With Indian bike racing in search for spark, Indian Superbike League hopes to provide missing link

Every sport needs an icon, a hero who offers an abundance of reflected glory for the discipline to flourish. 

It would be safe to say that Indian motorcycle track racing is begging for one such talisman. Unlike its four-wheel counterpart, which has the likes of Narain Karthikeyan, Karun Chandok and Kush Maini; or off-road biking, which has C. S. Santosh and Aravind KP, Indian bike racing is yet to find a focal point to spark its growth.  

The newly launched Indian Superbike League (ISBL) could offer that missing jigsaw; if one were to believe the key decision-makers of India’s motorcycle racing system. 

Speaking at ISBL’s launch event in Mumbai, Vicky Chandok, Indian racing driver and former president of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India, emphasised the transformative potential of a compelling narrative. 

“You’ve got to create somebody from the ground up. You’ve got to make a story that a guy from a little town, say a Chengalpet or a Sriperumbathur, becomes a race driver, a hero. Can you imagine? This country will go berserk. You’ve suddenly made a hero out of somebody who’s come out of nowhere,” says Chandok. 

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He believes the ISBL’s franchise-based financial model will be a vital cog in hastening the development of such talents. 

“The only way that this country can develop a hero or an icon for the sport, is if a guy can make a living out of him. We have got a number of Indian riders riding overseas. We did not have a team-based franchise where a rider could make a living. Now the ISBL is giving them that [missing platform],” he adds. 

The motorsport administrator urged potential ISBL franchise owners to take a shot at unproven talents, in hopes of unearthing a ‘diamond in the rough’. 

“You’ve got five riders [in your team]. Try and have one slot reserved for a person who’s never been associated with the sport. One slot, try and do that. It could work,” suggested Chandok. 

Key to Chandok’s and ISBL’s aspiration of unearthing Indian motorcycle racing’s equivalent of Neeraj Chopra is one of the five categories in the league’s format – the Rookie class. 

“The Rookie class will not have anyone who has raced at any professional level. We have had 400 FMSCI-certified riders already apply for a seat. That’s the first stage. The second stage is the talent run. So, we are going to cities and pick up fresh talent. We will invite anybody in every way to come. The idea is, if you think you are fast enough, come and show us,” said Pranav Bakre, ISBL director. 

Pranav Bakre and Sirish Vissa, Directors of Indian Superbike League at the launch event in Mumbai.
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Once riders are identified through primary scouting, ISBL plans to level them up through training. 

“These riders will then go to these riding schools, whichever is closest and convenient to them. They will have a three-month window when they can go, put in the lap times and get in whatever technical requirements we will have for the riders to fulfil. And the riding schools will then propose the classification of the riders who will then go into the auction pool,” adds Bhakre. 

ISBL’s optimism of discovering the sport’s messiah shone the brightest in the words of Sirish Vissa, ISBL Director. 

“We are a country of 1.4 billion people. I am sure there are riders in India who are better than Valentino Rossi. It’s just that we haven’t been able to identify them and train them right. With ISBL we hope to fix that,” says Vissa.