Historic debut: Kavin Quintal becomes 1st Indian rider at World Superbike Championships

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], July 18 (ANI): Indian rider Kavin Quintal is all set to make a historic debut at the World SBK SSP300 competitions, becoming the first Indian rider to participate in a World Superbike Championship.

“Thanks to the opportunity provided by the Irish team, ‘Team#109 ‘ and its management company, Gaman Racing Global Service, Kavin’s entry is accepted for the SSP event in the fourth round, which begins at Most, Czech Republic on Friday,” the press release by World SBK stated.

The 19-year-old Chennai star, Kavin Quintal, will be filling in for the Irish team’s main rider, Spaniard Daniel Mogeda, who suffered an injury after leading the Supersport 300 class, in an unfortunate crash that paved the way for the Irish team to rope in Kavin Quintal.

Kavin Quintal said this is a great opportunity for him and he would try to learn and enjoy it at the same time.

“It is a great opportunity that I will try to learn and enjoy at the same time. I will be able to show my maximum level together with a great team that surrounds this structure. I would like to thank the team for this opportunity,” he said.

Kavin, a world-class rider, is currently competing in the European Stock Championship within the FIM JuniorGP and in the Asia Road Racing Championship. In the three rounds of JuniorGP, Kavin had a top-10 finish.

As a rider who started his baby steps at 13, he was the youngest rider to earn points in the Indian National events. He went on to win the Talent Cup twice, in 2021 and 2023 in India. Later, after Asia Talent Cup events, he soon blossomed into a mature rider, moving to Europe. He will be looking for his best results in this ‘magnificent opportunity’, as the Indian described it.

Paul Tobin, the team manager of Team 109, welcomed Kavin and praised his experience in the Asia Talent Cup.

“I would like to welcome Kavin to the team for the weekend to replace Daniel. Kavin Quintal has good experience in the Asia Talent Cup and in the Stock 600 in the FIM JuniorGP. We are very happy to have the first Indian rider into the World Championships,” he said.

The practice sessions will be on Friday, followed by a race each on Saturday and Sunday at Most, Czech Republic.