n today's episode, I have the pleasure of inviting Rustom Patel. Rustom love affair with two-wheelers and passion for motorsports is not unknown. His is a name that hardly needs an introduction. Eight times Indian National Champion and 275 trophies are his prized possessions – that reflect his love and passion for two-wheelers. He started working on his beloved sport at a very young age, fulfilled several of his dreams, and has a bike training school in India to produce International stature bikers.
In Rustom Patel's apartment, in the old, Art Deco-inspired Parsi neighborhood in Byculla, hangs a framed picture of him from 2001. It's easy to miss, hanging as it does amidst a jungle of brass – cups, shields, awards, mementos, citations – he has collected over a lifetime of racing atop two wheels. Over the years, it colonized all the shelf space in his apartment and threatened the cutlery in the kitchen. And this is just the metal he has collected. His brother Zubin and his cousin Kaizad, have a similar need for industrial quantities of Brasso – the brothers Patel have dominated the sport of motocross racing and off-road biking in India, from the late '80s to the late 2000s.
The "Patels of Racing" they were called, and if you were a young speed junkie gunning the throttle for glory in those times, it was always a little annoying to see a Patel in the lineup.
Rustom is currently KTM India Factory Rider, Brand Ambassador for Castrol Biking, and is the Racing India Head coach for Ajmera Realty.
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