INDIA in F1

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  • Bottas joins Mercedes, to race along with Hamilton in 2017

    It’s now official: Valtteri Bottas will drive for the Silver Arrows alongside Lewis Hamilton in 2017. Valtteri met his new colleagues this Monday at the team factory in Brackley, a Mercedes AMG Petronas release said.

    Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas will race for the Silver Arrows in 2017

    • Valtteri Bottas becomes the 11th driver to compete in Formula One with the Silver Arrows
    • Nico Rosberg accepts ambassadorial role with Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport
    • Toto Wolff: “It’s time to see how Valtteri can step up to challenge for wins and Championships”
    • Valtteri Bottas: “I’m grateful to Mercedes for trusting my skills and giving me this opportunity”

    It’s been 45 days since Nico Rosberg dropped the bombshell of his immediate retirement from Formula One. And it left the team with a conundrum: how to best fill the vacant seat alongside three-time champion Lewis Hamilton in order to defend the Constructors’ Championship?

    Following six weeks of detailed evaluation, deliberation and negotiation, the answer can now be confirmed officially: we signed Valtteri Bottas this morning. The 27-year-old native of Nastola, Finland has completed four seasons in Formula One with Williams, making 77 starts and scoring 9 career podiums so far.

    “Sometimes in life, unexpected circumstances provide interesting opportunities. Nico’s decision in December was a big surprise – certainly a challenging situation for the team to handle. But weathering the storm makes you more resilient and we see this as another opportunity for the team to grow,” explained Toto Wolff as he introduced the fourth driver to race for the Silver Arrows in the modern era.

    “Valtteri is a no-nonsense guy: down to earth, straightforward and very focused. Pretty Finnish, to be honest, and a great fit for us. He has an impressive track record in the junior categories and nine podiums in F1. But now it’s time for the next level, to see how he can step up to challenge for race wins and for Championships. We know that we are already behind the curve in terms of preparations for the new season, so we’ve got a busy programme to get him integrated into the team. One thing is for sure: as I know Valtteri, he will give it everything.”

    Valtteri was cautiously optimistic when he met his new team-mates in the factory today. “It’s very exciting times for me,” he grinned. “I think it’s going to take a while to understand that this is really happening. It’s definitely another dream come true, to race in another team with such great history – especially in the recent years, which have been so impressive. I’m really proud to become a part of that and grateful to everyone at Mercedes for trusting my skills and giving me this opportunity.

    “I’ve had a really warm welcome so far. Of course, I have a lot more people to meet and new faces to remember. But initially everything has felt very good. I’m really impressed with the facilities and I’m looking forward to getting to know everyone better. My first experience with Mercedes power was in F3 back in 2009 and, of course, I know the Power Unit well from the last three years with Williams. But there are a lot of new things to learn with the car and also with how the team operates at the factory, in testing and at the races.”

    The scale of the challenge ahead cannot be underestimated. New aerodynamic regulations mean a reset for the entire field and there is genuine uncertainty about which team will emerge on top; Valtteri is paired with probably the most ferociously fast team-mate in the sport, Lewis Hamilton; and there are just 70 days until the red lights go out at the start of the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.

    “We have confidence in Valtteri’s ability and it’s one of the reasons that he is the driver we set our sights on this winter,” continued Toto. “The next weeks will be busy as we work to build relationships so Valtteri understands the team and the car. But that’s an exciting challenge that will bring us fresh energy and a new dynamic between the drivers. And, of course, we’re working hard to give Lewis and Valtteri the car they need to do the job.”

    Valtteri is under no illusions about the task ahead: “I’m ready to work hard, to prove myself to the team and to prove my skills. It’s going to be a challenging season and joining a new team makes it more work than normal. But I’m 100% ready for that. I’m training hard to be at my physical best because it will be much tougher with these new cars. I always set the bar really high, so my target is to perform from the first race. I’m full of energy and ready to get to work for this year and hopefully many more to come with Mercedes.”

    The agreement for Valtteri to join Mercedes has not happened in isolation. With today’s announcements that Pascal Wehrlein will join Sauber for 2017, and that Felipe Massa will return to Williams, the final pieces of the puzzle have fallen into place for this year. And that has only been possible thanks to positive working relationships between all the teams involved in a complex chain of negotiations.

    “On behalf of Mercedes, I must thank Williams for their cooperation in allowing Valtteri to make this move – and also Monisha and Sauber for their patience during the past weeks,” concluded Toto. “It’s been a busy day in the driver market and I am pleased to know that Pascal will be racing at Sauber to continue his development in F1. He had a good first season with Manor and we feel this is the right path for him in the sport. It’s satisfying to have both of our Young Drivers taking on new challenges in F1 this year, with Esteban also racing at Force India. We’ll be following their progress closely; I’m sure we’ve got an exciting season ahead of us.”

    From Valtteri, too, there were warm words for his friends and colleagues at Williams: “I had a great seven years there, starting as a test driver in 2010. I’m very proud of what we achieved together and I leave with some very good memories. My debut in F1, my first points and nine podiums all came with the guys and girls at Grove, so I must say a big thanks to everyone and I wish them all the very best for the future.”

    As Valtteri now begins a busy week of technical and physical preparations for the new season, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport is pleased to confirm that Nico has accepted an ambassadorial role with the team for 2017.

    His first commitment will be tomorrow, in Geneva, alongside former team-mate Lewis Hamilton at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) on behalf of team partner IWC Schaffhausen.

    ends

  • Double Pole, Circuit Record & 2nd to start off Jehan’s 2017 season  

    Double Pole, Circuit Record & 2nd to start off Jehan’s 2017 season  

    Jehan Dharuwala on 14 Jan 2017 after claiming double pole. Image by Rayo Racing

    Christchurch, New Zealand: Sahara Force India Academy Racer Jehan Daruvala, has begun his 2017 in the best possible way, as he grabbed the first two pole positions of the season and went on to break the circuit record for the Toyota Racing Series Cars in Christchurch, New Zealand.

    The eighteen year old Mumbai student was quick throughout practice amongst a competitive grid of 20 cars which also includes home favourite and Ferrari Academy Racer – Marcus Armstrong, RedBull Academy Racer – Richard Verschoor, Pedro Piquet – Son of Former F1 World Champion, Nelson Piquet and many more highly accomplished racers from all over the world.

    Jehan dominated the first qualifying session and bagged pole position for race 1 with a laptime of 1:17.424 around the 3.33km Ruapuna Park Circuit. Marcus Armstrong was right behind Jehan 0.158 seconds adrift. Austrian racer Ferdinand Habsburg was third.

    Qualifying session 2 was a far closer affair as Jehan once again bagged pole for Race 3 & broke the circuit record as well. (Race 2 starting positions are based on the reverse grid of Race 1 finish). This time however Marcus was a lot closer, being just one thousandth of a second slower than Jehan. British racer Enaam Ahmed was third, also within just one tenth of a second of Jehan. Jehan’s laptime of 1:16.800 was well under the earlier record of 1:17.062

    Race 1 saw Jehan start well from his pole position slot upfront. He pulled away and soon opened up a comfortable gap of over one second to maintain his lead without any challenges from behind. A safety car period soon ensued and during the restart down the extremely long start finish straight, Marcus who was right behind Jehan took advantage of the excellent slip stream. Jehan could unfortunately do nothing about the situation, as in such a case, the car behind was able to build up a lot more speed and overtake easily. The positions remained the same, due to limited overtaking opportunities and Marcus won the race less than a second ahead of Jehan. Richard Verschoor came in third a further 1.1 seconds behind Jehan. Interestingly three different Formula 1 Team’s Academy racers completed the podium in race 1.

    “It has been an excellent start to the season. I was quick straightaway and I am happy with the double pole earlier today. There was nothing I could do at the restart due to the slip stream that Marcus had from my car and I had to settle for second.” said Jehan who will contest another two races tomorrow.

    Ruapuna Park incidentally, is the same venue where Jehan won his maiden race in Formula Cars, a year ago. Jehan will start fifth in Race 2 as per the reverse grid rules and Pole for Race 3.

    **END**

  • 2017 F1 final Race Schedule

    F1 race calendar 2017

    26 March – Australia (Melbourne)
    9 April – China (Shanghai)
    16 April – Bahrain (Bahrain)
    30 April – Russia (Sochi)
    14 May – Spain (Barcelona)
    28 May – Monaco (Monte Carlo)
    11 June – Canada (Montreal)*
    25 June – Azerbaijan (Baku)
    9 July – Austria (Spielberg)
    16 July – United Kingdom (Silverstone)
    30 July – Hungary (Budapest)
    27 August – Belgium (Spa-Francorchamps)
    3 September – Italy (Monza)
    17 September – Singapore (Singapore)

    1 October – Malaysia (Sepang)

    8 October – Japan (Suzuka)
    22 October – USA (Austin)
    29 October – Mexico (Mexico City)
    12 November – Brazil (Sao Paulo)*
    26 November – United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi)

     

  • Wheel-to-wheel in the Vegas erace

    Wheel-to-wheel in the Vegas erace

    Las Vegas, 8 Jan 2017: In a bid to tap the growing influence of gaming and technology on the world of sports, the FIA Formula

    Jean Todt, FIA president, (left) at the Las Vegas erace on Sunday. An FIA image

    E Championship Saturday pitted motorsports’ leading racers against Sim—or simulated—racing competitors who have honed their skills behind steering wheels connected to sophisticated computers.

    The competition took place not on a track, but in a Las Vegas convention hall hosting the 50thannual CES, the world’s largest consumer electronics and consumer technology tradeshow. The $1 million total purse awarded in the VISA Formula E Vegas eRace made it the richest in esports racing history.

    An enthusiastic gathering of media, exhibitors, industry analysts and the FIA President Jean Todt watched history in the making as the drivers and sim racers went wheel-to-wheel on the famous Las Vegas Strip.

    Bono Huis, the Faraday Future Dragon Racing sim racer, clinched victory in the inaugural Visa Vegas eRace and with it the biggest prize in eSports racing history – walking away with $200,000 and securing an additional $25,000 for pole position.

    Huis, who topped every session throughout the event, made a clean getaway from the line and held on to his lead throughout the first stint. Following the first round of pitstops, the Dutch driver dropped to second place behind Olli Pahkala (Mahindra Racing). Huis eventually inherited success from Pahkala who was handed a 12-second penalty following a post-race investigation for having gained an unfair performance advantage caused by a software issue. Pahkala took the lead mid-way through the race, but was later found to have suffered a technical glitch with a sustained power delivery of FanBoost over and above the limit for five laps during his second stint. Pahkala was demoted to third place following the application of the time penalty and rounded out the podium finishers.

    Despite entering unknown territory, the Formula E drivers demonstrated that driving ability is comparable across both a real and virtual world. Felix Rosenqvist (Mahindra Racing) showed his natural ability for sim racing and versatility putting in a strong performance to finish second as the best-placed Formula E driver.

    Jose Maria Lopez (DS Virgin Racing), Sam Bird (DS Virgin Racing), Daniel Abt (ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport) and Nelson Piquet Jr. (NextEV NIO) finished in the top-10, again highlighting the close competition between the drivers and sim racers. David Greco (Renault e.dams) crossed the line in 15th place, but picked up fastest lap and $10,000 in the process.

    Just as it pioneered electric car racing on city streets around the world, Formula E created the groundbreaking CES event, which attracted and retained a large crowd during the four-hour qualifying round and race and the 20-lap final contest. The format largely mirrored a traditional Formula E race.

    Formula E incorporated iconic elements of the Las Vegas Strip into the specially designed virtual e-course, which drivers were not able to experience until practice sessions that began Friday. Drivers sat in individual simulated cockpits in Playseat gaming setups running rFactor 2 software. The software offered strikingly realistic views of the course on both the competitors’ individual consoles and on the massive screens on which the throngs of fans watched inside the convention hall.

    Unlike the commercially popular arcade racing games, professional sim racing software simulates the real-world considerations professional drivers must master, including energy usage, damage, tire wear and suspension. It ensures that sim racers understand the challenges of real-world racing.

    Earlier in the day at a CES panel that was part of CES’ Sports Business Innovation Summit, FIA President Jean Todt and Formula E CEO Alejandro Agag gave a nod to the importance sim racing may play in expanding the motorsports fan base. “Clearly, this new technology, this new way of allowing people to access motor sports, is a new opening,” Todt said.

    After the panel, Todt visited CES’ Eureka Park, home to more than 500 start-ups companies looking to launch new products, services or ideas. While there, he spent time surveying the booths of French start-ups.

    Todt also visited CES’ Self-Driving Technology Marketplace, which showcases technology advancing autonomous-automated driving (including parking assistance), collision avoidance and emergency braking. The marketplace touts the statistic that advanced vehicle technology could eliminate more than 90 percent of U.S. road traffic deaths. While in the marketplace, Todt experimented with a driver-less BMW.

     eom/FIA press release
  • Volkswagen shortlists 15 drivers for Ameo Cup 2017

    Volkswagen shortlists 15 drivers for Ameo Cup 2017

    Pune, 27 Dec 2016: Volkswagen Motorsport India conducted the driver selection process for the Ameo Cup 2017 on Dec 17 and 18 at the Indi Karting here in Kharadi. Aspiring drivers were selected to participate in the one-make series of Volkswagen Ameo Cup 2017 which will be hosted as a part of the MMSC-FMSCI Indian National Racing Championship in Chennai.

    The selection process received an enormous response from the young racers from across the country with over 600 aspirants registering for the racing series. Rayomand Banajee, driver coach for Volkswagen Motorsport India and Sirish Vissa, Head of Volkswagen Motorsport India were the judges. Overall driving skills that covered consistency in performance, understanding of racing lines, driving attitude, lap times and ability to learn were judged.

    During the two days of comprehensive and rigorous selection process, participants were briefed about the techniques to hone their skills. The prospective racers were also put through a fitness session which tested their stamina and core physical strength. Additionally, they were also introduced to the importance of sponsorship in their career and how it plays a vital role especially in the field of racing.

    Vissa said, “Volkswagen Motorsport India has been committed to nurturing budding racing talent and it is pleasing to see such enthusiasm among youngsters in the country. Promising racing talent has come forward this year and I hope they would put their learnings to practice in competition. With the introduction of Ameo Cup, we expect to see more action on the tracks.

    Earlier in December, 15 drivers have been shortlisted for the 2017 season one make-series. The list of the final 20 drivers will be confirmed by end of January 2017.

    About Volkswagen Motorsport India: Taking ahead 50 years of enriching global motorsport legacy of Volkswagen, Volkswagen Motorsport India commenced operations with the Polo Cup India in 2010. The series started off with a first- ever iconic race being held at Shri Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex at Balewadi in Pune, the hometown of Volkswagen in India. The vast global expertise, coupled with rich dynamic history of the Group has enabled Volkswagen Motorsport India to progress swiftly and become the best one make series in a short span of time. The Volkswagen Polo R Cup enhanced awareness as well as underlined the technological advancement of Volkswagen in India. In 2015, Volkswagen Motorsport India shifted to Vento Cup and continued to provide a vital platform for the talented young racers to demonstrate their capabilities nationally and internationally by nurturing them. In the one-make series, all participating cars are technically identical with the same performance making it possible for only the most skilled drivers to leave an impact.

    Successes in Indian Rallying: Under the Customer Sport Initiative, Volkswagen Motorsport India started providing teams and individuals running Volkswagen Polo rally cars in the Indian Rally Championship (IRC) with technical assistance and spares from 2013. The Volkswagen Polo won the 2013 and 2014 season in the 1600-cc class.

    eom/Volkswagen Motorsport release

  • Nico’s Formula Won

    Abu Dhabi: With the season poised to end in a grand finale at the Desert destination, Autotrack was present to witness history as Mercedes AMG Petronas driver Nico Rosberg just managed to not only thwart the tough tactics of teammate Lewis Hamilton but also got a well-deserved second place with some astute, error-less driving which was enough for him to take his maiden World Driver’s Championship despite Hamilton winning here in the last GP of the season.

    In full-blown donuts, he soaked in smoke and joy, and as it turned out a week later, it was his last F1 race, as the German champion decided to quit the sport. Winning the championship was his life-time goal and that achieved, he retired. The last two years, despite Mercedes’ domination Rosberg could not win the championship as his teammate Hamilton beat him on both occasions and it was Formula None for the German. Now it’s Formula Won as the German was on the top of the world.

    He also became the first father-son duo to have both won the F1 Drivers’ Championship. The year was completely dominated by the German manufacturer who comfortably won the Constructors’ championship. The two drivers won 19 of the 21 races held in 2016 between them.

    The other big news for India is the 4th place in the Constructor’s Championship for Sahara Force India. The driver duo of German Nico Hulkenberg and Mexican Sergio Perez performed consistently and upped the ante in the second half after the upgrades in Barcelona to seal the important 4th place. Perez finished 7th scoring 101 points while Hulkenberg was 9th with 72 points in his last season with Force India. Perez got two third places at Monaco and Baku but Hulkenberg was unlucky to miss podium finishes, especially at Spa, Belgium, and his points do not justify his vast contribution to the team. Frenchman Esteban Ocon moves to Force India from Manor for 2017 to replace Hulkenberg.

    “The team’s performance is worth 10 times the achievement as we operate with a fraction of the budgets that the top-three teams have at their disposal,’’ said Vijay Mallya, the team Principal, in a chat with Autotrack a couple of seasons back when the team finished fifth. This year he could not attend the races except the one near the team’s base in Silverstone due to his travel restrictions. “His vision and his ability to make the resources available to the team was the reason for this success. The entire team is motivated and worked hard and its a true team achievement and we will continue to fight and lead the midfield,’’ told deputy team boss Robert `Bob’ Fernley to this magazine. Three cheers to the team as it keeps the Indian flag flying at F1.

    With new regulations, the season begins in Australia on March 26, 2017.

    Text: David Bodapati, Photos: Srinivasa Krishnan

    Note: This story first appeared in Autotrack magazine in the Jan-Feb 2017 issue.

    ends

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Pat Symonds to step down as Williams’ Chief Technical Officer

    Pat Symonds to step down as Williams’ Chief Technical Officer

    Groove (Oxfordshire), 20 Dec 2016: Williams Grand Prix Holdings PLC (Ticker: WGF1) today announced that Pat Symonds will be stepping down from the role of Chief Technical Officer of WILLIAMS MARTINI RACING at the end of 2016.

    Pat joined Williams towards the end of the 2013 Formula One season on a three-year contract, and in that time has helped oversee a strong turn around in the team’s performances on the race track, with 14 podiums secured over the past three seasons. Pat will be departing on 31st December 2016.
    Claire Williams, Deputy Team Principal, said; “Pat has been a tremendous asset to this team over the past three years. Pat’s appointment was the start of a major restructuring exercise, and he has been pivotal in reshaping Williams into what is a much stronger racing team today. I would like to thank him for all of his hard work and commitment during that time. We now look to the future and will be announcing details regarding the team’s technical leadership in due course.”
    eom/Williams Martini Racing press release

    Albert Park, Melbourne, Australia.
    Saturday 15 March 2014.
    Pat Symonds, Chief Technical Officer, Williams F1.
    World Copyright: Glenn Dunbar/LAT Photographic
  • Karna-Nikhil duo are INRC 2016 champions

    Karna-Nikhil duo are INRC 2016 champions

    By David Bodapati

    Bengaluru, 18 Dec 2016: Karna Kadur and co-driver Nikhil Pai of Team Yokohama R2 became the National champions in the Indian National Rally Championship for the year 2016 despite finishing sixth overall in the MRF 42nd K1000 Rally 2016 which concluded near Hosadurga, about 220 kms from here.

    Amittrajit Ghosh and Ashwin Naik drove in a steady and cautious manner to bag the coveted K1000 rally with a time of 51 minutes, 40.2 seconds. This is the second time that the Team Mahindra Adventure driver has won India’s oldest rally in the country, the last one being in 2013. The Ghosh duo became the only son and father pair to win the popular K1000. Amittrajit’s father and chief of current INRC promoter RRPM, Arindam Ghosh won the K1000 in 1981. He was one of the aggressive bunch of speed masters in early 80s who clinched the Karnataka 1000 in a Fiat over 1000 miles of rough and tumble.

    Phalguna V Urs and Chandramouli finished second a time of 53:38.1 while Rahul Kanthraj and Vivek Bhatt came third clocking 54:30.5.

    Favourite Gaurav Gill of Team Mahindra Adventure dropped out in the very first stage with a driveshaft failure. Arjun Rao was another prominent casualty who had a gearbox failure while running third.

    Talking to India in F1, Arindam Ghosh, Director, Ramakrishna Race Performance Management (RRPM), the promoters of the Indian Natinal Rally Championship said: “It has been a lovely year of rallying and it can only get better from here. We promise to bring back an even better championship next year”. Earlier, he hinted that the INRC may use the Saturday for some night rallying, running a loop of special stages on Saturday nights instead of extending the event by another day which has financial and logistical implications. For the first time INRC, became a one-day event with rallying only on Sunday. Till 2015, the National Championship used to run for three or two days with a Super Special Stage either on Friday or Sunday.

    Abhilash PG and Srikant Gowda took overall honors in Indian Rally Championship (IRC), run concurrently with the INRC, in 54:31.4, some 5 sconds ahead of Mohammed Kasim AA and Sanath G Ritesh.  M Guttedar and Sheraz Ahmed were third timing 1 minute and 0.9 seconds.

    Amittrajit and Ashwin took home Rs. 50,000/- in prize money.

    Provisional Results: Overall winners: 1. Abhilash PG / Srikant Gowda GM (54:31.4); 2. Mohammead Asim AA / Sanath G (59:28.4); 3. Ritesh M Guttedar / Sheraz Ahmed (1:00:00.9).

    IRC: 1. Abhilash PG / Srikant Gowda GM (54:31.4); 2. Mohammead Kasim AA / Sanath G (59:28.4); 3. Ritesh M Guttedar / Sheraz Ahmed (1:00:00.9).

    INRC:  1. Amittrajit Ghosh / Ashwin M Naik (51:40.2); 2. Phalguna V Urs / Chandramouli CM (53:38.1): 3. Rahul Kantharaj / Vivek Y Bhatt (54:30.5).

    INRC 2000: 1. Rahul Kantharaj / Vivek Y Bhatt (54:30.5): 2. Bopaiah KM/ Gagan Karumbaiah (54:35.8): 3. Aroor Vikram Rao / Jeevarathinam J (54:56.0).

    FMSCI Cup: 1. Sridhar N Urs / Roopesh BC (1:01:59.3); 2. Krishna Kant Yadav / Sagar M (1:06:32.3); 3. Ganapathy SC/ Venu Ramesh Kumar (1:12:21.7).

    Support event: Gypsy Cup: 1. Sanjay Agarwal / Smitha N (1:03:37.4); 2. Shiv Kumar Reddy/ Vinay Prasad BK (1:07:45.8); 3. Nayan J Sharma /Shuchindra SP (1:11:09.6)

    ends/david

    Karna Kadur (left) and Nikhil Pai after winning title in Hosadurga on 18 Dec 2016. Image courtesy Red Rooster Perf.ormance
  • Aishwarya, Shruthi for Thailand ARRC

    Aishwarya, Shruthi for Thailand ARRC

    Chennai, 15 Dec 2016: Aishwarya Madhusudhan and Shruthi Nagarajan are scheduled to attend the 2016 FIM Asia Cup of Road Racing in Thailand to be held from Dec 16 to 18 at the Circuit in Nakhonchaisri.

    They will be astride an Yamaha Exciter 150cc, an FMSCI press release said.

    The two ladies made the country proud in the previous race by turning out to be the first two female riders from India to compete at the FIM Asia Cup Road Racing in Taiwan and have performed well in their maiden attempt.

    Aishwarya Madhusudhan has also received an award in Delhi from the TIE Young Achievers Award on Dec 16 and rushed to to Thailand after the awards presentation.

    Sujith Kumar, Chairman of 2w Racing Commission said: “Aishwarya and Shruthi are among the fastest lady riders in our country at present and we feel their participation in international events would inspire more women to join the sport”.

    “Aishwarya and Shruti have redefined the threshold for women riders in India via their successful participation in the 2016 FIM Asia Cup of Road Racing. Their dauntless commitment and passion towards the sport is truly inspiring and I am sure that this is just the beginning of a great future that lies ahead of them. I do wish them the very best in all their future racing engagements” complimented Akbar Ebrahim, the new President of FMSCI.

    eom/david

  • Akbar Ebrahim elected President of FMSCI for 2017-18

    Chennai, 13 Dec 2016: At the FMSCI Annual General Meeting of 2016,held in Chennai yesterday, Akbar Ebrahim was elected as the President of FMSCI and J.Prithiviraj elected as the Vice-President.

    The 43rd Annual General Meeting of the Federation of Motor Sports Club of India (FMSCI) was held here on Monday, the 12th of December 2016. Elections were conducted for member clubs to be elected to The following Clubs/Councillors were declared elected . COUNCIL for 2017-2018:

    The FMSCI council for the two years of 2017 and 2018:

    1. Madras Motor Sports Club (MMSC) – KD Madan
    2. Karnataka Motor Sports Club (KMSC) – Shivu Shivappa
    3. Coimbatore Auto Sports Club(CASC)- J. Prithiviraj
    4. Calcutta Motor Sports Club (CMSC) – Sanjay Sharma
    5. Indian Automotive Racing Club(IARC).- Ketan Mehta
    6. Motor Sports Club of Chikmaglur (MSCC)- Farooq Ahmed
    7. Meco Motorsports Club (MMS) – Akbar Ebrahim
    8. Ramakrishna Race Performance (RRPM)—Arindam Ghos

    Elections were also conducted for the post of President and Vice-President and the following were elected by the General Body.

    Akbar Ebrahim – President

    1. Prithiviraj – Vice President

    Akbar Ebrahim is a well-known former racer and organizer of the National Rotax Max Karting Championship for last several years. He has been in the FMSCI council for the past four years and as a Chairman of 4W Racing Commission has streamlined and brought in many racing initiatives and programs which have resulted in a quantum jump in car racing in India.

    Akbar Ebrahim said: “ It is a great honour to be elected as the President of the FMSCI. I intend to dedicate my time and energy towards further development of Indian Motorsport right from the grassroot level all the way to the top, Nationally and Internationally for all disciplines of the sport.”

    An action-packed 2017 calendar awaits motorsports enthusiasts with 13 National Championships in various disciplines set to kick off in January itself.

    At the recently concluded FIA AGM , the following Fmsci nominees were inducted in to the following FIA Commissions.

    1) Driver’s Commission – Karun Chandhok

    2) Drag Racing Commission – J Balamurugan

    3) Rally Commission – Ashwin Pandit

    4) Circuits – Manoj P Dalal

    5) Medical – Dr Uday Balakrishnan

    6) Land Speed Records – Hormazd Sorabjee

    7) Women in Motorsports – Navaz Sandhu

    8) Volunteers and Officials – Prabha Shankar

    9) CIK Karting – Rayomand Banajee

    10) Truck Racing – Vicky Chandhok

    11) Closed Road – Mohan Nagarajan

    12) Hill Climb – Raj Kapoor

    13) Off Road – Jayesh Desai

    FIM Comissions

    1) GP Roop Kumar – Technical

    2) Anand Sashidharan – Legal.

     

     

    eom/Press release from Sharon Spears, Media Assistant, FMSCI.