New Venue: The first striking difference was the venue. IBW 2016 moved to Arpora from its previous venue of Vagator. The new venue was a welcome change, thanks to its bigger size and levelled surface. Also, contrary to the Vagator venue which used to get dusty with the constant movement of bikes, Arpora was a much better choice, according to many riders.
Lesser attendance, fewer stalls: This year’s IBW saw a relatively poor attendance as compared to last year. Therefore, there were lesser riders and lesser bikes at the festival. One of the main attractions of the festival – the stalls selling safety and performance gear and accessories, had dwindled in number too. Prominent sellers like Performance Racing and Spartan were missing from the action.
New Initiative: The makers of IBW, through a unique initiative, had devoted themselves to encouraging riders to make what is called ‘The Great Migration to Goa’. By connecting with over 300 biking clubs, the organisers enabled solo and club riders scattered across the country to journey down through highlighted feeder roads. This initiative saw over 20 national biking clubs participate at an exclusive parade through the IBW Main Street. The Great Migration had hundreds of biking clubs across India showcasing their rides and their attitude through one of the longest constructed parade routes at an Indian biking festival. The event featured bikers from cities across India like Kolhapur, Bangalore, Mumbai, Surat, Ahmedabad, etc.
Film Festival: India Bike Week 2016 featured its first ever film festival. The competition showcased feature profound travel films from all over the world, bringing together elements central to the rider, the bike and their journey. The films were judged by renowned personalities like Imtiaz Ali, Gaurav Jani and Pankaj Trivedi. Shweta Jangir of Pune won in the Two Wheeler Talkies category for her film ‘The Motocycalysts’ while Hari Mohanan of Kerela won in the Mile Stories category for his film, ‘Invisible Wings’.
Enduro Challenge: This year, IBW hosted India’s first ever official Hard Enduro event as the Dirty20 Enduro Challenge. Unveiling the premier official Enduro challenge at IBW 2016, Day 1 and Day 2 of the event saw an overwhelming response of over 60 participants through amateur Moto Cross riders across India. The inspiring participation served as a platform to encourage future riders to take up the discipline on a professional level. One of the highlights of this event was the 9-year-old Indian motocross riding prodigy, Sarthak Chavan, who featured as a special guest, showcasing his talents through some quick lap-times.
