The festival was also witness
to the first ever community unveil of Royal Enfield’s new ground-up modern twin
motorcycles, the Interceptor INT 650 and the Continental GT 650. Exclusive for
the community members who have defined and grown the brand’s culture over the
years, the unveil was hosted by Siddhartha Lal, CEO and Rudratej Singh, President,
Royal Enfield.
The road to Rider Mania commenced with
countrywide rides in key cities with Royal Enfield clubs and communities
participating in large numbers. Rider Mania 2017 saw participation from
attendees from diverse backgrounds and geographies. Enthusiasts rode from as
far as Delhi, Gwalior, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Bhubaneswar and even far flung cities
of Kolkata and Guwahati for the annual get-together relishing every moment
leading up to Rider Mania.
The most sought-after event at
Rider Mania - the Dirt Track Race saw participants turning up in their special
race-tuned motorcycles to slug it out on a dusty, uneven race track. The holy
grail of Dirt Track racing, the Race of the Champions saw Gaurav Patil from
Kolhapur, Maharashtra emerge victorious amongst the champions from each of the
categories. The Himalayan expert category, introduced last year, saw Suhail
Ahmad from Bangalore beat the competition in a tightly fought contest. In the
novice category, Murti R from Tirupur, Tamil Nadu was crowned the champion. The
cleanest bike competition was won by Mumbai based Dushyant Jadhav whose 1979
Bullet 350 won him the contest.
Vineet Sharma from Pune
registered a convincing win to finish at the top of the podium during Trials
while Rithu from Pune, Maharshtra was crowned the winner in women’s category of
the competition.
This year, Rider Mania had
some of the most prominent names in the Indian custom building industry showcasing
evocative renditions of their Royal Enfield motorcycles. The festival saw TNT
Motorcycles from Delhi, Bulleteer Customs from Bangalore, Jedi Customs and
Haldankar Customs from Mumbai, Buraq motorcycles from Hyderabad apart from
other premier custom builders showcasing their best designs exclusively made
for Rider Mania 2017.
Source: Royal Enfield