INDIA in F1

Category: Founding Members

  • About IARC and Nazir Hoosein

    About IARC and Nazir Hoosein

    A Brief History
    The Daily Express 1968 London-Sydney Marathon rekindled the motor sport spark for enthusiasts in Bombay (now Mumbai). Leading long-distance drivers of the world at that time were taking part, and the overland run from London ended at Bombay, from where the cars were shipped to Perth, Australia. This gave the participants (who were also the Carnet Holders for the cars) three full days in the city prior to their departure. The inevitable interactions and dinners followed, which were memorable.
    File photo of Asian Auto Gymkhana organised by IARC in 2018.

    A direct result of this interaction was the coming together of some Indian motor sport stalwarts of that time to form a club that would begin the promotion of motor sport in Bombay. These included Ajaypat Singhania, His Highness the Maharaja of Gondal, Nazir Hoosein, Mohinder Lalwani and Kishan Rao to name a few. The IARC was then formed as a Section 25 non-profit Public Limited Company limited by guarantee.

    With the support of Ajaypat and the ground availability of JK Gram in Thane, numerous gymkhanas for cars and scrambles for motorcycles followed. Hill climbs were held in quarries where the quarry owner was happy to smoothen the road and join in the fun of a Sunday morning excursion. Hill Climbs extended far and wide and the Sinhagad Fort climb near Pune became an annual feature, which was always extremely well attended. Since it was possible to close the roads in that era, it made for a memorable and superb event.
    Serious navigation rallies were also a feature at that time. One of the members, Ravi Kumar, owned a restaurant called the Bullock Cart at Kala Ghoda. He would provide a dinner for the participating members after which, at around midnight the event started. It was a complicated navigational rally within the city of Bombay with participants returning in the morning for breakfast.
    There soon arose a need for an all-India body and the IARC played its part as one of the founding members of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI), which later became the ASN (representative organization) of the FIA (Federation Internationale de l’Automobile – the world body for motorsport and mobility) in India and is so today.
    Unfortunately, as the years passed, the holding of events became more difficult in and around the city of Bombay and consequently, the number of events began to dwindle with the sole exception being the annual Car Rally for the Blind, which runs to this day. The commencement of the Himalayan Rally in 1980 took many of the active organizers of the IARC into its fold and this also added to the reduction of events.
    With circumstances having changed today and cars and motorcycles now being easily available, a new breed of young men and women has come forward to run events which include Drag Racing, Navigational Rallies and to also revive the Vintage Register, which assists in the restoration and running of old cars and motorcycles.
    The Chairman of the IARC, Mr. Nazir Hoosein, administered through India the second London-Sydney Marathon which ran in 1977, as also the last London-Sydney Marathon which ran in 1993. Mr Hoosein was a Formula 1 Steward from 1993 to 2008 and one of the four permanent chief stewards for Formula 1 for 8 years during this time. He was also one of the four permanent stewards for the World Rally Championship, culminating in his being the sole Chief Steward for the entire WRC from 2006 to 2008. As the President of the FIA Asian Zone for a number of years, Mr Hoosein was responsible for the promotion of motor sport in fourteen Asian countries.
    His international experience stands the IARC in good stead today which, coupled with the experience and knowledge of the other members of the Board, possibly makes the IARC the repository of the maximum motor sport knowledge in this country.
    Some years ago, the FIA’s round of the APRC ran in Pune and Bangalore and once again the IARC core team did the work behind the scenes. As mentioned earlier, the Blind Men’s Rally has run over a number of years annually and the core team is responsible for this effort also. IARC have also organized the Kutch Desert Car Rally in the Little Rann of Kutch, a Vintage Drive to Lavasa and a Freeway Drive to New Cuffe Parade for the Lodha group during 2013-2014. Recently the first round of the JK Tyre Racing Championship in Coimbatore for LGB Formula 04, FB 02, Volkswagen Polo R Cup and Vento Support race ran under IARC permits in May 2014.
    Other recent events worthy of mention:
    2014 Lavasa Women’s Drive was organised with the social objective of awareness for the early detection and prevention of women’s cancer, achieving a Guinness World Record for the maximum number of women participating in a motor sport event in the world.
    2016 Times Women’s Drive 2016. There were over 450 entries, simultaneous starting from 3 cities – Mumbai, Bangaluru and Pune – to reach Goa the next day. Once again, the objective was to create awareness about early screening and prevention of women’s cancer, with the support of the Tata Memorial Hospital.
    2017 Final Round of JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship Euro JK17 & LGB Formula 4 at Budhha International Circuit, Noida.
    2017 Final round of of FIM Asia Cup of Road Race in India at Budhha International Circuit, Noida.
    2018 The Asia Auto Gymkhana Competition of India
    Office Address:
    Indian Automotive Racing Club Ltd.,
    Liberty Bldg., 41/42, Marine Lines,
    Mumbai-400020.
    Email : iarcindia@gmail.com
  • Vicky Chandhok re-elected president of FIA APRC Working Group

    Vicky Chandhok re-elected president of FIA APRC Working Group

    Vicky Chandhok. File photo by INDIAinF1

    Chennai, 24 July 2018: India’s Vicky Chandhok was unanimously re-elected President of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship Working Group for a second two-year term at the annual meeting in Johor, Malaysia, on Monday, July 23.

    Vicky Chandhok said: “It was a bit of a surprise that I was unanimously requested to continue as President for another term. Rallying continues its upward trend in the region and I am honoured to continue what we started two years ago. Our focus will be on expanding to new regions and continue growing the sport at the grass root level.”

    Representatives from Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Indonesia among others attend the meeting and the elections. Also present was Wayne Christie, President of the FIA Rally Commission to share FIA’s thoughts on the future of rallying and to also understand the challenges faced by the APRC and look at possible solutions for the future.

    The members present felt that since the APRC was going through many challenges, it needed continuity at the helm, especially with the plans afoot to meet manufacturers in Japan and China.

    Deviating from the norms, they requested outgoing Vicky Chandhok who was not a candidate for the post to accept the Presidency for another term. Takahito Sugita (Japan) will serve as the Vice-President. Stalwarts Tengku Shaharin Abu Bakar (Malaysia) and Willard Martin (New Zealand) will serve on the executive committee along with Sugita and Chandhok.

    Wayne Christie of the FIA requested Chandhok to join the FIA Regional Rally Working Group which will meet in Paris on August 21 to discuss all the FIA Regional Championships.

    The Working Group meeting also put forward revised regulations, a Media plan and a tentative calendar of six events for 2019 which will be finalised in September of this year. India figures in the list of possible 2019 events.

    eom/db

  • FMSCI promotes Women In Motorsport concept at Auto Expo; celebrates women’s day

    FMSCI promotes Women In Motorsport concept at Auto Expo; celebrates women’s day

    Aishwarya Pissay at the feet of a Master, Bullet Bose, browsing through old photos of Bullets racing at Sholavaram. 2017 photo by www.INDIAinF1.

    New Delhi, 12 Feb 2018: Women’s Day, usually observed on March 8, arrived early for the FMSCI.

    The Federation of Motor Sports Clubs in India (FMSCI) said that it rolled out an ambitious plan for women in motorsport here on Monday and pledged to make motorsports an attractive and viable for women across the country.

    The Federation, which is the governing body for motorsport in India and a member of the FIA, the international federation, along with its arm, the Women in Motorsport (WIM) celebrated and felicitated its leading lady drivers and lady riders at the Auto Expo in Greater Noida. “The process of hunting for talented girls and women had begun,” it announced in a press release.

     “We encourage our affiliate clubs and association to add events specifically for women during all competitions to draw ladies into the sport,” said Ms. Sita Raina, chairperson of FMSCI-WIM. “The federation will give every possible support to organisers who try to create a platform for women,” she added. However, the details of the plan were not immediately clear.

    India’s top women in motorsports, including national motorcycle champion Aishwarya Pissay, LGB Formula 4 racer Sneha Sharma and ace rallyist Bani Yadav were felicitated by the Federation at the Auto Expo in Greater Noida on Monday. Watch out for more news on Women in Motorsports in INDIA! Your website will soon profile the Ladies on the Fast Track!

    The FMSCI has set up a pavilion at the Auto Expo for the first time and has showcased a host of racing cars, bikes and karts to promote the sport among youngsters.

    Among other things, the FMSCI intends to go the extra mile to provide proper guidelines, training, and quick licenses to help women participate at the national level. It also aims to extend additional support to upcoming and existing racers to make them move on to the world stage.

    Bani Yadav, the only Indian woman to have won all the major rally titles in the women’s category in India, was pleased with the efforts of the governing body and felt that this would see many young girls to take up the sport.

    “I really appreciate FMSCI’s mission. As a woman, I know how difficult it is to come into the sport. But I believe if the right platform is created, a number of women will come forward to race or rally,” Bani said during the felicitation ceremony.

    Sneha Sharma echoed Bani’s thoughts: “I would like to believe that if we all have managed to come into motorsport, then many others can do so too. They just need the right kind of guidance and a few opportunities and this is exactly what Women in Motorsport’s vision and mission is all about.”

    “I would like to really appreciate the federation for this wonderful step. They have been a huge pillar of support for me and now with this novel initiative, I am sure many more women will come up in the sport, making the whole racing scene in the country much more exciting and more challenging,” Aishwarya concluded.

    eom/fmsci press release

  • FMSCI’s Sujith Kumar elected Vice-President of FIM Asia

    FMSCI’s Sujith Kumar elected Vice-President of FIM Asia

    Bengaluru, 5 Feb 2018: Seven-time Indian National Rally Champion, Sujith Kumar, was elected Vice- President of FIM Asia on behalf of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) at Thailand on Saturday. Sujith was also the head of the Indian Motorcycle (2W) Racing Commission.

    Hailing the historic win for India as an important step for Indian motorsport, Akbar Ebrahim, FMSCI president said: “This is a significant development for Indian motorsport.”

    Ebrahim who has been bring a string of upgrades and important enhancements in the Indian motorsports set-up at the top added: “We will continue to work towards promoting every discipline of motorsport in the country.” Sujit was nominated as the Indian candidate by the Federation.

    With an unprecedented 11 candidates contesting for four posts of Vice-President position at Saturday’s General Assembly in Bangkok, the outcome was difficult to predict. However, when the results were announced, Sujith Kumar won with a comfortable majority of votes to become the first Indian representative to join the Board of FIM Asia, which is the governing body for motorcycle racing for 28 countries in the region. He will hold the position for a four-year term that began immediately.

    As Chairman of the FMSCI’s Two Wheeler Racing Commission, the Bangalore-based Sujith has already had a positive impact in Indian motorcycle racing, advancing rider training, safety and licensing standards for competitors and race officials. Beyond national competitions, he has been responsible for bringing international events to India, including a round of the Asia Road Racing Championship to Madras Motor Race Track and the Asia Cup of Road Racing to Buddh Circuit. He has also given support and encouragement to the increasing number of Indian racers competing in the international circuit and off-road events.

    Speaking after the election results were announced, Sujith said, “My interest is purely about the development of two-wheeler motorsports and the good of the riders. I believe this is the right time to ensure that India is represented on motorcycle racing’s governing body and can influence the development of the sport in the best possible way.”

    “During 2018 we will have more international events coming to India and more Indian riders competing in other countries and championships. It is an exciting time and we are extremely fortunate to be working together with strong sponsors who recognise the commercial importance of motorcycle racing and are committed to making things bigger and better.”

    Sujith is joined on the FIM Asia Board by Vice Presidents from Bahrain, China and Guam and new President, Stephan Macky Carapiet of Philippines.

    eom/David Bodapati

     

     

  • FMSCI enters 40th year; Vicky re-elected president

    Vicky Chandhok pic & V Mallya, FIA Pres Jean Todt 9Dec2011 at Delhi

    By David Bodapati

    Chennai: January 20: Following what was an iconic year for Indian motorsport in 2011 which included the success of the first Indian Grand Prix and 336 other events under their banner. The FMSCI, at their 38th AGM in Chennai on 22 Dec, has unanimously re-elected Vicky Chandhok to continue as President according to a Press Release from FMSCI on Jan 17.

    Karnataka Motor Sports Club’s president Bharat Raj is elected as Vice-President. Bharat has made a great contribution to bring professionalism into the Indian National Rally Championship after his company IMG took over as promoters along with PSP, headed by Annabelle Manwaring.

    Having been involved with International motorsport, the President has been pushing very hard for people from India to get involved in various commissions of global motorsport and not just as members of the World Motorsport Council with Dr. Vijay Mallya as the delegate and himself as the Deputy. The FIA, taking recognition of the FMSCI and of India, has for the first time ratified the nominations of eight Indians to the various global commissions of the FIA. The nominees that were carefully hand-picked have all contributed and can significantly contribute to the growth of Indian motorsport in the future.

    President Chandhok said, “2011 was a historic year for Indian motorsport as we hosted our first ever Formula One Grand Prix and the year ending FIA AGM and Gala. It is imperative that we continue to develop the sport and the infrastructure. It is very important for India now to be seen as a team player and therefore all people nominated to the commissions are delegates with experience and people that can contribute to the running and administration of global motorsport. While it’s important to contribute to global motorsport, our delegates however need to strike a balance to ensure India benefits as a motorsport destination from the appointments of various Commissions.  This worked very well in the case of Formula 1 where years of solid interaction finally resulted in the Olympics of motorsport coming to India. Similar are the goals for our various delegates in these commissions.”

    The FMSCI, at its 38th AGM chaired by Dr. Vijay Mallya in Chennai elected its Office Bearers for the year 2012 with Mr. Chandhok continuing as President and Mr.  Bharat Raj from the KMSC being duly elected as Vice President.

    For the first time in 2011, the Annual FIA Awards Ceremony was held outside of Europe, in New Delhi. Also, for the first time in its history the Annual General Assembly Gala was combined with the Awards Ceremony, making it the largest contingent of FIA delegates, with over 750 delegates from 120 countries marking their presence in our capital.

    The FMSCI AGM also marked the end of a successful three-year contract with Rally promoters, IMG Sports& PSP. The JK Tyre National Racing Championship also completed 14 years and 2011 also saw the emergence of the MRF 1600 Championship. The Gulf Dirt Track, MRF Supercross, National Drag Racing, MRF National Two Wheeler, Honda Two Wheeler Racing, Yamaha Two Wheeler Racing and the JK Tyre Rotax Karting Championships have all established themselves as annual features on the FMSCI calendar.

    The Formula 1 event at Noida was a success in itself but it also saw full feature grids in the Delhi Championship with MRF and the hugely popular JK Tyre Asia Series which ran as a support event to three Formula 1 races in 2011. 2012 will hopefully see the materialization of the i1 Super Series which will give no less than 9 Indian drivers the best platform to showcase themselves on the International racing scene.

    “The FIA flagged off their Action for Road Safety campaign in 2011 as well and were very keen that the FMSCI align with some of the aspects of road safety in India. To make further rapid strides in Indian motorsport, involvement from vehicle manufacturers is of paramount importance. The last fortnight has been hectic in meeting with International Auto Manufacturers such as Audi, VW, Toyota, Mercedes, Maruti, Yamaha, TVS and Honda to further the growth in all forms of Indian motorsport”, President Chandhok concluded.

    Nominated delegates and respective Commissions:

    Single Seater Racing                     – B. Vijay Kumar

    Drag Racing                                   – J. Balamurugan

    Historic Motorsport                         – Manvendra Singh

    Rally                                               – Shivu Shivappa

    Cross Country Rally                       – Manjeet Bhalla

    CIK Karting                                     – Vicky Chandhok

    Circuits                                           – Farhan Vohra

    Officials & Volunteers                     – Prabha Shankar

    The following clubs were elected to the council for the forthcoming year:

    o MMSC (Madras Motor Sports Club)

    o CASC  (Coimbatore Auto Sports Club)

    o KMSC (Karnataka Motor Sports Club)

    o Sportscraft , Mumbai

    o WISA (Western India Sports Association, Nasik)

    o BMSC (Bengal Motor Sports Club)

    o HMSA (Himalayan Motor Sports Association)

    o Spitfire Motorsports Pvt Ltd, Coimbatore.

    edited 2 times after publishing

  • KD Madan elected FMSCI president; New CEO to join from Jan 1

    Chennai, 16 Dec 2008: Vijay Mallya, the chairman of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs in INdia (FMSCI) announced here that the Federation has taken a decision to appoint a Chief Executive Officer to run the administrative affairs of the National governing body of motorsports in India. Speaking to the media after the Annual General Body Meeting (AGM) of FMSCI, he said that Rajan Syal, the current Secretary of Madras Motor Sports Association (MMSC), who has good experience both as a rally driver and motorsports administrator would join the federation as CEO from January 1.

    He will be reporting to the chairman Vijay Mallya and to KD Madan of MMSC, as he is unanimously elected as the President of the federation. J. Prithviraj of Coimbatore Auto Sports Club (CASC) will be the Vice-President. The elections were held on Dec 16 at the end of the two-day AGM.

    “The CEO will be in-charge of the day-to-day running and the federation is also keen to run motorsports in India in a professional manner. We will be making long-term plans to promote and develop the sport in India and this step is in that direction,” said Mallya.

    Mallya added: ‘I want the FMSCI to function like the FIA (Federation Internationale de l’Automobile, the world governing body for motor sport) and have a CEO to run the federation.’

    The 55-year old Chennai-based Syal, who will now relinquish his post as the honorary secretary of the Madras Motor Sports Club (MMSC), said: ‘Indeed, I am very happy. It is part of our efforts to run Indian motor sport in a professional manner.’

    The terms and conditions of Syal’s appointment are still to be finalised, but it is likely that he will take charge on Jan 1, 2009.

    Syal , himself a former racer and rally driver, has been the chairman of JK Tyre National Racing Championship for the past five years, a position that he would be giving up in view of his appointment as the CEO of the FMSCI.

    KD Madan, representing the Madras Motor Sports Club, returns to the helm after an eight-year interlude while Mallya will continue as the chairman.

    Madan’s election was said to be unanimous as he replaces Kolkata police officer Rajat Majumder who headed the FMSCI for the past four years. Mallya will be the India delegate at the FIA and Madan will represent the FMSCI at the FIM (two-wheelers).

    The FMSCI recently regained the sporting power from its rival body, the Motorsport Association of India (MAI) that had overseen the sport in India since 2000.

    New office-bearers: Chairman: Vijay Mallya.

    President: K D Madan; Vice-president: J Prithviraj;

    Council Members: Madras Motor Sports Club (Madan), Coimbatore Auto Sports Club (Prithviraj), Karnataka Motor Sports Club (Praneeth Perumal), Bengal Motor Sports Club (Rajat Majumder), Sportscraft (Shrikant Karani), Himalayan Motor Sports Association (Vijay Parmar), Sports Trek (Shyam Kothari) and Nashik Automotive Sports Association (Ravi Shamdasani).

    Chairmen of sub-committees: J Prithviraj (Two-Wheeler Race commission); Praneeth Perumal (Rally commission); R Gopinath (National Racing, 4-wheelers); Vicky Chandhok (International racing, 4-wheeler); Shrikant Karani (2-wheeler commission); Shyam Kothari (Motorcross/supercross); Balamurugan (Disciplinary) and Rajat Majumder (Safety and Environment).

  • FMSCI gets sporting power as FIA ASN again

    Chennai, 1 July 2008: The FMSCI is pleased to announce that the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) at its World Motor Sports Council meeting on 25th June 2008 granted  the international sporting power to the FMSCI effective from 1st July 2008.  By virtue of this mandate the FMSCI which is India’s National Sports Federation now holds  the responsibility to regulate and govern 2, 3 and 4 wheeler motorsport in India.

    Effective today the FMSCI  will be issuing competition licenses and permits to all competitors , entrants and event organisers.

    The FMSCI is now the ASN of the FIA in India and the FMN of the Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM)  and also a member of the Indian Olympic Association.