Malcolm Ilavia is Castrol Power1 India’s Most Passionate Biker!

Release date: 22 April 2009

Malcolm Ilavia from Mumbai emerged the winner of the Castrol Power1 Passion Hunt beating back a strong challenge from 9 other finalists from across India. The adrenalin pumping excitement was palpable as India's top ten biking enthusiasts fought it out for the title of Castrol Power1 India's Most Passionate Biker. The finals of the Castrol Power1 Passion Hunt, held in Delhi over two days saw keen competition amongst the bikers who had made it to the final round after stiff competition in the preliminaries held in nine cities over the last six weeks. Castrol Power1 brand ambassador – actor John Abraham, a passionate biker himself, presented the grand prize, a Yamaha R1 superbike to the winner.

The Grand Finale kick-started with a series of on-stage activities which kept the audience glued to their seats. The 10 finalists of the challenge walked the ramp in designer biking gears. Proving their mettle, the contestants assembled the bikes in no time leaving the audience astounded. A Q&A session followed with the jury members that included the xBHP riders and John Abraham. The lively audience kept cheering their favourite contestants while the judges declared the winner.

The Castrol Power1 Passion Hunt was a test of biking skill and control as well as passion and knowledge about biking. The 9 city events and the online competition attracted over 5500 registrations. Participants were tested across four parameters – biking skills, style quotient, biking knowledge and overall passion for biking. The online component, where bikers logged on to www.power1hunt.com and created their own personal profiles as passionate bikers, allowed users to upload pictures, videos and stories pertaining to biking. Prakrit Takkar was elected as the online ‘Castrol Power1 Most Passionate Biker’ receiving over 58000 votes to secure his opportunity to compete in the finals.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr A S Ramchander, Marketing Director – BP Lubricants, Asia & Pacific Region, said, “Castrol has a long and glorious association with motorsports spanning over a hundred years. The Castrol Power1 Passion Hunt is another initiative by Castrol to promote motorsport and provide a platform for young riders to showcase their riding skills and passion for biking. Since this year marks the 100th year of the Castrol brand in India we wanted to do something unique for our key two wheeler consumers - the passionate bikers. Castrol Power1 with its unique power releasing formula meets the demanding requirements of high performance machines, operating in tough and testing conditions and is the preferred oil of bikers who demand the best performance.”

Shortly after giving away the trophy and the Yamaha R1 Superbike to the newly crowned ‘Castrol Power1 India's Most Passionate Biker’, Brand Ambassador for Castrol Power1, John Abraham said, “I would like to salute the spirit of all bikers who participated in the Castrol Power1 Passion Hunt . What I saw today was a great display of performance, skill and control. This was an ideal event for the bikers to demonstrate their passion and biking skills. Castrol has created a unique event which has enabled bikers to live their passion in a safe environment.”

Elated at his victory, Malcolm Ilavia, All India winner of Castrol Power1 Passion Hunt said “It is a dream come true to have won the Castrol Power1 Passion Hunt and to receive the trophy and Yamaha R1 superbike from my biking hero John Abraham. I would like to thank Castrol Power1 for giving me this opportunity to prove my skills against my fellow bikers who gave me very tough competition”

Members of the xBhp team, one of India’s leading biking communities, partnered with Castrol to judge the events all through. This team travelled across India through 17 cities to promote the event and talk to bikers about the passion of biking.