{"id":6123,"date":"2023-09-20T22:13:20","date_gmt":"2023-09-20T22:13:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/motogp-looks-to-tap-new-fan-base-the-express-tribune\/"},"modified":"2023-09-20T22:13:20","modified_gmt":"2023-09-20T22:13:20","slug":"motogp-looks-to-tap-new-fan-base-the-express-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistaninewspaperlist.com\/news\/motogp-looks-to-tap-new-fan-base-the-express-tribune\/","title":{"rendered":"MotoGP looks to tap new fan base | The Express Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nGREATER NOIDA:
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India hosts its maiden MotoGP on Sunday as the premier motorcycling championship looks to tap a potentially lucrative new fan base and succeed on a track where Formula One stalled.<\/p>\n

Two-wheelers are India’s<\/a> most popular means of petrol-powered transport with more than half of all households owning at least one motorbike or scooter, compared to just eight percent with cars.<\/p>\n

Sales figures show an increasing appetite for high-end, high-octane motorbikes, and organisers are banking on the trend to fuel interest in the sport in the world’s most populous country.<\/p>\n

“We have more than a million bikes in the 250cc-plus category selling every year in India, which means more than a million people are buying bikes for more than just transportation,” Vaibhav Sinha, chief executive of Indian MotoGP promoters Fairstreet Sports, told AFP.<\/p>\n

“They are using it for thrills, adventure, sports and leisure riding,” he added.<\/p>\n

“We intend to tap this potential to make biking a very big sport in our country.”<\/p>\n

But the lead-up to the race has seen concerns raised about the safety of the Buddh International Circuit, with particular fears about walls that are too close to the asphalt.<\/p>\n

“In India all the riders together are going to walk the track before we get on the bike to understand the situation,” Spanish rider Aleix Espargaro<\/a> was reported as saying.<\/p>\n

Some MotoGP personnel and riders also had problems getting visas for India, but organisers on Tuesday blamed a technical glitch and said it was on the way to being resolved.<\/p>\n

Fairstreet Sports signed a seven-year deal with MotoGP’s commercial rights holder Dorna Sports to hold a race in India, which has the world’s fifth-biggest economy.<\/p>\n

India is a critical market for the growth of MotoGP, Dorna’s chief sporting officer Carlos Ezpeleta said.<\/p>\n

“For us breaking into India, which is a whole continent in itself, is very important,” he told Sportstar magazine.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n