Chennai: Honda 2 Wheelers India Pvt. Ltd. recently announced that Mohamed Mikail, the 2018 IDEMITSU Honda India Talent Hunt find and running 2019 IDEMITSU Honda India Talent Cup (NSF250R) champion became the first Indian rider to join the prestigious 2020 IDEMITSU Asia Talent Cup (IATC) grid.
Hailing from Chennai, the 15-year old Mikail was one among the five young riders from India to participate in the selection for 2020 season of IATC at Sepang circuit of Malaysia. These included 13-year-old Sarthak Shrikant Chavan from Pune, 14-year-old Kavin Samaar Quintal, 15-year-old Geoffrey and 16-year-old Varoon S. from Chennai.
According to a release, the selection had nearly 90 young riders from over 15 countries in the Sepang Go-Kart track and after three consecutive short listings based on actual riding, the Selection Committee, led by Talent Promotion Director Alberto Puig (a former premier class racer and renowned talent scout) selected a total of 17 riders from India, Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Japan and Turkey out of which 12 riders including Mikail are selected to join the grid next year with five others on the reserve list, thereby making Mikail the only Indian driver to be selected.
“First, I would like to thank Honda, my team and our sponsors for giving me this big opportunity to race on the world stage. It has been nothing short of a dream come true. With Honda 2Wheelers India, I got the opportunity to improve my skills internationally with best of Thai riders in 2019 Thailand Talent Cup. Now I feel more confident on this world-class race machine. As the solo Honda rider from India, I will work hard with the team and do my best in every race,’ said Mikail.
Elaborating on this achievement Vice President, Brand and Communications, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd, Prabhu Nagaraj, said, “In 2018, Honda announced its biggest racing shift. Since then, our focus is to develop next-generation iconic Indian rider for the world. We are giving young Indian riders international racing opportunities like ARRC and Thailand Talent Cup. We are confident that, boosted by his team, Mikhail will make India proud at world stage and inspire young riders like him.”