European stunt biking champion Aras Gibieza’s love affair with India continues
When you think of a fast bowler, you imagine him to be tall, athletic and fiery eyes. When you think of a Rugby player, you imagine him to big, burly and rough around the edges. But it’s difficult to fit a stunt biker into a mould. Maybe, given the unique nature of this sport, you can’t really outline this individuality into a blue print. Who knows? But one thing is for certain, blueprint or not, Aras Gibieza is the yardstick all stunt bikers are compared against.
Who’s your experience been overall?
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| Aras Gibieza India Tour 2015 (Image credit: Neville Sukhia / Red Bull Content Pool) |
When you think of a fast bowler, you imagine him to be tall, athletic and fiery eyes. When you think of a Rugby player, you imagine him to big, burly and rough around the edges. But it’s difficult to fit a stunt biker into a mould. Maybe, given the unique nature of this sport, you can’t really outline this individuality into a blue print. Who knows? But one thing is for certain, blueprint or not, Aras Gibieza is the yardstick all stunt bikers are compared against.
When
we say, stunt biking, we don’t mean the
‘accelerate-hard-in-a-residential-area-and-attract-attention’ kind of stunts
most of us are familiar with. Gibieza’s stunts requires special skill and a
thorough knowledge of the physics. Every time he lifts his wheel off the ground
or props his leg around, he’s playing with the laws of physics.
Aras
Gibieza recently went on a three-city India Tour after wowing the audience at Hyderabad
during the Red
Bull F1 Showrun.
Prior to that, he did an eight-city tour while performing for IBW on Tour.
Suffice to say, the young Lithuanian has been to more Indian cities (current
count is 12) in last 4 months than most of us visit in a year.
When
the dust settled and Gibieza got off his saddle, we caught up with him to know
why he does what he does; and more importantly, how he does it. Here’s what he
had to say:
How was your experience of the three-city
India Tour?
It
was really great to ride there. The three cities – Kolkata, Guwahati and
Shillong – are completely different. At first, I didn’t think that they would
be so different because all three cities are pretty close distance-wise. But,
while travelling, after every 5 km. the scenery would change. All of a sudden
you start feeling cold, the hill climbs are sudden, people’s facial features
changes and everything is totally different from place to place. Kolkata is also
a nice place. It’s a bit of old school. It’s still stuck in the fifties, it
seems. But it’s cool.
It
was nice to see the local guys performing. BMX riders, B-boyers. It was a great
event, overall.
Shillong
also was great. B boys and local guys performed. We had a really great place
and beautiful weather. So it was nice.
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| Popping a wheeling in front of the Shillong crowd (Image credit: Neville Sukhia / Red Bull Content Pool) |
What do you think about the level of stunt
biking in India?
Some
of them are really good riders. Some were beginners while others looked like
they might have been riding since years.
Biggest
problem [in India] is underpowered bikes. It’s completely different. Things
like drifts and burnouts can’t be done with these bikes. Unless you have bike
bikes, stunt biking will be stuck at the same level.
How did you started riding?
I
started riding when I was 10 years old on scooters. I started doing wheelies just
one week after I started riding. I used to do wheelies all over my locality.
Which scooter was it?
It
was Suzuki FZ50. It’s a small scooter.
In
2006, I got my first bike. But it was for racing. I used to make fast stoppies
and fast wheelies.
In
2008, I got my first stunt bike. I started preparing for stunt biking
competitions. I used to do slow wheelies and big angle stoppies, 180 stoppies,
tank stands, etc. All these are beginner’s tricks.
In
2009, I won Baltic States Competition in my country.
In
2010, I won in Russia.
In
2011, I won Eastern European Championship.
In
2012, I won the European Stuntriding competition and every other competition I
participated in.
Which was your first bike?
Suzuki
GSXR 600.
Which is your current bike?
Kawasaki
Ninja 636.
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| Aras Gibieza and his customized Kawasaki Ninja 636 (Image credit: Neville Sukhia / Red Bull Content Pool) |
How different it is from a road bike?
It’s
completely different. If you compare the same model of Ninja, the only common
stock parts I have are the engine, wheels, swingarm and radiator. But even that
[the radiator] has two fans for cooling now. I have changed a lot of parts on
my bike, like handlebars and triple tree. I got bigger sprocket and bigger disc
brakes in the front and rear. I’ve even customized the frame to take the loads,
all the foot rests are customized and even the tank is customized to allow tank
stand and other stunts. You need to do these modifications to prepare the bike
for stunting.
Which bike would you suggest to a beginner who
wants to try his hand at stunt biking?
Ninja
636. Kawasaki has made this really nice bike for stunt riding.
But
we have a problem. Original parts are not too strong for stunt riding so you
have to change some parts.
How was your experience riding in Hyderabad opening
for the F1 car?
It
was amazing! It’s something out of this world. It saw an F1 car so close for
the very first time. Great place, beautiful weather, so many people, 650 mt.
straight line – it was just great. I was going full throttle in 6th
gear on the straight. Even got an opportunity to meet
David Coulthard and chat
with him. It was amazing. One of the best memories of my life!
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| At the Red Bull F1 Showrun, Hyderabad (Image credit: Pedrag Vuckovic / Red Bull Content Pool) |
What did you discuss with David Coulthard?
We discussed
about our countries, culture, my sport, his sports, other sports, etc.
Is it correct that you saw so many people for
the first time at one of your events?
Yes,
it was the biggest crowd I ever performed in front of. 650 meters and people on
both sides, packed to the rafters. It was great. You look around and everywhere
it’s full of people.
They
scream a lot. THE
BEST CROWD EVER!
How different was IBW on Tour compared to
North East Tour?
At
IBW we had competitions all the time with local teams performing. Weather was
too distinct from city to city.
I
enjoyed both the tours.
But
definitely, Showrun was my favourite.
Favourite trick?
I
have few ones. There is one trick I call unicycle.
Guys
from flatland call it time machine. It’s more or less similar.
After
this trick I created another trick – Supertower.
You
make wheelie circles and you’re sitting on the handle bar and your leg is on
the front fender.
Also,
360 kangaroo stop is my favouite.
Is the Supertower similar to Watchtower?
A
bit. In Watchtower, you’re standing while here you’re sitting. And also, it’s
one-handed.
Which has been the most difficult trick to
learn or to execute?
360
is the most difficult, according to me. Also, switchback wheelie.
Today,
not many guys can do these tricks. 360, nobody is doing. Even supertower,
nobody is doing. Another trick, unicycle. All these are really tough. It also
depends on which one you’re practicing. If you’re practicing switchback wheelie
every single day then suddenly you’ll start finding that one easy. If you train
for another trick, then that becomes easy for you.
What are you training for right now?
Right
now, I am training for 360 and those new tricks.
First trick you learnt?
Wheelie.
Fast wheelie is the easiest one.
When are you planning to come back to India
next?
As
soon as possible!
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| At Guwahati during the India Tour 2015 (Image credit: Neville Sukhia / Red Bull Content Pool) |
Beautiful.
All cities are so different. Different culture and different people. I’m really
happy to have got this opportunity twice to visit so many different cities in
India.
India
is a multifaceted nation. And it’s easy for an outsider to get overawed by its
complexity. But Gibieza is not one of them. He loves the cultural diversity and
throughout his Indian trip, he was ever ready to try out new experiences. Never
once losing that amusing smile. That’s Aras for you: Agile, 100-watt smile,
calm demeanor and the ability to activate his inner Ninja once he gets on that
Kawasaki of his. And perhaps, that’s the mould for stunt bikers. That of a
ninja!
Disclaimer: This article first appeared on RedBull.com
Disclaimer: This article first appeared on RedBull.com
