Pulsar Festival of Speed comes to Mumbai

The country’s second largest two-wheeler manufacturer Bajaj seem to have this very uncanny way of making boring weekends thoroughly exciting. Back in early 2012, they pleasantly surprised us with the debut of the Austrian brand KTM with its naked Duke 200.  KTM Bajaj since then has wooed the biking community with professionally organized weekend racing formats called “Orange Day” across select Indian metros. Large parking lots at malls that would otherwise remain overcrowded with car bumpers staring at each other in utter dismay were suddenly transformed into closed circuit tracks with used stacked radials dotting the track. The overflowing crowd that was always anticipated were held back with the help of guarded rails shrouded with the KTM banners. From there on it has been a rage for budding racers and enthusiasts alike,   especially with the elder twin, the Duke 390 and the RC sisters joining the show. 

The event turned to be big hit with bikers riding to the venues in troves. Bajaj wanted to do the same with their home grown sports bike – The Pulsar.  The motorcycle that in our opinion instilled the seeds of affordable performance biking in our country over a decade ago. Thus was conceived India’s first speed biking festival in 2016 - “Pulsar Festival Of Speed”. The concept kicked off on March 5th, 2016 in the city of Nawabs, Hyderabad. The capital Delhi witnessed the festival a week later. We had the opportunity to enjoy the spectacle yesterday in Mumbai. 

The race has two categories – Pulsar RS200 Races and Other Pulsar Races (NS 200, AS 200 and Pulsar 220). 36 finalists will be chosen from 6 cities that the festival will travel to and will have the opportunity to be trained by professionals at the Madras Motorsports Race Track. The lucky ones will then go ahead and compete for the Pulsar Cup. The qualifying races saw the fully geared riders attack the track on their stock Pulsars with aficionados among the audience supporting their run with a roaring cheer. Given the safety regulations and controlled environment, organizers ensured there were no casualties.  Besides the main event, the crowd was given ample respite with the awe inspiring stunt show by the boys from Ghost Ryderz.  

Once the qualifying races were over, the other side of the venue began to groove to foot tapping music by Rock and Pop artist Lesle Lewis. Lezz kept the crowd wanting more with his innovative resonance making Indian tracks sound creative. The venue also had other attractions like Skateboarding and Bicycle Moto-Cross. Food & Beverage stalls were spread out while tents showcasing accessories were bunched up with anxious crowd queuing for a glance.

The overall winner for the RS 200 category was won by Sachin Khengle, followed by Mohammad Ayaz Shaikh in second place and Akshay Karande in third place. The other category (Above 200 cc) was won by Sharook Namazi followed by Adil Shaikh and Ansari Vakil in second and third place.   

The festival is now poised to entice the city of Pune, Bengaluru and Chennai. We feel that formats like these are a good thing to have and will keep reckless riding on the streets at bay. This is also a fantastic way by the manufacturer to emphasise the importance of at least wearing a helmet if not a full gear.        

For more details on the schedule, registration and selection process you can visit http://www.bajajauto.com/pulsar/festivalofspeed