Cover Image Credits: @hoogram_
I will have to make a confession here. Just like a lot of motorsport lovers in India, I had never harbored a major interest in the world of Supercross or Motocross until the CEAT Indian Supercross Racing League was announced. My world revolved around the far more established and popular universe of Formula One and MotoGP. While there was some knowledge of what Supercross is and how it works, the lack of a major championship broadcasted on TV or any mainstream digital medium prevented me from going deeper into the sport.
‘Ah, it’s just bikes jumping around in the dirt. What’s so special about it?’ I used to wonder, before dismissing it and moving on to discussing the margin by which Max Verstappen would win the race this weekend. Oh, how did I get it wrong! You can only really tell how sweet the oranges are by diving right into them. That moment would end up coming rather soon for me.
What made the Indian Supercross Racing League so special?
A few months ago, I had the privilege of being the race commentator and studio expert for the inaugural CEAT Indian Supercross Racing League, broadcasted on Sports 18 and Jio Cinema. Never did I have more fun covering racing on-ground than I did over the two months the series spanned.
I’ll be honest, before the league fell into place, I had only ever watched a couple of Supercross race highlights on YouTube. The likes of Jett Lawrence, Eli Tomac and Chase Sexton were just random names that I had heard of and all that a ‘whoop’ meant to me was the sound of making a mistake.
The beautiful part though, was that I wasn’t the only one in the same boat. Apart from the promoters, Veer Patel, Eeshan Lokhande, Aashwin Lokhande and Neesha Patel, not many people in the whole team had experienced Supercross in person, especially at such a scale. While this meant that everyone, especially the organisers, had to put in some really demanding sleepless nights to make things happen, the sheer sight of some of the world’s best riders jumping 20 feet in the air and racing each other made it all worth it.
Every race weekend was an opportunity for everyone in the paddock to learn something new, be it myself in the commentary box, the marshals, the team owners, the social media managers, the photographers, the broadcast team or even the operations crew. Those amongst us who had spent years in the sport would have to mentally prepare themselves to be bombarded with questions by multiple people every day on ground, yet, everyone did it with a gigantic smile on their face.
Image Credits: @hoogram_
That is what the love for Supercross is all about. Once the bug bites you, you can’t help but sharing it with the world. Allow me to tell you more about how the bug eventually got to me and why it will find its way to you, too, soon enough.
How the Supercross bug bit me
Walking into the first round of the inaugural Indian Supercross Racing League, there was an air of intrigue surrounding the whole series in my mind. What would the racing be like? What would the tracks be like? Will there be close competition? Will they prepare the tracks well enough inside these stadiums?
I find it quite funny how you totally forget all the questions in your head the moment you see the riders in action right in front of your eyes. Once you witness Supercross on ground, it is quite hard not to be mesmerized.
The whole induction period doesn’t take too long. When I walked into the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune for the first round on the eve of the first day of action, my jaw was on the floor in minutes. Every true sports fan dreams of standing in the middle of a stadium under the bright lights, soaking up the moment and imagining being one of the gladiators performing in front of thousands of fans. There was my moment as I stood in the middle of the ground, watching the crew construct a race track inside a stadium using 5000 tonnes of dirt.
But this would be just the beginning. Less than 24 hours later, we would all get to witness the bikes in action for the first time. In the modern day, we tend to be bombarded with so much information on our devices that we never tend to appreciate the content we see as much. Sure, a video of a rider jumping on their dirt bike looks fun on Instagram, but to witness it meters away from you as the riders jump 20 feet in the air is something else.
You can probably tell just how amazed I was to see it in the video package we recorded for TV during the practice session. Even though I was delivering a piece to camera, half of my mind was focused on the incredible 4 stroke sound and the sheer bravery of the riders. It probably wasn’t the best idea, given that I almost lost my voice from screaming in excitement, but these are the moments you live for! Did I spend far too much time just standing and shouting my head off in amazement? Yes. Do I regret it? Not one bit.
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My highlights of the Indian Supercross Racing League
1. Learning about Supercross with a couple of legends!
With the Indian Supercross Racing League being both, my and my co-host Sagarika’s first time covering Supercross, there was a lot for us to unpack about the intricacies of the sport. Say what you want about YouTube, but learning about something by chatting in person is undoubtedly the more fun way to do things. Luckily for us, we had a teammate that YouTube could never match, no matter how hard it would try.
We were privileged enough to be in the company of multiple time Australian Supercross Champion, racing royalty and a dirt bike oracle in Lee Hogan. I cannot count the number of stupid questions both Sagarika, myself and the entire production crew must have asked Lee. It takes a man with undeniable passion for the sport to go above and beyond like Lee consistently did to make the broadcast better.
I was lucky enough to have legends like Lee Hogan and Rustom Patel guiding me on the sport!
To be able to learn so much about the sport in person from legends of the industry like Lee and multiple-time Indian National Champion Rustom Patel, who was the emcee on-ground for ISRL, is an experience that I am incredibly grateful for. The best part is, we get to do it all over again next year!
2. The battles between Jordi Tixier and Matt Moss
What would a good story be without an epic rivalry? For instance, the IPL wouldn’t be as iconic as it is without a rivalry like the Mumbai Indians and the Chennai Super Kings. Touchwood, at the CEAT Indian Supercross Racing League, we already had a tussle of similar intensity blowing up, adding the perfect garnish of a chaotic rivalry that a nascent league needs in order to grow.
The BigRock Motorsport riders of Cedric Soubeyras and Matt Moss, who would eventually win the 450cc International class, had a few fiery encounters on and off the track with BB Racing’s maverick Jordi Tixier, which set the standard for the kind of drama and entertainment one can expect in the world of Supercross.
Things probably got a bit too ugly at Round 2 in Ahmedabad, where Soubeyras and Tixier were involved in a physical altercation following a crash. That said the sheer drama of a rider punching the other one to the ground was enough to generate curiosity amidst so many people in my circles, who otherwise have no interest in racing. Today, a vast majority of them engage with Motocross and Supercross content on social media, which in itself is quite an achievement.
Matt Moss, Jordi Tixier and Cedric Soubeyras were all incredible in their own right to witness in person. The resilience of Matt Moss to deliver such an incredible performance at the final round in Bangalore to seal the title for himself an BigRock Motorsport days after his friend and stunt legend Jayo Archer passed away was worthy of a champion. The sheer smoothness and class of Cedric Soubeyras was a sight to behold and then, I got to witness the maverick, Jordi Tixier work his magic on track too. Lucky me!
3. Being blown away by Reid Taylor
Normal 20 year-olds don’t win a championship in a far away land in a sport as daunting as Supercross. Normal 20 year-olds don’t win those races by 11-odd seconds in a 6 minute race. Normal 20 year-olds don’t win a race after having a crash in the middle of one. As you can probably tell by now, the inaugural 250cc International champion Reid Taylor is no normal 20 year-old.
Walking into the championship, Reid didn’t have the most glamorous CV in the world. I had no clue about how good a former multiple-time New South Wales Supercross champion would be, especially after returning to the sport recently after a few years away. It didn’t take long – just 10 minutes of practice in Pune, for everyone to realise that the rider aboard the #86 BigRock Motorsport bike was quite something.
Ending the season with 4 race wins out of 6 (he won every race in the first 2 rounds!), Reid Taylor made a mark with his performances against strong competition like Hugo Manzato and Julian Lebeau. With him being mentored by 9x Australian Supercross (and now 1x Indian Supercross Racing League) champion Matt Moss and getting better by the day, many will be keen to see just how good he is by the time he returns to India next year.
4. Being able to see the potential of the Indian riders
There’s no denying it: the Indian contingent in the CEAT Indian Supercross Racing League has a long way to go from where they are today. These youngsters, who have been sharpening their skills at the national level for years, experienced Supercross tracks of such a technical nature for the first time in their lives. Compared to the tracks used for the national championships, the ISRL tracks had longer and higher jumps, more variable dirt, more challenging rythym jumps and crucially, longer, deeper and nastier whoops too.
Even though you may be the best rider in the country, facing up to such a challenging track takes courage. The expectations around the Indian riders, hence, needs to be managed very carefully. It will take time for the likes of Rugved Barguje, Ikshan Shanbhag, Shlok Ghorpade, Sarthak Chavan and Prajwal Vishwanath to match the riders from Thailand, as they learn the techniques of navigating such circuits while racing on them.
That said, while the Indian contingent may lack the technical ability today, they were hardly lacking in courage. Watching Ikshan Shanbhag suffer one nasty crash after the other every race weekend was scary every single time. Yet, the beauty lies in what happens after those crashes. Even after being stretchered away, Ikshan would return the next evening with a broad smile on his face and would say “Now I know what to do to take that triple jump where I crashed”.
This fearless attitude defines our Indian riders. With time and with big platforms like the CEAT Indian Supercross Racing League, not only will they get more recognition for their work, but it will also help them build up their proficiency at this level. There were more than a few glimpses of the limitless potential of these riders – Rugved’s consistency, Sarthak’s podium in Pune and Shlok’s superfast launches. Now, as this crop of riders trains hard in the background, everyone will have their eyes firmly peeled on them next season.
5. Interviewing Aravind KP and CS Santosh
When I was beginning my journey into the world of motorsport and broadcasting, my dad and I were united by our awe towards India’s Dakar Rally heroes CS Santosh and Aravind KP. Keeping track of their journeys and their intense preparation through social media was an almost daily routine and we would both dream of being able to meet them and discuss racing in person with them.
Luckily, we managed to interview CS Santosh back in 2019, which is something that 15 year-old Soumil couldn’t even fathom at that time. I stand suprised today at the fact that I was able to speak clearly in the interview, given how awestruck I was in the moment! At the CEAT Indian Supercross Racing League, not only did I get to meet one of my family’s favourite motorsport heroes in CS Santosh once again, I also had the privilege of sharing the commentary box with him and also, interviewing him once more for TV. Even today, after being a part of the same paddock as him, the giddiness of seeing him in person remains the same as it was the first time. What a hero!
To be interviewing CS Santosh once again was one of my favourite moments from the series!
It only gets better though! Along with CS, interviewing Aravind KP was also a dream in the pipeline for an equally long time. In an absolutely random turn of events at the final round in Bangalore, while discussing the production plan for the weekend, the producers told me that I would get to interview a former national Supercross and Motocross champion on TV.
That champion was the man we had dreamed of speaking to for years – Aravind KP himself! What followed was one of my favourite moments of broadcasting, where Aravind, as animated and passionate as he always is explained why fear is one of the most important components of a great racer. The broadcast bosses probably weren’t too appreciative of the choice of our words during the interview, but such is the emotion that Supercross and racing evokes! Anyway, at least everyone had a good chuckle in the end and I walked home with a dream complete!
And I finally got to interview Aravind KP too!
6. Being amazed at the Ahmedabad crowd and venue
You have to believe me when I say that standing in the middle of a stadium packed with over 10,000 loud fans is an experience that you will carry to your deathbed. Before the start of the racing action at the EKA Transtadia in Ahmedabad, I got the chance to climb up the multi-storey stunt ramp (used by the epic Sebastian Westburg and Thomas for their magical freestyle shows) and experience what a packed crowd a stadium truly feels like.
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As the goosebumps on my arm rose in respect of the jawdropping environment in the stadium, only one thought crossed my mind: how did Veer, Eeshan, Aashwin, Neesha and the team pull something so insane off for motorsport, where, in India, an audience and atmosphere of such a scale has been unknown for almost a decade?
7. Seeing the promoters drinking in the success
What the promoters have achieved in the first year itself is commendable. Setting up 3 incredible rounds, each with packed grandstands full of thousands of people amidst a background of crazy logistical challenges takes some determination from the leaders and the team working to make it happen.
I was fortunate enough to witness the sheer physical and mental limits that each member in the team, be it the track makers or the marshalls or the marketing peeps or the catering managers, put in to make sure that the races went through. There were many instances, where just getting bikes on track according to the schedule would be a miraculous task and yet, they made it happen.
To then be able to see the entire organisation team acknowledging and celebrating their success at the end of season party was a memory that will stick with me for years to come. Every single pint of beer that was drank that night must have tasted so sweet to the core team and it showed! The best part is that now that everyone has tasted this success. the entire team is visibly driven to go a step beyond next year.
Where to now for the Indian Supercross Racing League?
Year 2 of the CEAT Indian Supercross Racing League theoretically sounds bigger and better. More teams are expected to join the fun, as is the case with more cities and venues across the country. According to the latest news reports, 15 venues in the country are being evaluated to be potential destinations for Season 2 and the promoters are aiming to make this big.
Personally, I anticipate Supercross growing into the most popular form of motorsport in the country and hopefully, be bigger in its following compared to established sports such as football and kabaddi. The value proposition for an attendee is certainly higher – for between 250-500 rupees, an attendee can witness 3 hours of insane bike racing right before their eyes, with the stunts, jumps, music and bright lights making it a show packed with entertainment. Plus, they don’t have to travel a million miles away from the city to watch the races: most stadiums are very well integrated into the regional public transport networks.
With time, as the Indian riders start to make an impact at the top of the top of their classes and as more teams join in and the grid gets more competitive, more people will have no choice but to be drawn in by the sheer drama of Supercross, which also happens to be a very broadcastable sport.
Now, it’s just a matter of waiting to see just how big this sleeping giant of a sport becomes in India. Season 2 promises to be a triple jump of a year and I cannot wait to dive right back into it!
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