New Era

Suzuki’s Gixxer Cup and the Red Bull Road to Rookies Cup’s inclusion in the JK Tyre racing banner is a new chapter for both.

- Vinayak Pande

With JK Tyre’s association with Volkswagen Motorsport India – that had been first discussed and negotiated as far back as 2008 – ending last year, the hunt was on to tie up with a major automotive company to give its National Racing Championship the sheen that had been lost in 2016.

While names like Renault had been thrown into the mix, it ultimately came down to a two-way street of JK Tyre as a company expanding into making two-wheel tyres and Suzuki India wanting a tried and tested marketing platform.

While Suzuki bikes in India, as yet, do not use JK Tyre products, the company’s representatives are hoping things go down that route so that the motorsport association has a direct connection to the road as well.

Along with its Gixxer Cup, that used to run in association with the MMSC – and on MRF rubber – Suzuki also ran the Red Bull Road to Rookies Cup. The latter acts as a feeder to the Red Bull Rookies Cup races that are held on MotoGP weekends and serve as window shopping, in effect, for teams looking out for talent in Moto3.