Motorcycle racing in India witnessed the dawn of a new era at the weekend when the Suzuki Gixxer Cup championship introduced the Red Bull Road to Rookies Cup qualifying series at Chennai’s Madras Motor Race Track second round.

Now in its second year, then popular single-make series – which uses the award-winning 155cc Gixxer SF – saw five days of racing alongside the Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship.

The Red Bull Road to Rookies Cup is the first-of-a-kind series which provides young and aspiring Indian racers a launchpad to the international racing arena. The first round of the Road to Rookies Cup saw eight talented young riders, aged between 13 and 16, compete in three races alongside the older and more-experienced novice riders from the Gixxer Cup.

The action began with an introduction and orientation workshop conducted by Suzuki and Red Bull for the ‘Rookies’ – theory classes, track ride through, sighting laps and practice sessions interspersed with feedback sessions from Suzuki’s highly-qualified team of racing instructors.