FMX
Abdo Feghali and Aras Gibieža will be among the athletes performing at the biggest one-day multi-discipline celebration of motorsports in India.
Red Bull Moto Jam is set to be India’s biggest motorsport festival, taking place at Island Grounds, Chennai, on 12th April.
With Chennai regarded as the motorsports capital of India, it was the obvious choice for hosting this first-of-a-kind celebration of motorsports.
Red Bull Moto Jam will bring together multiple disciplines, most notable of which are drifting, stunt biking, freestyle motocross (FMX), and stunt cars.
Event details
- Name: Red Bull Moto Jam
- Date: 12th April
- Time: 6:30 pm onwards
- Venue: Island Grounds, Chennai
- Tickets: Available on BookMyShow
The daring athletes behind the wheels and handlebars of these high-powered motor vehicles will fly through the air and burn rubber on tarmac to entertain the audience. And some of them are established Guinness World Record holders.
Athletes who will perform at Red Bull Moto Jam:
Abdo Feghali Abdo Feghali is a legendary drift athlete from Lebanon who holds the Guinness World Record for the longest drift (11.18 km). He will perform in a BMW M4. Aras Gibieža Aras Gibieža is an accomplished stunt biker from Lithuania who holds the record for longest no-handed wheelie (580 metres). He will perform on a Triumph Street Triple. Sebastian Westberg Sebastian Westberg is an FMX athlete from Finland who will perform on a Kawasaki KX450 Vivian Ganther Vivian Ganther is an FMX athlete from Switzerland who will perform on a KTM SX450 Thomas Wirnsberger Thomas Wirnsberger is an FMX athlete from Austria who will perform on a Kawasaki KX450
From the thunderous sound of engines to the mesmerizing flips in the air, every second at Red Bull Moto Jam promises to deliver an experience unlike any other. The event seamlessly blends motorsports with culture, offering fans an unforgettable spectacle that celebrates Chennai’s deep-rooted passion for speed and competition.
Aras Gibieža visited Chennai in the start of March to perform at SSN College of Engineering. It was his third time performing in the city over his many years of visiting India. He reiterated his passion for performing in Chennai, citing the city’s love for the sport.
“Chennai is the heart of motorsports in India, and the people really appreciate the tricks when I’m performing. I generally feel very welcome in India, and especially here in Chennai. I feel like the crowd in Chennai may not exactly know what I’m doing, but they kind of understand the difficulty of the tricks [because they understand motorsports],” says Aras.
While Aras has performed for over 100,000 people at once, he is looking forward to making a stronger connection with a limited crowd at Red Bull Moto Jam.
“I love those shows where I have less space to perform, but I have people all around so they can see every move I'm doing. It’s much more intimate, so I like it. And Red Bull Moto Jam will be exactly that kind of show,” he says.
With drift cars, FMX and stunt cars performing alongside his stunt biking, Aras is looking forward to collaborating on some stunts with the other athletes.
“I've performed with drifting and freestyle motocross, but I've never done anything with stunt cars. So that's gonna be a new challenge for me.
“With drifting, so far we've done basic things like a cat-and-mouse chase kind of thing. I think for Red Bull Moto Jam, we will bring something new for the audience to enjoy.
When asked what tandem tricks the audience in Chennai might expect to witness, Aras said it would be difficult to reveal as he isn’t really sure himself.
“Most of the time it's only on the day, and sometimes just before the show, that we will plan what tricks we are going to perform together.
“Imagine we have such a big event like Red Bull Moto Jam; we cannot close the whole area before the main event day just so we can practice. Usually we only get to practice a few hours before the start of the event. And during that I’m checking the tyre grip, looking for bumps or potholes on the road, and considering whatever is needed in order to make sure it is a safe show for me and for the audience.
“After each practice session and after each performance run, we have a drivers’ meeting where we all give our inputs, and that’s usually when we decide, ‘Okay, I think it's possible to do a wheelie here or a tandem trick with a drift car there.’ That’s when we will finalize. So the planning happens during the show also,” he says.
Aras has been performing stunt biking for over 15 years. He has collaborated on cross-discipline tandem tricks with drift cars and FMX riders in the past. But he is excited about Red Bull Moto Jam because he will be performing with these particular athletes for the first time.
“Performing with this set of drivers and riders will be new for me. I've met Abdo once; when I was in Poland to perform at Red Bull Car Park Drift. We hadn’t performed together then, but he took me for a spin in his drift car.
“[Performing with everyone for the first time] will be tricky and challenging, yes. But we are professionals. We have been doing these shows with Red Bull internationally since 2010, and we are the best in the game. We trust each other completely because we are part of the same family.”