India's top bikers today hailed the decision to host the National Championship at the Buddh International Circuit here but felt the track is best suited for the powerful bikes.
Sarath Kumar and K Rajini, who are locked in an interesting battle in the ongoing MMSC-FMSCI national Motorcycle championship, said it was great for the bikers to experience riding on a Formula One circuit and enjoy world class facilities but the track is so fast that you need no less than 600cc bikes to have optimum result.
Competing in the Honda championship, riding CBR 250, Rajini pipped Sarath in last corner of the last lap to win Race 1 of the round three.
It is for the first time that the bikers have got an opportunity to race at BIC and both two-wheeler and four-wheeler national championships are being hosted together.
"It is very fast but not comfortable for the bikes. It is different from the MotoGP tracks. It's kind of stop and go. It's eating into your power. Maybe when you have big bikes here, you will have more fun," 33-year-old Rajini said.
"In India there are not many 600cc manufacturers and not enough sponsors to get those bikes. FMSCI was asking for 10 but they were getting eight," Rajini, who has won six races in the Asian Championship, said.
21-year-old Sarath, the only Indian to have raced in MotoGP, said one needs 600cc or Moto3 bikes to ride on BIC track.
"There are a lot of technical and variety corners but it will be more fun, if you can have 600cc bikes," Sarath, who races for Honda in the Asian Dream Cup, said.
"You need powerful bikes to enjoy riding in this world class facility."
Sarath is still leading the championship and talking about today's close race with Rajini, he said missing a gear in the last corner cost him the race.
"It was very close. We were going neck-and-neck. In the last corner he came so close, almost inside me. I missed the gear and could not peak, so lost," he said.
