Bajaj to lead Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride for Triumph in India: Sumeet Narang MediaInsights.in

HT Auto spoke to Sumeet Narang, President – Pro-Biking (Bajaj Auto), about expanding the partnership beyond building motorcycles to support DGR. As one of the biggest motorcycle makers in the country, Bajaj understands India like no other and will be investing its efforts to organise the ride across 32 cities on May 19, 2024.

Also Read : Bajaj Auto to make 10,000 Triumph motorcycles every month by September 2024.

“It’s an amazing property [Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride]. We come on as ride partners and see a very good synergy between the ethos of our brand and DGR,” says Narang. “When you look at the Triumph brand, it’s all about the iconicity. While there is performance, it’s also got amazing understated elegance with its styling and attention to detail, something which goes very well with the DGR attributes. At the same time, it is a very progressive property because it is focusing on some very important and critical issues, something like mental health which are issues of the current times.”

“DGR celebrates the vintage/legacy look. That’s something that Triumph is a lot about. It’s a brand with 120 years of rich heritage and legacy but doesn’t stay steeped over there. It has grown to adventure bikes, sport bikes and more. This is the first year we are partnering and what’s important for us is to understand how the whole thing works. With every passing year, we will try to make the properties that much bigger. The role we can play as the years go by would be leveraging our brand strength and scale to grow awareness of the DGR. driving more active participation from our riders, and then the awareness of the cause happens automatically along with it.”

Since its inception, the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride (DGR) has witnessed participation by over 500,000 riders globally, who have collectively raised $45 million, while increasing awareness about prostate cancer research and men’s mental health issues. The event is open to classic and vintage-styled motorcyclists who dress up in a suit and the necessary riding gear and ride as one every year.

Over the years, DGR has not only stood out for its awareness program but has transformed into a celebration of motorcycling as a lifestyle and a form of self-expression. For Triumph India, associating this year also brings a host of new riders considering the brand has grown massively amidst the success of the Speed 400 and Scrambler 400 X models. Both bikes have been co-developed by Bajaj and built at the latter’s facility in Chakan, Maharashtra. However, Bajaj’s association now goes beyond business with Triumph when it comes to DGR.

Sumeet Narang says, “This is the first year for us as Triumph’s business partner for India to lead this partnership with a unique property. What we are doing from our side is to create very strong awareness about DGR, leveraging the community of our riders, which has grown quite a bit ever since we started selling the 400s.”

“We are leveraging that community to participate in more numbers and through our network, supporting many of these riders in terms of infrastructure, and hospitality, providing organisational support to lead the ride towards the DGR centres. And in towns where DGR does not have hosts, we are trying to get our dealers to play local hosts. It’s year one, but in the true spirit of the partnership, we are trying what we can do to keep increasing the awareness of this property,” he added.

The next edition should have Bajaj better prepared to organise DGR in India in more cities, especially with the brand’s tribe growing further. The 2024 edition will be held in over 1,000 cities around the world.

“Not only is that business important [Triumph-Bajaj partnership] but very clearly keep investing in the relationships, the partnerships, as well as the Triumph brand. Because that’s one of the biggest elements of this business right now,” says Sumeet Narang before signing off.

First Published Date: 18 May 2024, 20:25 PM IST