INDIA in F1

Category: Non-F1

  • Sydney turns red for the first edition of the Ferrari Festival

    Sydney, 13 April 2014: For three days Sydney has been awash with a sea of red as the first ever Ferrari Racing Days to be held in Australia commanded the attention of the city. Thousands of people travelled from across the country to experience the three-day festival, held at the iconic Sydney Motorsport Park, the home of motor sport in Sydney.

    Kicking off the festivities on Friday evening was the official ‘Welcome Party’ at one of the city’s most beautiful locations, the Sydney Opera House where local and international visitors where treated to a visual spectacular, as the marquee provided a back-lit glow of the famous Ferrari red onto the House, the colour du jour for the next 72 hours.

    Saturday morning however marked the true foray into the festivities, as a cavalcade of 150 Ferraris travelled en masse from Glebe Island, across the Sydney Harbour Bridge onto the Sydney Motorsport Park. Marking the official kick off to Australia’s first Ferrari Racing Days, the largest gathering of Ferraris in Australia ever, the cavalcade totaled an impressive $70 million worth of new and classic Ferraris.

    On-track, visitors saw Max Blancardi take the top podium spot on Saturday and Sunday for the Pirelli Pro classification, while Philippe Prette took the honours in the Pirelli classification for experienced drivers and David Tjiptobiantoro took first place in the Coppa Shell race for both races.

    While the first-ever leg of the Ferrari Asia Pacific Challenge was a key highlight of the weekend, one of the stand out moments was when the Ferrari F1 car took to the track with F1 test driver Marc Gene behind the wheel. Gene commanded the full attention of thousands when he reached over 300km/h on a flying lap.

    Throughout the weekend visitors on-site were treated to the full ‘Festival of Ferrari’ with five showroom spaces in full operation, with Ferrari fans taking in the Supercar Chronicles and Classiche displays, featuring the stunning LaFerrari and the $5 Million 166MM. The kids were buzzing as they experienced an array of Ferrari opportunities including the ‘Podium Finish’ picture stand in the F1 Kids Zone and a chance to get behind the virtual wheel, with the F1 simulators kept busy all weekend.

    Eom/Ferrari release

  • Gaurav Gill wins APRC Round 1, leads MRF Skoda 1-2

    Whangarei (New Zealand) 13 April 2014

    MRF team celebrate in Wangherei. Photo by MACSPEEDFOTO / ALAN MCDONALD
    MRF team celebrate in Whangharei. Photo by MACSPEEDFOTO / ALAN MCDONALD

    : Reigning APRC Champion and Team MRF Skoda driver Gaurav Gill made a stunning comeback to beat overnight leader and team-mate Jan Kopecký win the VINZ International Rally of Whangarei. The opening round of the 2014 FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) saw Gill and co-driver Glenn Macneall overcome a 23 second deficit to win comfortably in their MRF Tyres ŠKODA Fabia S2000 car.

    India’s Gaurav Gill and Australian based co-driver Glenn Macneall clean swept today’s six special stages concluding the 2014 VINZ International Rally of Whangarei – snatching victory from overnight leader and team mate Jan Kopecký.

    The opening round of the 2014 FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) saw competitors head south for today’s six remaining special stages – to roads more familiar to Gill. Starting behind Kopecký for the day of double run stages, Gill was in a closely fought battle for stage honours, until the 32-year-old found advantage on the 27.43km Springfield test. Pulling out a time 25 seconds faster than his rival was all Gill needed to put his MRF Tyres team mate behind him for the run to the finish. Defending the gain second time round, Gill added a further 1.1 seconds to win by a competitive 11.9 seconds after 220.87km of competition.

     

    Gaurav Gill was ecstatic to win his first ever rally in Whangarei after missing out in the last couple of years. He commented, “We’ve come close to winning here before but every year we’ve had some issue either technical or mechanical. This time it was the best way to win – to come from the back, especially being down by 23 seconds – it was a massive amount of time to make up in this situation. The most important thing is it was a level playing field for Kopecký and I. He is the European champion and I’m the defending champion so he is good benchmark for me. Plus we had new stages this rally and I had to push really hard – that’s what makes the win so much more exciting for me and the team.”

    In the sister MRF Tyres ŠKODA Fabia S2000 car Czech Republic based Kopecký and co-driver Pavel Dresler took consolation in his placing. The first time the 32-year-old has been to New Zealand, it was also his first time in the car and using the Indian manufactured tyres.

    Jan Kopecky was happy to finish in second in his first race for the team. He said, “We had a really good fight all weekend so thanks a lot to Gaurav for that because you need to be pushed by an opponent to be able to improve. I don’t have so much experience at these gravel rallies and it being the first time for me to compete so far away from home so we are happy with the result,”.

    International teams will now be spending much of the evening cleaning and packing their cars and equipment for shipping to the series second round. Held in five weeks’ time at the Pacific island location of New Caledonia it uses 15 special stages situated between capital city Noumea and the international airport location of Tontoua.
    Results:

    1.      Gaurav Gill/Glenn Macneall – 2:11:39.7

    2.      Jan Kopecky/Pavel Dresler – 2:11:51.7

    3.      Mark Pedder/Claire Dowling – 2:20:02.3

     

    Photo by MACSPEEDFOTO/ALAN MCDONALD

     

  • Marc Márquez becomes newest Laureus Ambassador

    LONDON, 8 April 2014: Spain’s brilliant young MotoGP world champion Marc Márquez is the newest Laureus Ambassador.
    Márquez, the youngest ever MotoGP world champion, at 20 years 266 days, a feat for which he received the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award last month in Kuala Lumpur, was welcomed into the Laureus Family by motor cycle legend and Laureus World Sports Academy Member Mick Doohan, a Laureus release said.
    Doohan, who won five straight 500cc world titles, said: “Ten years ago, thinking of somebody in MotoGP at 20 was a rarity. Now we have brilliant young racers like Marc who can dominate their sport. But Marc is much more than that. He has shown he has a social commitment to helping others by wanting to become a Laureus Ambassador and support the work of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. I thank him, welcome him and look forward to working with him in the future.”
    Fellow Laureus Academy Member Giacomo Agostini, who won 15 world titles, said: “Marc has shown what an amazing rider he is. He fully deserved to win the Laureus Breakthrough Award and being just 20 you wonder what he can go on to achieve. He connects to other young people around the world and I know he will be an amazing asset to the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. I thank him for making this commitment.”
    Márquez, who also made history in 2013 by becoming the youngest winner of a Grand Prix at 20 years 63 days, in Austin, Texas, and the first to win the world title in his debut season since Kenny Roberts in 1978, said: “It was a great honour to win a Laureus Award, but I know that Laureus is much more than the annual Awards Ceremony. By using sport, Laureus does great work throughout the year in my native Spain and around the world to help children, which is why I am I am delighted to be named a Laureus Ambassador. I look forward to be being able to do what I can to help.”
    Gabriel Masfurroll, President of the Fundación Laureus España, said: “It is an honour to have a  world champion like Marc Márquez as a Laureus Ambassador. He is a young sportsman who represents the values of sport and the values of Laureus.”
    The Laureus Ambassadors are a select group of current and retired sportsmen and sportswomen, who, along with the members of the Laureus World Sports Academy, support the work of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. Since its inception the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation has raised more than €60 million for projects which have helped to improve the lives of millions of young people. Laureus currently supports more than 140 projects in 34 countries.
    eom/Laureus release/dvd

    Marc Marquez inducted as Laureus Ambassador by Mick Doohan. A Laureus Foundation image
    Marc Marquez inducted as Laureus Ambassador by Mick Doohan. A Laureus Foundation image

  • 16-year old Tarun Reddy for 2014 Formula Renault with MGR motorsport

    Chennai, 3 April 2014: Indian driver Tarun Reddy, 16, confirmed on Thursday his participation in the 2014 Pro-tyre Formula Renault Championship with reigning champions MGR Motorsport. This will be the Indian’s first taste of single-seater racing in Europe in what proves to be a highly-competitive field.

    According to Adrenna Communications, Tarun, who managed by MRF Challenge race winner Rupert Svendsen-Cook, will make his UK racing debut in Protyre Formula Renault having tested with MGR Motorsport at the end of last year. The teenager, formerly part of the Sahara Force India F1 Team Academy, progressed from karting into cars at the tender age of 15 in the MRF 1600 series. Underlining his promise, Tarun became the youngest ever winner of a race in the category in only his third outing. Tarun got his year off to a great start by winning both races in the first round of the 2014 MRF 1600 Championship.

    Tarun will have his first race this weekend at Rockingham International Super Sportscar Circuit in Northamptonshire. A beaming Tarun said, “I am really happy to be racing in the Protyre Formula Renault Championship in the UK. Everyone knows that doing well in the UK is key to having a successful racing career. We spent the second half of last year seeing which championship to race in for 2014 and we feel this is the best option for me. This is not going to be easy as the field is really competitive and many drivers are in their second year of the championship.

    “Unfortunately I could not get as much testing as I wanted due to my exams. My parents have made it clear that school is priority above anything else so I have been travelling up and down to the UK between my exams. I would like to follow in the footsteps of Narain (Karthikeyan) and Karun (Chandhok) and do well in the UK to further boost my career.”

    Regarded as the most popular and cost-effective junior single-seater series in the UK, the Protyre Formula Renault Championship is the perfect entry-level category for all aspiring young drivers and a key rung on the ladder towards the FIA Formula One World Championship.

    His team-mates include Pietro Fittipaldi, grandson of double World Champion Emmerson Fittipaldi, Matteo Ferrer, who debuted with MGR in Protyre Formula Renault in 2013, and Colin Noble, the reigning Radical SR1 Cup Champion.

    MGR Motorsport Team Owner Mark Godwin was impressed by the level of maturity showed by Tarun and was confident of him doing well. He commented, “Tarun has impressed us in the testing he’s done with us, it looks like he could be one to watch and he’s got Rupert (Svendsen-Cook) behind him looking after his career. Rupert knows the Renault is the best car for Tarun to learn in and this is where he needs to be. I’m sure he’ll be very competitive from the off and we’ll have four strong drivers. The aim is to try and emulate what we did last season!”

    Rupert Svendsen-Cook, who has been managing and helping Tarun was confident of a good showing by the young Indian. He commented, “This is a big weekend for Tarun. Since first starting our working relationship in Coimbatore we have come a long way to be here in one of the most competitive single seater series in Europe. We have had to work hard to balance his school exams and testing mileage over the winter but Tarun has shown great ability and progress behind the wheel. Tarun has substantially more experienced team mates this year which is a great advantage for him to learn quickly. It’s a relentless sport and we have a long way to go but I think Tarun can surprise a few people this weekend.”

    Tarun heads into the Championship with limited testing compared to other drivers. He said. “. I know it will be tough to get acclimatized but I am ready for the challenge.”

    In recent years, the championship has enjoyed a huge increase in popularity and stature and has been the birthplace of some of the sport’s most talented young drivers. Dean Stoneman, the 2007 Vice-Champion, went on to test a Formula One car within three years of racing in Protyre Formula Renault and also won the FIA Formula 2 Championship.

    Alice Powell, who made history as the first female to ever win a Formula Renault title anywhere in the world when she claimed the 2010 Protyre Formula Renault crown, graduated into GP3, 2011 champion Dino Zamparelli earned a place in the prestigious McLaren Autosport BRDC Award finals.

    For 2014 the championship will be contested over 15 rounds at six race events with a mixture of double-header and triple-header race meetings. Excitingly, the grand finale will once again form part of the British Touring Car Championship event at Silverstone in late-September.

    Tarun Reddy poses with the car. An Adrenna Communications photo
    Tarun Reddy poses with the car. An Adrenna Communications photo

    eom

  • A fantastic experience, the jump is tremendous: Ogier

    29 March 2014 (Portugal):

    Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F), in a Volkswagen Polo R WRC winning the Fafe Sprint in Portugal. A Volkswagen Motorsport photo
    Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F), in a Volkswagen Polo R WRC winning the Fafe Sprint in Portugal. A Volkswagen Motorsport photo

    Right at the front with the Portuguese flag at the rear: The current WRC champions Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia secured victory at the legendary “Fafe Rally Sprint” at their debut attempt.

    The Volkswagen pair put on a spectacular show in their Polo R WRC for more than 100,000 enthusiastic spectators. On the 6.34-kilometre stage in Northern Portugal, the French rally ace set the best time of the day with 3:40.5 minutes, just ahead of Ott Tänak (3:40.5 minutes, Ford) and third-placed Dani Sordo (3:42.2 minutes, Hyundai).

    Traditionally the Portuguese fans set up camp with bonfires and tents along the route days before the event to make sure they have the best viewing spots. A particularly popular spot on the famous Lameirinha Special Stage: the extremely demanding flying leap just before the finish.

    “It was an absolutely fantastic experience,” said the Sébastien Ogier afterwards with visible enthusiasm. “The Portuguese fans really are some of the best in the world. We wanted to thank them in our own small way, which is why we were driving with the national flag at the rear today. In some places you can hardly see the countryside for the crowds of people, it’s incredible. On top of that, the stage is really demanding and the jump is tremendous. Such an event is definitely a bonus for rallying. There’s no way we are going to miss out next year.”

    On Sunday the world champions are taking some time out to take in the sights during a brief stop in Lisbon before visiting Volkswagen factory “Autoeuropa” on Monday. From here they travel to Faro, where they will join the other two Volkswagen crews Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila and Andreas Mikkelsen/Mikko Markkula to start at the Rally Portugal from the 3rd to 6th April.

    eom/Volkswagen release

  • Sport can be a very big inspiration: Sebastian Vettel

    Vettel with Laureus Sportsman of the Year award on 26 March 2014 at KL. Photo by Laureus Academy
    Vettel with Laureus Sportsman of the Year award on 26 March 2014 at KL. Photo by Laureus Academy

    KUALA LUMPUR, 26 March 2014: “Sport can be a very, very big inspiration,” said Sebastian Vettel after receiving the Laureus World Sportsman of the year at a glittering awards ceremony where scores of sporting greats assembled and three of the most exciting young sports stars of their generation, who have proved world-beaters despite their age, have been honoured at the 2014 Laureus World Sports Awards here on Wednesday.

    The first time a Formula One World Champion was awarded the Laureus Sportsman of the Year was in 2002 and it was none other than the great Michael Schumacher and `your’s truly’ remembers reporting an F1 race live for the first time. And yes, I had the privilege of doing an interview with Michael that year to become the first Indian journalist to do so.  At this time of celebrations here, the whole India in F1 team remembers Michael Schumaker and his family in our prayers.

    Michael went on to win the award again in 2004 and now after 10 years, it is Vettel followed in the foot steps off his hero.

    For the record, Vettel, the youngest four-time Formula One world champion in history at 26, was named Laureus World Sportsman of the Year, US swimmer Missy Franklin, at 18, became the youngest ever winner of the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Award, while Spain’s Marc Márquez received the Laureus Breakthrough of the Year Award, after winning the World MotoGP Championship at just 20 years and 266 days.

    Evergreen David Coulthard was the first to arrive while Sahara Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg was the next. Lewis Hamiltoon and Laureus ambassador Nico Roseberg were also present after their Meet the fans event at the twin towers which drew a huge response. Felipe Massa drew a hug applause and that was it from the F1 world while Mick Doohan is a Laureus hero himself and the award to Marc Marquez made it two heroes from the motorsports world tonight. However, the Red Bull team  missed the Team of the Year Award with football giants Bayern Munich taking the honours.

    There was double delight for both Germany and Spain when the Awards were announced. Bayern Munich joined Vettel as winners, taking the Laureus World Team of the Year Award, while tennis maestro Rafael Nadalreceived the Laureus Comeback Award to celebrate, with Márquez, a wonderful night for Spanish sport.

    The Laureus World Sports Awards are the premier honours on the international sporting calendar. The winners are chosen by the Laureus World Sports Academy, the ultimate sports jury, made up of 46 of the greatest living sportsmen and sportswomen. Proceeds from the Laureus World Sports Awards directly benefit and underpin the work of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. Since its inception, Laureus has raised €60 million for projects which have improved the lives of millions of young people.

    Sebastian Vettel’s success was particularly satisfying for the young German racer, who had been nominated five times for a Laureus Award, before finally winning. His fourth straight World Championship in 2013 saw him join motor racing legends Juan Manuel Fangio, Michael Schumacher and Alain Prost, who all won at least four times, but he did it more quickly than them – at just 26 years and 116 days.

    Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Missy Franklin was the sensation of the World Championships in Barcelona, becoming the first woman swimmer in history to win six gold medals at a single World Championships – three individual and three relay – at the age of just 18. She continues to refuse prize money and endorsements so that she can maintain her amateur status in college.

    Bayern Munich were presented with the Laureus World Team of the Year Award after becoming the first football club to complete the treble of UEFA Champions League, Bundesliga and German Cup. Six of their players were nominated for the FIFA Player of the Year Award: Philipp Lahm, Thomas Mueller, Manuel Neuer, Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben and Bastian Schweinsteiger.

    Spain’s Marc Márquez was presented with the Laureus Breakthrough of the Year Award after becoming the youngest ever MotoGP world champion, at 20 years 266 days. He also made history by becoming the youngest winner of a Grand Prix, in Austin in April, at 20 years 63 days.

    It was Márquez’ first Laureus Award, but his fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal secured his third Laureus Statuette, when he won the Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award, returning after a seven-month absence because of injury to win the French Open and US Open Grand Slam titles and regain his No 1 world ranking.

    France’s Marie Bochet, aged 19, won the Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Award after becoming the first athlete to complete a Grand Slam of all five events at one Alpine Skiing World Championships.

    Britain’s BMX star Jamie Bestwick, now based in the United States, won the Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year Award after becoming the only athlete in X Games history to win eight straight gold medals, two more than legends such as Tony Hawk and Shaun White.

    The Laureus World Sports Academy presented two additional discretionary Awards. The Laureus Spirit of Sport Award was won by the Afghanistan Cricket Team, who qualified for the Cricket World Cup for the first time in their history, and the Laureus Sport for Good Award was presented to Magic Bus, the sports-based community project in India.

    The Awards Ceremony was held at the Istana Budaya, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and was hosted by British actor Benedict Cumberbatch. Oscar and Grammy winner Jamie Foxx performed to the star-studded audience.

    German actor Daniel Brühl, who played Niki Lauda in the film Rush, was present along with Chinese supermodel and actress Du Juan.

    (with inputs from Laureus release)

    eom/KL

  • Magic Bus, India, Vettel, the heroes at Laureus Awards Gala at KL

     

    File photo German Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull Racing in Singapore by FIA. Vettel won the Laureus Sportsman of the year award in KL on Wednesday.
    File photo German Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull Racing in Singapore by FIA. Vettel won the Laureus Sportsman of the year award in KL on Wednesday.

    LAUREUS SPORT FOR GOOD AWARD PROVES
    JUST THE TICKET FOR SPACIE’S MAGIC BUS

    • Sports-based project is transforming the lives of young children in India
    • Magic Bus a strategic partner of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation
    • ‘This is a magical moment for the Magic Bus’ – says Matthew Spacie
    • Global TV audience watches Laureus Awards Ceremony in Kuala Lumpur


    KUALA LUMPUR, March 26, 2014 – The great success achieved by Magic Bus, an innovative project that is transforming the lives of hundreds of thousands of underprivileged children in India, has been recognised at the Laureus World Sports Awards with the presentation of the Laureus Sport for Good Award.

    Magic Bus, founded by Englishman Matthew Spacie and based in Mumbai, aims to take children out of poverty through a programme of mentoring and coaching. Since 2001, the Magic Bus programme has grown to embrace over 300,000 children in 12 states each week and Spacie’s ambition now is to reach out to one million children by 2016.

    Magic Bus, which has received funding from Laureus since its inauguration and which has been a strategic partner of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation for five years, is the product of Spacie’s fascination for India which began when, as a 17-year-old taking a break from academic studies, he worked in the Howrah leprosy centre near Kolkata.

    Later, while playing rugby for Bombay Gymkhana Club, Spacie sought to use the offer of involvement in the game to improve the prospects of young boys living on the streets and in slums

    Magic Bus, which now looks after both boys and girls, was born out of that initiative and Spacie has plans to extend the idea, centred around sports-based activities and a solid contingent of volunteers, to other countries.

    After receiving his Award from Edwin Moses, Chairman of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Spacie said: “Fifteen years ago the Magic Bus was started because outside my office there were 15 street boys who one day decided that they wanted to change their journey in life.

    “It is now an organisation which has 300,000 children every single week attending our programme on this amazing journey from childhood all the way to livelihood and out of poverty.

    “It is a great tribute to the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation that they see the longevity of partnerships like Magic Bus which shape the destiny of so many young people. This Award is really for the tens of thousands of young people in our programme who graduate every year and who have decided to shape their own future.

    “Thank you very much to the Academy. This is a magical moment for the Magic Bus.

    The Laureus World Sports Awards are the premier honours on the international sporting calendar.   The winners are chosen by the Laureus World Sports Academy, the ultimate sports jury, made up of 46 of the greatest living sportsmen and sportswomen. Proceeds from the Laureus World Sports Awards directly benefit and underpin the work of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. Since its inception, Laureus has raised €60 million for projects which have improved the lives of millions of young people.

    The Awards Ceremony was held at the Istana Budaya, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and was hosted by British actor Benedict Cumberbatch. Oscar and Grammy winner Jamie Foxx performed to the star-studded audience. German actor Daniel Brühl, who played Niki Lauda in the film Rush, was present along with Chinese supermodel and actress Du Juan.

    The members of the Laureus World Sports Academy present were: Giacomo Agostini, Bobby Charlton, Sebastian Coe, Nadia Comaneci, Deng Yaping, Kapil Dev, Mick Doohan, Sean Fitzpatrick, Dawn Fraser, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Tony Hawk, Michael Johnson, Franz Klammer, Edwin Moses (Chairman), Ilie Nastase, Alexey Nemov, Morné du Plessis, Hugo Porta, Mark Spitz, Daley Thompson and Steve Waugh.

    Other sports guests included:
    Vitor Baia, Robert Baker, Kenny Belaey, Jamie Bestwick, Marie Bochet, Ronald de Boer, Annabelle Bond, Daniel Brühl, Bob Burnquist, Eric Cantona, Fabio Capello, Dan Carter, Lee Chong Wei, David Coulthard, Johan Cruyff, Nicol David, Deng Yaping, Du Juan, Paulo Ferreira, Nacho Figueras, Emerson Fittipaldi, Missy Franklin, Maya Gabeira, Stephanie Gilmore, Ruud Gullit, Lewis Hamilton, Raphael Holzdeppe, Nico Hülkenberg , Philip Köster, Michael Laudrup, Tegla Loroupe, Steve McManaman, Marc Márquez, Felipe Massa, Gaizka Mendieta, Luis Milla, Hidetoshi Nakata, Antonis Nikopolidis, Sophie Pascoe, Nico Rosberg, Sarah Louise Rung, Axel Schulz, Jimmy Spithill, Angelika Timanina, Sebastian Vettel.

    Among other guests present were Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, Prime Minister of Malaysia; YB Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar, Malaysia Minister for Youth and Sports; YB Dato’ Seri Mohamed Nazri, Malaysia Minister of Tourism and Culture.

    The Awards were announced in seven categories. The winners are:
    Laureus World Sportsman of the Year: Sebastian Vettel
    Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year: Missy Franklin
    Laureus World Team of the Year: Bayern Munich
    Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year: Marc Márquez
    Laureus World Comeback of the Year: Rafael Nadal
    Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability: Marie Bochet
    Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year: Jamie Bestwick

    There were two additional Awards: the Laureus Spirit of Sport Award was presented to the Afghanistan Cricket Team and the Laureus Sport for Good Award was presented to Magic Bus, the sports-based community project in India.

    eom

  • Vettel for Laureus Award, Hulkenberg Laureus ambassador to be present

     

    Vettel at the US GP. An FIA photo
    Vettel at the US GP. An FIA photo

    Kuala Lumpur, 25 March 2014: Laureus World Sports Academy Chairman Edwin Moses has announced a reduced programme of activity at the 2014 Laureus World Sports Awards in Kuala Lumpur, following the confirmation that Malaysian flight MH370 had been lost in the Indian Ocean.

    Several events have been put on hold ahead of the Laureus Awards Ceremony, which takes place March 26. Meanwhile, Niko Hulkenberg of Sahara Force India and a Laureus ambassador will be present at the event today. Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel is in contention for the top award, the sportsman of the year award with other greats like Rafael Nadal also in the nominations. The Red Bull Team of Mark Webber and Seb Vettel are also nominated for the team of the year award.

    Edwin Moses said: “Everyone in the Laureus World Sports Academy has been upset by this terrible tragedy. With the Laureus World Sports Awards in Kuala Lumpur this year, we feel particularly close to the Malaysian people at this time which makes what has happened even more personal and distressing. We feel the appropriate action at this time is to scale down some of our activities over the next two days.

    “On behalf of the Laureus Academy and the wider Laureus Family around the world, I would like to share our sadness at this latest news and pray for the passengers and crew, and their families of this awful accident which has touched so many people in so many different countries of the world.

    “We have decided in light of the tragic news, we would like to adapt this afternoon’s football event to better reflect our collective feeling at this difficult time. We have made a commitment to a legacy of Laureus’ presence for young people in Malaysia. We made a commitment to the young people for this event which we want to honour at this time when sport can be an opportunity to unite us in grief and in hope.  We dedicate the Laureus All Stars Unity Cup to the families and loved ones of the victims of MH370.” 

    Driver’s View: Nico Hulkenberg’s interview ahead of the Malaysian GP as he attends the Laureus Awards function in KL on Wednesday:
    Nico, looking back on Melbourne, did the weekend unfold as you expected?
    “I tried to be open-minded going into the race and in reality it was all quite straightforward. It almost felt like a normal race from last year with no major surprises. There were no concerns for us with the fuel management, which was helped by the extra parade lap and the early safety car, and we ran reliably during all the sessions, which is a big positive to take forward.”
     
    Now that we’ve had a race weekend, how did you find the car to drive?
    “Again it’s not too dissimilar to last year. It’s a bit slower because of the regulations and you feel the loss of downforce compared with 2013. Overtaking also seemed to be quite difficult, unless you are following a car that is really struggling. For example, you could see that Fernando [Alonso] couldn’t really make a move on me.”
     
    Were the tyres a bigger factor than you expected in Australia?
    “We had issues with front left graining in the race, which we didn’t have all weekend. I think it was due to the cooler temperatures and it cost quite a bit of performance in the first two stints on the soft tyre. On the medium it was pretty good.”
     
    Based on what you learned in Melbourne, what kind of championship can we expect this year?
    “This year we’ll see bigger jumps and changes in the pecking order during the season. There are still some teams that need to sort out their issues and they will probably become stronger. All teams, including us, will have room for improvement and development is going to be very fast.”
     
    What can we expect in Malaysia this weekend?
    “Malaysia is going to be a tough challenge with totally different track characteristics and higher temperatures, which always leads to higher tyre degradation. It should be a good test of the new cars because it’s much more open than Melbourne with a nice variation of high and low-speed corners, plus two long straights.” 

     ends

  • Setco Automotive co-sponsors T1 Prima Truck Racing

    Buddh International Circuit (New Delhi), 21 March 2014:  Setco Automotive comes on board as associate sponsor to the T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship,   where they will co-own one of the six participating teams – the Allied Partners.  India’s first-ever truck racing competition will   be divided into six teams featuring 12 experienced international drivers at the wheel of every truck.  All 12 trucks racing are standard fit with Setco’s precision engineered heavy duty clutches. People need to check here if they need the best truck services and other information related to trucks. 

    Setco Automotive has been a strategic partner supplier to Tata Motors for over 2 decades and has supplied more than 90% of their clutch technology requirements. This association is Setco’s commitment towards using the racing platform as an opportunity to further enhance clutch technology & performance.

    “We are very excited to be the clutch technology partner at India’s first-ever truck racing championship hosted by Tata Motors. Our R & D team is constantly pushing performance criteria by subjecting our DVP to maximize Rs./km value for our customer; which is in line with our “Lipe for Life” philosophy saidMr. Udit Sheth Executive Director, Setco Automotive. 

    The Prima trucks that will be used during the race are the 4038.S model with massive power of 370 BHP @ 2100 RPM and a top speed of 110 Km/h. The trucks have been built exclusively for the event from the Tata Motors’ Jamshedpur plant, the hub of its medium and heavy commercial vehicles.

     The upcoming Indian truck racing event is modelled on the British Truck Racing championship and European Truck Racing championship. Steve Horne, the two-time British truck racing champion, and one of the most celebrated, longest serving truck racing drivers will also participate in the race. Through this initiative, Tata Motors aims to trigger greater aspiration for trucking, as the industry is facing a serious dearth of truck drivers.

    About Setco Automotive Limited

    Setco, incorporated in May 1982, is a diversified engineering products company, listed on the BSE. Setco is the largest manufacturer of Premium Quality Lipe clutches for heavy and medium commercial vehicles in India. The company employs more than 950 people globally. It is a Tier I supplier of clutches to all major Indian commercial vehicle manufacturers with a customer base inclusive of prominent names such as Tata Motors, Bharat Benz, Ashok Leyland and Eicher Motors amongst others. Setco has strategic global footprint with 4 manufacturing facilities globally, 2 in India, and 1 each in UK and USA, with its corporate base in Mumbai, India. Setco has set up a state of art R&D centre at Kalol certified by Department of Scientific Industrial and Research, Government of India to design, develop and validate full clutches systems. It also has an older development centre at UK.

    eom/David/Press Release from Setco Automotive

    A Tata Motors graphic of Truck Racing at Buddh International Circuit. A photo by Tata Motors
    A Tata Motors graphic of Truck Racing at Buddh International Circuit. A photo by Tata Motors

  • TVS, Honda support races for Tata T1 Prima Truck Racing

    Buddh Nagar (near New Delhi), 20 March 2014: Former Moto 3 rider Sarath Kumar will lead the charge of 80 riders as the 2014 FMSCI-MMSC Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship gets underway for the TVS & Honda One Make Championships at the Buddh International Circuit this weekend. Both Honda CBR 250R and TVS APACHE RTR 180 categories will be the support races for the exciting new Tata T1 PRIMA Truck Racing Championship.

    The MMSC INMRC will feature two races from each category. The TVS Apache RTR 180 will have the Open and Novice class while Honda will have the CBR150R Novice class and CBR250R Open class. Some of India’s top riders including Sarath Kumar, Sumit Lucas Toppo, A Prabhu, Mathana Kumar and a host of other riders will be taking part in this weekend’s races.

    For the first time the MMSC-INMRC will also see riders hailing from different parts of the country with riders from Ahmadabad, Chandigrah, Faridabad, Patna, Madurai, Chennai, Hyderabad  all competing. This is only the second time that Motorcycle racing will take place at the BIC after MMSC hosted a Round of the INMRC last September.

    Vicky Chandhok, Chairman of the Event, commented, “We are extremely pleased to be promoters of India’s first ever Truck racing championship. Having the TVS and Honda One Make Championships support the truck races promises a great weekend of motorsport for all fans. We have one of the biggest grids this year with riders from all over the country including Dehradun, Ranchi, Amritsar, Delhi etc. Honda and TVS are two important partners for us along with Yamaha, who are helping us reach out to young riders from different parts of the country.”

    TVS and Honda are no strangers to Two-wheeler racing in India, promoting the sport in a big way. TVS have a long association with Indian motorsport in Racing and Motorcross events. Honda have also played a role in helping youngsters race internationally with 3-4 Indians participating in the Honda Asia Dream Cup last year and confirming their participation for this year as well.

    Qualifying will take place tomorrow while races will be held on Saturday and Sunday morning.

    A file photo of TVS Racing at Chennai. An Adrenna photo
    A file photo of TVS Racing at Chennai. An Adrenna photo

    eom/Adrenna Release/edited by David