A class of his own

Excited about his forthcoming visit to Spain is champion biker Rustom Patel. In June 2006, Patel was the winner of the Castrol Power 1 Throttle Max Champions 2006 in Jaipur in the motorcycles up to 250cc category. "This is the highest class at Indian level. Winning it means I have been declared the most skilled rider in the country,” he states.

His prize includes a trip to Valencia to see the Valencia Moto GP (Grand Prix) to be held in October. "I will not be in the stands with the spectators. As winner I will be given a special permit to be in the pits, with the riders. I will get to meet my heroes such as Valentino Rossi (Moto GP world champion), Marco Malendri and others. I will be able to chat with them, sit on their bikes, take photographs! This is a dream come true. This is world level racing,” Patel brims with enthusiasm. With him will be another bike lover – Bollywood heartthrob John Abraham who is Castrol’s brand ambassador.

The competition in Jaipur was a tough test of skill and control. Patel narrates: "There were preliminary rounds in eight cities which attracted 400 passionate bikers from all over India. I had to fight in Bombay to win that round. Each city winner came for the finals on June 18.”

Gulf Dirt Track action; Rustom Patel (below left) receiving Castrol Power 1 trophy from John Abraham (center) with Castrol’s V. Srikanth alongside

A versatile rider, Patel had also won the first round in Mangalore of the Gulf Dirt Track National Championship in April ’06. Riding a TVS Shaolin, Patel obtained the maximum points (37) in the Private Expert Championship class in the motorcycles 80cc-150cc, Group B, two-stroke. At the second round in Madras on July 22-23, Patel stood first in the Indian riders on foreign bikes as well as the Indian experts class. "The Suzuki RM 125 cc I was riding has just been released in Japan. I had half a lap lead!” With three rounds to go, Patel is currently at the top of the table.

In the grueling 80 km Gulf Monsoon Scooter Rally in June, Patel stood second, having been pipped to the post by unfancied Kunal Rao. "With heavy rains lashing the city last night, the ride along the backwoods of New Bombay was arduous. Negotiating the slushy stretches and gravel ridden tracts proved more than a handful. Such was the condition of the route plotted by Sportscraft that a competitive sector had to be rerouted at the last minute… many took a tumble, some even lost their way,” reported Mumbai Newsline, June 26, 2006. Of the 32 riders who started from Dadar, only 23 managed to make it to the finish line, the paper added.