skills and maneuverability on the racetrack. This was followed by a one-on-one interview with candidates and their parents/guardians to understand both their motorsport passion and family support to become the next iconic rider from India.
After shortlisting 7 candidates including 1 female in phase 1, these top candidates of the Talent Hunt of Bengaluru were trained and given opportunity to ride on the track in Level II. It is from this pool of talent that Honda will pick up the best talent for future development. These final riders will now get an opportunity to race in the IDEMITSU Honda India Talent Cup CBR 150R category.
Sharing an overview on the participation in Bengaluru, Mr. Prabhu Nagaraj, Senior Vice President – Brand & Communication, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. said, “The IDEMITSU Honda India Talent Hunt is a platform developed by Honda that gives an avenue to aspiring and budding racers from all over India to unleash their potential on racetrack. We kicked-off the 2021 hunt for next-gen racing sensation earlier this year in Chennai and shortlisted two riders who are now showcasing their racing talent in IDEMITSU Honda India Talent Cup CBR150R. Moving ahead with this round in Bengaluru, we have shortlisted 7 candidates for phase 2 and the best of 7 will get an opportunity to ride and compete in CBR150R class of talent up. It is just the start of their professional racing career. In long term, Honda’s focus is to put young Indian talent on multiple National & International platforms like Asia Talent Cup, Asia Road Racing Championship, Endurance championships. I am confident that these budding riders will change the scenario of motorsports in India and make the nation proud both at national as well as international level.”
