I went to São Paulo again to see the new things and enjoy the Interlagos Motorcycle Festival. I have to say it like this because there is also the Car Festival, which will be next week.
First, Duas Rodas seems to have created, perfected, optimized, adjusted an event format that is far superior to the old Motorcycle Show format. People nowadays have a lot of access to images and videos, so what they want now is experience. They want to see, touch, hear, use, things that are not yet possible to do digitally. One day they will be, but not today. Therefore, this business of putting the bikes on the track to ride, giving motorcycle lovers the opportunity to use the bikes on the track is sensational. And it's not just any track, it's our mythical Interlagos track and its curves, like the Senna S, for example. It's unmissable.
As press, I would have better and greater access on the days when the Festival is open only to the press and trade, but I can't, right? It started on Tuesday and I simply don't have that availability. I don't live off Motozoo®, I need to work and this year I only went during the weekend again, I didn't use the bikes on the track. I would also have to bring equipment and a helmet… I was too lazy to organize all that and fortunately I've already ridden a lot on the Interlagos track, so I don't get too envious.
But even for those who don't go on the track, the simple fact of seeing and hearing the bikes go by is very cool and a huge differentiator compared to the old formats. But it requires a racetrack like Interlagos to work. They are investing a lot in equipment, new grandstands, a huge new building in the middle of the track, which the Festival partially occupied… It's a big, sprawling event that can be tiring.
Entry is through the top of the pits, where we have a lot of little shops with great prices for equipment, accessories, and helmets. Then you go down to the pit level, where next to the track exit we have the factories' facilities. On the other side, facilities that are like a showroom or hospitality center for the factories. Going down the stairs, we then have a huge area with a zip line, Ferris wheel, stage for shows, motocross arena, mini-tracks, and more large factory facilities that didn't fit upstairs, like this year's Voge, for example. It's very big.
I went on Saturday to work and photograph everything. I arrived in São Paulo in the middle of a downpour that flooded the city... I kept thinking... how will the test rides on the track be for those who paid? Fortunately, the rain was very heavy, but quick, and when I arrived at the racetrack, which seems to get farther away each year due to traffic, the sun was already coming out and drying the track. Amen. I rode until I was tired, I photographed until I was sick of it, and I returned on Sunday just to wander around.
You don't see many new things at these events anymore. And, besides, the world is now full of influencers and their cameras. Everyone is literate and an expert at reading spec sheets, so any novelty dies the moment it's posted on YouTube. Understanding motorcycles, having culture, knowing how to provide a useful analysis is much rarer, but also much less in demand. That's why it works.
I started by looking at the Vespas without much enthusiasm, as the booth was weak. Then BMWs, Japanese bikes, and finally, the Chinese ones. The Japanese bikes continue in their style of making good, well-finished motorcycles, but they are calm in design and features compared to the Chinese ones. And they will have to lower their prices... The Chinese bikes are better made each year, they are bold and daring in design. Increasingly assertive, increasingly shameless in copying what is working. But, you are also starting to see innovation, good design features that haven't been seen before in Europe. They are real competitors today, with good products and good prices.
The Royal Enfield and Bajaj Indians are in the middle of the field. Their bikes have also improved a lot, they are beautiful but less daring than the Chinese ones. Their prices are also very good and KTM is coming with 390 bikes at a good price.
The CF motos are beautiful, the SBMs are beautiful, the rest is all known. Yamaha with a huge line of scooters, X-MAx, N-Max, Aerox, RayZR, Fluo, Neos... Honda giving a great facelift to the new Twisters.
See the photos I took and I recommend, in 2027, go to the Festival, it's totally worth it. The future of these events is not in showing what the public has already seen on screen, but in allowing them to do what the screen cannot yet provide.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Va66F9LJkNLaaEVG6
