JK Tyre set to kick-start motorsport extravaganza

July 19, 2013, Coimbatore: In yet another first, JK Tyre is all set to present a motorsport extravaganza unlike any other seen before. The Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore will host the inaugural round of the 16th JK Tyre Racing Championship 2013 as well as Round 3 of the FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship 2013 -Rally of Coimbatore sponsored by JK Racing from July 19-21, 2013.

Packaged in a way where a motorsport enthusiast gets to witness the best of both forms of Motorsport – Circuit racing and off-roading, the event will surely set a new benchmark in the history of Indian Motorsport and take it to higher level.

Round 1 of the 16th JK Tyre Racing Championship 2013 will witness interesting new classes, battle between the new and seasoned drivers and a host of other exciting support events. Close to 40 of the country’s most promising racing drivers will take part in the five-round championship across three challenging categories in the 2013 season. The newly introduced JK Racing India Series run by EUROINTERNATIONAL, one of the world’s most renowned teams, the existing classes Volkswagen Polo R Cup, and Formula LGB 4 championship is a mega celebration of power, skill and speed.

Round 3 of the Indian National Rally Championship – Rally of Coimbatore sponsored by JK Racing will also be flagged off from Kari Motor Speedway on July 20, 2013. Veteran & world-class Rally drivers like Karamjit Singh (also known as the Flying Sikh), reigning champion Amittrajit Ghosh, Samir Thapar, Gaurav Gill, Sunny Sidhu, Vikram Mathias, Arjun Rao and the likes will be seen in an interesting battle. Part of their effort to revive the sport of rallying in India, JK Tyre has partnered with Slideways Industries and Volkswagen Motorsport to field a team for the championship and have developed a VW Polo Car under the guidance of international driver Karamjit Singh. It’s going to a be a battle of sorts when Mahindra XUV 500 driven by APRC Champion Gaurav Gill, new Volkswagen Polo driven by Karamjit Singh and Samir Thapar in his turbo-charged Evolution X & Amittrajit Ghosh in his powerful Cedia will take each other head on. The spectator friendly stages have been decided to give the viewers maximum delight and thrill.

While the roads around Coimbatore will be bustling with the action of Rally of Coimbatore, the Kari Motor Speedway will be ready to throw interesting challenges to the 2013 season race drivers. The Racing season will witness India’s most well established racing teams such as Meco Racing, Rayo Racing, Dark Don Racing, Avalanche Racing and Kari Sports Racing participating in the championship. While drivers making their debut will look at displaying their talent, recognized ones such as Akhil Khushlani, Vishnu Prasad, Arjun Maini, Saran Vikram, Ameya Bafna and Raahil Noorani will look at dominating proceedings and leaving their mark this year too.

Introduced by JK Tyre in order to fill in the void for its find for the next Indian Formula One driver and give Indian race drivers world-class exposure, the JK Racing India Series will give 12 of India’s best racing talents an opportunity to compete in the best machine. Powerful FB02 cars featuring a Mygale chassis and 1.2 litre BMW bike engine will be used in the race. All the 12 drivers under the age of 20 years are National Karting Champions and have been part of JK Tyre’s motorsport programme. This is a JK Tyre initiative and not a BMW operation. The winners of JK Racing India Series will get a lifetime opportunity to test in a Formula 3 car in Italy, test in Formula Abarth F10 and a training program with the Formula Medicine, professional driver training, currently working with 8 current Formula One teams.

The fourth edition of the JK Tyre-VW Polo R Cup will feature 13 new and 7 existing drivers who were chosen from across India through a rigorous selection programme. South Africa’s Jeffrey John Kruger will be the only foreign driver competing in the category. Powered by a 1.4 litre, direct injection, 4 cylinder engine, the TSI Race Polo produces 180 hp and debuted impressively in last year’s edition of the championship. Winners of the Polo R Cup get a lifetime opportunity to race in the VW Scirocco Cup held in Germany every year. Racing talents like Aditya Patel, Sailesh Bolisetti, Oshan Kothadiya, and Sandeep Kumar are standing examples of Volkswagen’s efforts in encouraging country’s top racing talent.

The Formula LGB 4 category that remains the most economical single seater racing available anywhere across the world will see close to 20 drivers completing the grid and battling it out while taking the first step in single-seat racing. The racecar, developed by Mr. B Vijaykumar, was revamped last year and is powered by a carburetted 1300cc Suzuki Swift engine. The overall champion of the Formula LGB class wins himself a seat in the JK Racing India Series in the 2014 JK Tyre Racing Championship.

Spread over two days, there will lot of action both on track and off-track. On Saturday, at the Kari Motor Speedway the qualifying races and the first races of JK Racing India Series and Formula LGB 4 will be held along with the qualifying races of Volkswagen Polo R Cup. On Sunday, the final races of Round 1 across the three categories will be held followed by the podium ceremony. The Rally of Coimbatore will witness two stages on Day 1 followed by a grand finale on Sunday where the winners will be declared after the Super Special Stage at the Kari Motor Speedway where the Rally Drivers will be trying to gain the valuable extra time.