ISRL Season 3 auction: Rs 4.5 crore spent, Luke Clout top bid

The Indian Supercross Racing League closed its Season 3 rider auction in Pune on November 11, with six team owners spending Rs 4.5 crore to sign 42 riders from a pool of 135 registered athletes. The number includes 105 international riders and 30 Indian riders, the biggest and most expensive auction in the three year old league's history.

A record auction in Pune

The top bid of the day went to Australian Luke Clout, a nine time national supercross and motocross podium finisher, who was picked up by BigRock Motorsports SX for Rs 21.46 lakh, the highest price ever paid for a rider in ISRL. Among the Indian riders, Rugved Barguje drew the biggest bid, going to PBG Ducati Legacy Racing for Rs 6.5 lakh, one of the highest fees ever paid for a domestic rider in the league.

PBG Ducati Legacy Racing, a new entrant this season, also signed former Australian champion Matt Moss, who won ISRL's Season 2 title, along with Reid Taylor and Jack Nunn. Indewheelers Motorsports retained Frenchman Calvin Fonvieille and Thailand's Witsarut Salangam from the international pool. Riders came from France, the United States, Thailand, Indonesia and Australia among other countries, a spread the league has used to pitch itself to sponsors as supercross's fastest growing market outside the United States and Australia.

New Indian Futures class takes shape

Season 3 runs four categories: 450cc International, 250cc International, a 250cc India and Asia mix, and the new 250cc Indian Futures class reserved for home grown talent on foreign built machines. The Indian Futures class is ISRL's answer to a problem every grassroots Indian motorsport covers: there is no clear ladder for a young rider to go from local dirt track racing to a professional contract. By ring fencing 30 of the 135 registered slots for Indian riders and guaranteeing them bike time against international competition, the league is betting that a few of its younger signings can eventually challenge for a 450cc seat.

Of the 30 Indian riders registered for auction, Indonesian teenager Muhammad Athar Alghifari, picked by Gujarat Trailblazers for the 250cc India and Asia category at age 16, was the youngest rider signed across any category, a reminder that the India and Asia mix class draws from a wider regional talent pool than Indian Futures alone.

What the season looks like

ISRL Season 3 is set to run three rounds between December 2026 and February 2027, with the league bringing back its fan park format from Season 2, where spectators get pit access and rider meet and greets alongside the racing. Venues for the three rounds have not been finalised publicly yet. For Indian supercross fans, the auction numbers matter less than what they signal: six franchises are now willing to pay real money, up to Rs 6.5 lakh for a single domestic rider, to build Indian talent inside a professional team structure, something the sport in India has lacked outside club level racing.

Sources

• Indian Supercross Racing League Season 3 Riders Auction: Rs 21.46 Lakh For The Most Expensive Rider
• Indian Supercross Racing League Concludes Season 3 Riders Auction
• ISRL Season 3 Rider Auction attracts global stars, sets new benchmarks in motorsport