The Hindu : Sport / Racing : Motor : Sri Lankans to take part in National racing

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jun 13, 2007
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Sport - Racing : Motor

Sri Lankans to take part in National racing

Chennai: The JK Tyre National Racing Championship takes on an international dimension this time with the participation of drivers from Sri Lanka. Into the 10th edition, this important event in the Indian auto-racing calendar seems to growing in stature.

This was the theme that Vicky Chandok, co-ordinator of the championship, sought to impress on the media on Tuesday. The emphasis on the transformation from the time of launch through Formula Marutis to the current all-round growth; in the number of cars, the interest of the manufacturers and more sophisticated infrastructure.

Vicky Chandok said that the 2007 chapter, set to start this weekend (June 16 and 17) at Coimbatore, would feature over 50 cars from Maruti, General Motors and Hyundai. He added that the youngsters, who figure in the series of six races at Coimbatore and in Chennai, would not get a better platform to showcase their talent than this JK Tyre-sponsored event. The leading lights on the contemporary Indian scene like Narain Karthikeyan, Karun Chandok and Armaan Ebrahim graduated from these competitions.

Growing interest

There is a growing interest of the manufacturers. The involvement of Hyundai and General Motors came in for a special commendation from the racing fraternity. The increasing passion for racing had to be accepted with the commensurate improvement of infrastructure facilities. The Madras Motor Sports Club has spent Rs. one crore at the MMSC Track at Irungattukottai. Mr. Vicky revealed that the grid now had space for 25 cars.

V.A.J. Manikantan, General Manager, JK Tyre (South and West) reiterated the JK Tyre's association with motor racing. He announced the introduction of "Slick Tyres" for the cars to be raced. These are used worldwide in major competitions. He added the participation of 50 odd competitors was a testimony to the importance attached the National-level competition.

Explaining the nitty-gritty of the competitions, Rajan Syal, Chairman, JK Tyre Racing, said like the junior competition the best 10 points for each driver would be taken in for computing the championship. The prize money has been hiked substantially; it is Rs.15,000, Rs.10,000 and Rs.8,000 for three places in each race; the champion will get Rs.25,000 and Rs.15,000.

Tough competition

Competition is expected to be tough what with established drivers like Raymond Banajee, Ameya Walvalkar, Ajay Kini, Aditya Patel crossing swords with rookie stars like Saahil Shellar, Gautam Parekh, Amitjitra Ghosh.

In the fray are also popular teams like NK Racing, Wallace Sports, Gemini Racing, Rams Racing, Meco Sports and Prime Racing. Narain Shankar, the 2007 JK Tyre junior champion, along with Sudarshan Rao and Karthik Shankar, the second and third placed drivers in the junior championship will also be seen in action.

General Motors has offered a Chevy Optra SRV for the winner of the Formula Rolan Chevrolet category.

The schedule: Round 1: June 16-17 (Coimbatore), 2. July 14-15 (Coimbatore), 3. August 11-12 (Chennai), 4. September 1-2 (Chennai), 5. September 22-23 (Chennai), and 6. October 6-7 (Chennai).

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