Red Bull Rookies Cup
Putting Mizoram on the Indian two-wheel racing map
The Mizoram Motorsports Association has become a breeding ground for two-wheel racers in India. Eight finalists of the Red Bull Road to Rookies Cup 2017 trained at the Aizawl-based association.
The rich pool of talent participating in this year’s Red Bull Road to Rookies Cup, especially from Mizoram, helped set a fine tone in the title fight. The battles were intense as the young riders staked their claim to bragging rights of the championship.
From the 100s to register, 13 riders were selected to participate in the three-weekend season held together with the Suzuki Gixxer Cup and the JK Tyre National Racing Championship at the Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore. Impressively, eight of the 13 riders in the championship were residents of Aizawl.
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Red Bull Road to Rookies Cup social clip
After six races over the three weekends, it was 15-year-old Israel Lalhruaizela from Mizoram who was crowned the champion for his commendable consistency throughout the season. He finished on the podium in all six races, scoring a total of 56 points to better Lalnunsanga from Aizawl and Varoon S from Chennai.
Other riders like Andy Lalhmanghaihsanga and Zothanmawia also showed consistency to finish in the top five, while Neneiha Lalneithuanga, Lalhlimpuia, Augustine Laltlankima and Van Lalthlamuana rounded up the massive contingent from the north-eastern state, showing the power in numbers emerging from Mizoram.
Simultaneously, the Suzuki Gixxer Cup’s Open category had Mizo riders Malsawmdawngliana and Lalmawipuia put up a stiff fight against Joseph Matthews of Chennai. With a race win and podiums, Malsawmdawngliana sits firmly in second and is well in contention for the title when the finale is held at the Buddh International Circuit from 17th to 19th November. His statemate is third in the standings having managed podium finishes. Lalhuraizela and Lalnunsanga will also be racing at the Buddh circuit on the same weekend. The two Aizawl riders will be among the four riders representing India in the one-off FIM Asia Cup of Road Racing Championship event.
Israel Lalhruaizela won Road to Rookies Cup 2017
© Red Bull Content Pool
The mindset
Considering the progress he made through the competition, Road to Rookies winner Lalhruaizela admitted to having been complacent before the final round. He was sure to win the title going into the final weekend on 1st to 3rd September and he confessed that he felt the championship was “his to lose”. It led to him making mistakes in the final races, but it taught him some valuable lessons.
Even though the Indian riders put on a good show overall, they were unable to beat Sri Lanka’s Jaden Gunawardena. The racer from Colombo was ineligible to partake in the national championship but took part just to gain more mileage — which actually helped the competitive riders learn much more. “The fight with Jaden made me rethink my strategy, especially with regards to the balance between pushing and conserving when racing on track,” said Lalhruaizela. This is a key tactic for any racer to learn early in their career.
Suresh Babu Janarthanan, National Head of Product Planning for Suzuki India, believed it was focus and talent which won Lalhruaizela the title. Also, he felt the Mizo rider was able to realise the characteristics of the track and was quick to adapt to the race-prepped Suzuki Gixxer bike, putting it to use with the right skills.
MiMSA racers train on an abandoned airstrip
© Soft Solved
Training behind success
The victory didn’t come easy. The qualification round of the championship was the first time that Lalhruaizela and the other Mizoram riders ventured out on a proper race track. Before this, they had only trained on an old airstrip in Tuirial, Aizwal. But this limitation was beneficial for Lalhruaizela & Co, who felt the training in their home yard was the key to a consistent performance in the championship.
“The first time we hit the track in Coimbatore, it was very exciting. The main difference I found was a greater corner speed and the need to perfect the racing line throughout the track,” explained Lalhruaizela. He credited races he undertook since 2016 as part of the NXT Racing Team under the aegis of the Mizoram Motorsports Association (MiMSA) for having prepared him mentally. He hailed those races in Aizawl as being more “rough and tough”, which eventually helped the riders from Mizoram in general.
According to Lalhruaizela, the Mizo riders already possessed the aggression required on track; it was a matter of controlling that aggression which needed to be learned, something the Apex Racing Academy mentors helped them with through theory lessons during the Road to Rookies race weekends. They also trained hard in Tuirial every Sunday.
How MiMSA made it happen
The much-talked-about MiMSA, headed by Van Lalmuana, was formed in December 2009 by five motor racing enthusiasts, after a local Yamaha dealer held a race event in Mizoram. The motto ‘Safety on motoring’ is a clear indication of the association’s plan to eradicate illegal street racing which has disrupted the lives of people in the north-eastern city.
Along with that, they have managed to provide a platform for young racers to determine a career in racing. It already has a one-make national champion in Lalrindika, who clinched the 2013 TVS One-Make Series and earned an opportunity to compete in the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. The association hopes to nurture more national champions, and eventually a world champion as well.
So far, MiMSA has organised 16 race events in both two-wheelers and four-wheelers, across categories like circuit racing, drag racing, motocross and autocross. Every year they plan to undertake two to three events in multiple categories wherein each category champion and runner-up is rewarded with a step up to a higher class. The biggest support MiMSA has received is in the form of recognition from the Mizoram government as they come under the Mizoram State Sports Council. This enables them to receive funding to undertake the events — even though the sum is not huge, it is enough to cover expenses to organise races.
Regarding infrastructure, Lalmuana feels the abandoned airstrip they use gives novice riders an edge when they head out to compete on proper circuits. Another positive aspect of the area is they can change the layout to help riders run in different ways, thereby helping them learn more racing tricks. But the lack of high speed corners and cambers severely limit their chances, which Lalhruaizela alluded to previously. The need for MiMSA riders to have regular runs on graded race circuits is high.
“MiMSA provides a good platform for novice riders. What we lack in infrastructure, we make up in raw talent. The racers have to be aggressive but still be able to control it to be competitive, and they have to have the guts to fight on the track. This eventually helps them a lot on the proper race track as well,” said Lalmuana.
MiMSA has organised 16 championships till date
© Soft Solved