JK Tyre Racing Championship 2015 to kickstart this weekend

Round 1 of the Championship scheduled at the Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore on Aug 8-9. Action packed races are expected in the JK Racing India Series, Volkswagen Vento Cup & Formula LGB 4 classes.

Coimbatore, the city with a motorsport history is all set to host Round 1 of the JK Tyre Racing Championship 2015 at the famous Kari Motor Speedway on August 8-9. The Championship is currently in its 18th successive year and is country’s only series that has been backed by a single promoter ever since its inception.

Spread over four rounds and 32 races, the first two rounds of the championship will be held in Coimbatore and the last two rounds will be held at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida. Over 60 rookie and seasoned drivers from across the country will line up to battle it out for the coveted title and will compete in three different classes namely- JK Racing India Series, JK Tyre-Volkswagen Vento Cup & Formula LGB 4.

JK Tyre has year on year revamped and re-packaged the championship to raise the bar to match international championship. The overall team of officials comprise of the best of the technical staff from India and abroad. Alessandro Ferrari who has overseen operations of over 1000 races internationally is the Race Director of the 18th JK Tyre Racing Championship, while 7-time National Champion Hari Singh ensures the safety of the participants.

After travelling through circuits in Asia & Europe, the famous JK Racing Asia Series was reprogrammed and tailor-made for Indian race drivers and was rechristened the JK Racing India Series in 2013. In its third successful year, JK Racing India Series that features the extremely powerful FB02 cars with a Mygale chassis powered by a 1.2 litre BMW bike engine, is the premier class in the championship.

JK Tyre along with world renowned Italian racing team Euro International introduced it in the championship in 2013. With 12 races in the season, the grid comprises National champions of the JK Tyre National Karting Championship, Champion of Volkswagen Polo Cup and Formula LGB 4.

This year, JK Tyre has reserved seats for two experienced young international drivers who will be competing against the Indian lads thus taking the competition to the next level. The FB02 cars are highly sophisticated and have been the breeding ground of many Formula 1 drivers. As the 12 drivers race it out, the overall champion will get one in a lifetime opportunity to test in Formula 3 with Team Euro International.

Formula LGB 4, the Indian-made Formula car, is the first step to single-seater racing for any aspiring race driver. The grid comprises 22 race drivers from across four professional racing teams – Meco Racing (owned by international racer Armaan Ebrahim), Rayo Racing (owned by 8-time national champion Rayomand Banajee), Dark Don Racing (owned by ex-racer Afsar Riyaz) & Avalanche Racing (owned by ex-racer Fazal Khan).

The FLGB 4 category promises some electrifying action, and champions like Vishnu Prasad, Chittesh Mandody, Kartik Shankar, Ajay Kini, Ameya Bafna, Arya Gandhi, and Krishnaraj Mahadik will fight tooth and nail to seal their winning place in the fight to the championship title. There will be a total of 12 races of FLGB 4 in the championship. The overall champion of the FLGB4 will get a fully sponsored drive in the JK Racing India Series 2016.

The 2015 season will also witness Volkswagen making a shift from the Polo Cup to the Vento Cup. The JK Tyre-Volkswagen Vento Cup will make its debut with the 2015 season at the Kari Motor Speedway. The gird of 22 drivers was finalised through an intensive selection programme from over thousands of entries received from across the country. Based on the same lines as that of Polo R Cup, Vento Cup will serve as a one-make series with equally prepared cars being given to selected racing drivers for the eight races. Volkswagen has been associated with JK Tyre Racing Championship for six years now and year on year together they have upgraded the technology, the overall presentation and packaging, and competition levels in the championship. The overall champion of the VW Vento Cup will get a fully sponsored drive in the JK Racing India Series 2016.

Another aspect which is very striking is the increase in number of female participants over the years. Sneha Sharma from Mumbai, who is a pilot by profession, and Mira Erda, a well-known karter from Vadodara, will be taking part in the Formula LGB 4 category.

Rookies Ria Dabas and Neha Dabas of Delhi will take part in the Volkswagen Vento Cup. They will surely to be a threat to the throne.

This year, the championship has participants from cities such as Rewa (M.P), Sikkim, Assam, Mahabalipuram, Aurangabad and Kerala. With the world class racing track in North India, there has been an increase in the number of participants from the region, and the karting tracks in Hyderabad too have contributed significantly in increasing participation from that city.

Having participants from across the country truly showcases the national stature of the championship and gaining popularity of motor racing across the nation. With the objective of improving the overall development of race drivers, JK Tyre took the initiative to organize a fitness training program for this season’s race drivers, investing huge resources on fitness.

In collaboration with Ramaji Srinivasan, the world class fitness trainer who has trained the Indian cricket team, the drivers underwent a three day training program in Chennai which was designed keeping in mind the overall requirements of a professional racer.

The championship is run under the aegis of Federation of Motor Sport Clubs of India (FMSCI).

The 2015 season of JK Tyre Racing Championship is all set for a crackling start and an action packed weekend is on the cards.