Bike endurance event in Jodhpur

The country's leading motorbike riders will take up the unyielding challenge of the desert in the Top Gear Gulf Oil Enduro Championship, in Jodhpur next month.

India's first-ever endurance event for two-wheelers, to be run on December 16 and 17, is being supported by the Rajasthan Tourism department and staged under the auspices of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) and International Motor Cycling Federation (FIM).

Open to modified, four-stroke engine powered bikes, the event is being perceived as a forerunner to the Asian championship leg by Mumbai-based motor sports organizers Sportscraft, its executive vice-president Shrikant Karani said on Tuesday.

"The current Asian Enduro Championship is a two-legged event, comprising Thailand and Japan legs, and next year we want the Indian leg to be added to it. After that our aim is to be part of the World championship," Karani said.

Invitations are also being sent out to riders from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal.

Karani said for the first time there will be only competitive stages.

"Keeping the safety aspect in mind the riders will move in a convoy on the transport sector. This will prevent rash driving," Karani said, adding that the riders will have to negotiate rocky and sand dune terrain in their quest for prize-money worth 200,000 and Rs 60,000 in trophies.