The second round of the MRF MMSC-FMSCI Indian National racing championship and the opening round of the Volkswagen Ameo Cup will be held at the Kari Motor Speedway in Chettipalayam here this weekend.
As in the previous seasons, the MRF F1600 winner of the championship comprising 12 races over four rounds, will earn the right to participate in the Mazda Road To Indy shootout in the United States.
The winner of the shootout will be eligible for a scholarship of ₹200,000.
The MRF Formula Ford 1600 will certainly be the highlight.
14 established racers
It features 14 established racers like Raghul Rangasamy, Kolkata’s Arya Singh, who last year won the Formula LGB 1300 championship, Karminder Singh, the 2017 VW Ameo Cup champion, karting graduates Yash Aradhya and Nayan Chatterjee, besides Sandeep Kumar, the 2017 first runner-up.
The popular saloon cars will also be competing in three categories — the premier Indian Touring Cars (ITC), the Indian Junior Touring Cars and the Super Stock besides the Esteem Cup — and the Formula LGB 1300 which, like MRF F1600, joins the National championship from this round.
Coimbatore will see two of its veteran stars N. Leelakrishnan (ARKA Motor Sports) and Arjun Balu (Race Concepts) on the grid in the ITC category.
Both are former champions and their return has added to the excitement.
Bengaluru’s Ashish Ramaswamy (ARKA Motor Sports) dominated the opening round in February this year by winning two of the three races and he will look to consolidate his position further.
Two women drivers
The VW Ameo Cup will feature 19 new drivers of which two are women. Yash Ojha, at 19 years, will be the youngest competitor.
The Ameo Cup champion will be decided over 10 races during the season and there will be two categories — Pro and Junior.
