The Capital was treated to some adrenalin-pumping action, courtesy Arûnas ‘Aras’ Gibiežaa, the stunt-biking champion from Lithuania, who stunned college students and motorbike enthusiasts with numerous tricks, including his trademark “bunny hops” and “360 degree wheelies”.
The two-time European stunt champion and a Red Bull athlete kicked off his nine-city tour on his Suzuki Gixxer with an exhibition at Rajmas College over the weekend. He said he never expected the Indian audience to comprise such fervent stunt-riding fanatics.
“Each stunt I performed was met with loud cheers and thunderous applause, which just egged me on to perform better. At the end of the day, a stunt-biker is only as good as his audience and I just experienced one of the best audiences I’ve been fortunate to perform in front of.”
On the sidelines, Aras shared how he followed his passion, something he got hooked onto when he just 10-years old. “I could not pass by a two-wheeler without testing it out and was soon popping wheelies and dragging my feet on the ground while riding on the rear wheel to feel the balance of the bike.”
There has been no turning back for him since then and the 25 year-old has now won accolades across the world for his skill. Speaking about stunt-biking on his third visit to the county, the sportsman said although stunt-biking in India is regarded more as dangerous nuisance on the streets rather than a sport, he felt the way forward was to focus more on safety.
“When you know how to perform a stunt, each time you are doing a trick, you should know how to control the bike in extra fast and dangerous situations, especially in a place like India,”he said.
On lack of facilities for stunt-bikers in India, he said back when he was starting out, he did not have special facilities to train. “I just had my motor cycle and a full tank of fuel to start training all day. When I was young, I trained every day and all day I could see nothing but my bike.”
His advise to youngsters in India who want to take up the sport is to just train hard and soon sponsorship will appear if they are really exceptional or if they start winning a lot of competitions, that can turn the passion into a career. In the case of Aras, winning 20 first stunt places around the world got him recognition.
Speaking about what attracted him to stunt biking and not racing, Aras said it was the passion to make a motorcycle do something more than just what it was built for and each time he competed, he wanted to do something special with his bike — something fun and interesting.
Condoling the recent death of biker Veenu Paliwal during a road trip, he said all bikers should be vigilant on the road. “Don’t go fast, be very careful — your security and other people’s safety is extremely important. Remember, there is only one life, so love and protect each other on the road.”
