- Over 8,000 register for the rally from across key metros, Tier II and III cities – Yamaha IBR to cover over 4,700 kms across 7 states and 40 cities in 21 days – Rally to be flagged off from Mumbai on 7th December 09
— YAMAHA INDIA BIKE RALLY (IBR) – BHARAT KI KHOJ has seen an overwhelming response from across the country. India’s first reality show on a social networking site has received over 8,000 entries since registrations opened on 20th October, 2009. Bigadda is organizing India Bike Rally in association with India Yamaha Motor Pvt. Ltd. to offer bike enthusiasts from across the country an opportunity to explore different cities and villages and in the process, discover the real India, on Yamaha bikes.
Entries have come in not only from key metros like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai but also from Tier II & III cities like Ajmer, Calicut, Chittorgarh and Ghaziabad to name a few. While contestants could register on ibr.bigadda.com, the micro site that was especially created for IBR, BIGADDA also launched a ‘call for entry’ initiative wherein offline activities in Fun Cinema multiplexes and colleges across cities complemented the online registration process. Currently, the screening process is being conducted to shortlist the finalists for Yamaha India Bike Rally-Bharat Ki Khoj.
The rally will cover an extensive stretch across Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh in a time span of just 21 days. A total of 20 finalists will be divided into 10 teams, each team consisting of 2 members: 1 male and 1 female. Come 7 December, 2009 the 20 finalists of ‘Yamaha India Bike Rally-Bharat Ki Khoj’ will hit the road. During the rally, the bikers will halt at a village or town (‘pit stops’) each day according to their route map. During their stay at these pit stops, the bikers will interact with the locals and observe the surroundings. The bikers will also be given certain interesting tasks that they must successfully complete at these pit stops. Each team of bikers will capture their experiences through photos, videos, and blog posts that will be featured on Bigadda on a daily basis.
Mr. Shivanandan Pare, COO, Bigadda said, ‘This is the first time that a reality show has been launched on any social networking platform. We are overwhelmed by the response that IBR has received making it an instant hit already among the youth. As a youth networking website, we have always supported the need to help the youth empower themselves. We wanted to provide them with a platform to discover the real India, and are happy that Yamaha has come forward to support us in this initiative.”
The winning team will get Yamaha YZF-R15, First and Second Runner up and four other lucky online users will win Yamaha Bikes. 5 million plus users of Bigadda will get a chance to rate the contributions made by the bikers and the winner will be decided on the basis of the overall number of votes received on his or her blog posts, photos and videos.
Commenting on IBR, Mr. Yukimine Tsuji, CEO & MD, India Yamaha Motor said, “With Yamaha India Bike Rally, we are creating one more benchmark in providing the true motorcycling experience to Indian consumers. It is designed to provide Kando* to the 20 short-listed participants as they get to experience the superiority of Yamaha’s Technology and Quality while riding over 4,700 kms on Yamaha bikes covering 7 states over a period of 21 days.”
“Through innovative events like Yamaha IBR and our regular events such as Ride-tech Challenge and R15 Racing Championships, we take forward our global legacy of being a brand that is refining the motorcycling culture in India by providing Indian bike enthusiasts with the combined thrill of technological superiority and artistic brilliance”, he added.
* Kando is a Japanese word for simultaneous feelings of deep satisfaction and intense excitement that we experience when we encounter something of exceptional value.
Source: Press release distribution via India PRwire
Notes to Editor
About Bigadda:
BIGADDA, part of the Reliance ADA group, is the largest and the fastest growing web and mobile Indian social networking site. BIGADDA.com enables networking based on Individuals (Friends and Friends of Friends) and Interests (self-expression by Create – Upload – Share of Videos, Photos, and Music. Some of the features of this Youth destination include Blogs and Scribbles, which help the users express, comment and connect, ADDAs (communities) and Forums – all of these catering to one of the most important needs of the youth today – ‘Identity Creation’ and ‘Self Expression’ What sets BigAdda apart from other networking sites is that it has community and social media drivers which are relevant and important to the Indian Youth. The rationale being that the target audience looks upto these as inspirations and influencers. Bigadda spans the genres of communities (Addas) like sports, fashion, photography, books, art, apart from just music and movies. It does not focus only on one genre, thereby making it a site catering all tastes and interests across categories. As per the brand promise “LET’S CATCH UP”, Bigadda brings in the Indian youth across all genres, seamlessly through the ethos of Indian values and the pride of being Indian.
About India Yamaha Motor Pvt. Ltd.
Yamaha made its initial foray into India in 1985. Subsequently, it entered into a 50:50 joint-venture with the Escorts Group in 1996. However, in August 2001, Yamaha acquired its remaining stake becoming a 100% subsidiary of Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd, Japan (YMC). In 2008, Mitsui & Co., Ltd. entered into an agreement with YMC to become a joint investor in the motorcycle manufacturing company “India Yamaha Motor Private Limited (IYM)”.
IYM operates from its state-of-the-art-manufacturing units at Surajpur in Uttar Pradesh and Faridabad in Haryana and produces motorcycles both for domestic and export markets. With a strong workforce of more than 2000 employees, IYM is highly customer-driven and has a countrywide network of over 400 dealers. Presently, its product portfolio includes VMAX (1,679cc), MT01 (1,670cc), YZF-R1 (998cc), Fazer (153cc), FZ-S (153cc), FZ16 (153cc), YZF-R15 (150cc), Gladiator Type SS & RS (125cc), Gladiator Graffiti (125cc), G5 (106cc), Alba (106cc) and Crux (106cc).
For more information, please contact:
Dimpee Shah (Sr Executive) (L) 22047079, (M) 9820830457