INDIA in F1

Tag: Toyota Etios Motor Racing Series

  • Perez takes superb 3rd at Monaco, dedicates podium win to team boss Vijay Mallya

    Perez takes superb 3rd at Monaco, dedicates podium win to team boss Vijay Mallya

    Alfonso Celis Jr (MEX) Sahara Force India F1 Development Driver. Sahara Force India F1 Team Studio Shoot, Friday 19th February 2016. Silverstone, England.
    Alfonso Celis Jr (MEX) Sahara Force India F1 Development Driver.
    Sahara Force India F1 Team Studio Shoot, Friday 19th February 2016. Silverstone, England.

    Monaco, 29 May 2016: Sahara Force India ended their lean run with a fantastic performance by Mexican Segio Perez, who took the third place, his third for the team in three different seasons and his sixth career podium. Teammate German Nico Hulkenberg passed championship leader Nico Rosberg on the line to take a well-deserved sixth place to put Force India in a double points finish for the first time in the season.

    Reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton took his first win of the season, his 44th win, with a one-stop strategy. Ricciardo who started on pole had to be content with a second place as a faulty pit stop ruined his chances. Championship leader Nico Rosberg finished 7th, as Hulkenberg pipped him to the chequered flag.

    A pleased Sergio Perez during the podium interviews said : “I’m extremely happy because my team has done a tremendous job. It’s my third podium and to have it here in Monaco is very special.

    “I want to dedicate this podium to my boss Vijay Mallya. I think we did the right calls.”

    Force India has now 37 points and moved up to 5th place. Perez with this podium has garnered 23 of them. Hulkenberg has 14 points.

    Perez started on P7 as the race started behind the Safety Car in wet conditions and managed to keep Sebastian Vettel at bay for the better part of the race and came third on his soft tyres making only one pit stop.

  • Mangalore youngster, Dean Mascarenhas wins Toyota EMR Trophy

    Noida, 28 Sept 2014: It was action galore at the 2014 MMSC-FMSCI National Racing Championship (NRC) at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida the 2014 Championships were finally sealed. After Tarun Reddy & Arjun Narendran had won their respective titles yesterday, it was the turn of VJ Senthil & Dean Mascarenhas to win the Indian Junior Touring Car (IJTC) and Toyota Etios Motor Racing (EMR) Trophy. Delhi boy Lee Keshav also took his first win in the MRF FF1600 Championship with

    In Race 1 of the MRF FF1600 Kartik Tharani Singh had a great start and got past pole sitter Siddharth Trivellore to lead into the first corner. Lee Keshav slotted into 3rd place as 2014 Champion Tarun Reddy struggled with a throttle problem and dropped down to 6th place. He lost 2 more place before finally retiring from the race. Arjun Narendran retired from the race on lap 2 which brought out the Safety Car. As the Safety Car came in Lee Keshav got a great run on Karthik and overtook him into turn 1 to take the lead. Karthik kept up with Lee but could never make a move with an impressive Dhruv Behl behind the duo. Lee Keshav took his first win with Karthik in 2nd place and Dhruv in 3rd place.

    In R

    MRF FF1600cc race at BIC on Sunday. An Adrenna Communications image
    MRF FF1600cc race at BIC on Sunday. An Adrenna Communications image

    ace 2 of the MRF FF1600 things were back to normal with Tarun Reddy getting off to a brilliant start and leading from start to finish. Behind him it was once again Lee Keshav and Karthik battling it out for the podium spot. It was a tight battle all the way with Lee Keshav taking his third podium of the weekend and 3rd position in the Championship, ahead of Vikash Anand. With Tarun’s win, he made it 11 wins out of 14 races and also became the youngest winner of the Championship.

    Arjun Narendran completed his domination of the ITC Championship after taking his 9th win of the season. Ashish Ramaswamy was once again his closest competitor and finished in 2nd place with Sivaramakrishnan getting on the podium yet again. C Rajaram, who finished in 5th position, took 3rd in the ITC Championship.

    In the Toyota EMR Race 1, Hisham took his second win of the season after a close battle with Dean Mascarenhas. It was a three-way battle for most of the race with championship contender Varun Anekar. While all three men were in with a chance, it was Hisham who crossed the finish line ahead of Dean by 0.448secs with Varun in 3rd place.

    Dean Mascarenhas sealed the title in the last race when he won ahead of Hisham and Mezaan Anees. Dean got revenge on Hisham and beat him by 0.347secs in yet another thriller. Dean has won the 2014 Toyota EMR Trophy ahead of Varun Anekar and Hisham.

    VJ Senthil took his first ever title when he won the IJTC race after a race long battle with Charen Chandran and Feroze Khan. 2013 Champion Feroze was running in 2nd place but lost out to Charen and ended up in 3rd place. It was a great season long battle between Senthil and Feroze with the former being crowned a worthy champion.

    Race Classifications

    Indian Junior Touring Cars

    1. VJ Senthil
    2. Charen Chandran
    3. Feroze Khan

    Toyota EMR – Race 3

    1. Hisham
    2. Dean Mascarenhas
    3. Varun Anekar

    Toyota EMR – Race 4

    1. Dean Mascarenhas
    2. Hisham
    3. Mezan Anees

    Superstock – Race 3

    1. Balavijay
    2. Joel Joseph
    3. Rajarajan

    Indian Touring Cars – Race 3

    1. Arjun Narendran
    2. Ashish Ramaswamy
    3. Sivaramakrishnan

    MRF FF 1600 – Race 2

    1. Lee Keshav Gupta
    2. Kartik Tharani Singh
    3. Dhruv Behl

    MRF FF 1600 – Race 2

    1. Tarun Reddy
    2. Lee Keshav Gupta
    3. Kartik Tharani Singh

    2014 MMSC-FMSCI NATIONAL RACING CHAMPIONSHIP WINNERS

    MRF FF 1600

    1. Tarun Reddy
    2. Advait Deodhar
    3. Lee Keshav Gupta

    Indian Touring Cars

    1. Arjun Narendran
    2. Ashish Ramaswamy
    3. C Rajaram

    Superstock

    1. Balavijay
    2. Joel Joseph
    3. Chandresh Tolia

  • Vikash Anand wins his first-ever MRF 1600 race in style

    Buddh International Circuit, 15 Sept 2013: Indian driver Vikash Anand

    Vikash Anand wins his first-ever MRF 1600 race at BIC on Sunday. An Adrenna photo
    Vikash Anand wins his first-ever MRF 1600 race at BIC on Sunday. An Adrenna photo

    won his first ever MRF 1600 race in style of the season ahead of 15yr old Tarun Reddy at the final round of the MMSC-FMSCI National Racing Championship at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida. M Sivaramakrishnan won the Indian Touring Car race after 2013 Champion and winner N Leelakrishnan was given a 15 second penalty for jumping the start. The BIC was bustling with 15000 fans present  for the MMSC NRC special weekend for both cars and bikes. MMSC prize money of over 60 lakhs for the 2013 MMSC NRC is the highest of its kind for Indian motorsport, a press release said.

    The opening race, the Toyota EMR Trophy had Diljith, who started on pole position, again lead from start to finish win with ease. Akhil Rabindra was again his main competition finishing in second place, 6.686 seconds behind the leader. Dean Mascarenhas finished in a distant third, 13.187 seconds behind the leader.    

    In the ITC race, Leelakrishnan started on pole and convincingly led from start to finish. Arjun Balu startting in second, also had a good start and was followed by M Sivaramakrishnan and V Ramnarayan. Arjun managed to stay in second with Sivaramkrishnan all over him. On lap 3 Sivaramkrishnan made his move and passed Arjun with Ramnarayan also getting past a lap later. Leelakrishnan crossed the finish line in 1st place but was later given a 15 second penalty for jumping the start. He eventually finished in 3rd position while Sivaramakrishnan was adjudged the winner. Ramnarayan finished in third place to take the final step of the podium. Leelakrishnan was crowned 2013 ITC Champion with 2012 Champion Arjun Balu finishing in second and V Ramnarayan in third position in the overall championship standings. Newly crowned Indian Junior Touring Car champion Feroze Khan signed off in style with victory in the IJTC race. Charen Chandran finished in second place ahead of Race 1 winner Ananth Pitawala.

    The MRF 1600 race was up next with Japanese driver Kizuka Hirota on reverse-grid pole position. Vikash Anand had a great start from fourth on the grid and was upto second place after the first corner behind Hirota. Behind him Yudai Jinkawa, Advait Deodhar and Tarun Reddy followed. Tarun passed Advait on the long straight to move into 4th place behind Yudai. Vikash started putting pressure on Hirota and passed him on lap 2 with a brilliant move around the outside on Turn 4 at the end of the long straight. Tarun passed Hirota and Yudai over the next two laps to move into second place. At the front Vikash continued to put in fastest laps and pull away from the rest of the pack. He crossed the line in first place to take a well deserved win. tarun finished in second place with Hirota in third after Yudai suffered a puncture. 2013 Championship winner Ashwin Sundar did not race and was crowned MRF 1600 Champion in the last round. Vikash Anand finished in second place with Tarun Reddy in third place in the Championship.

    With the championship still on the line, the final race of the day was Race 4 of the Toyota EMR Trophy. Varun Anekar started on pole in the reverse grid race. Varun led from the start and took his first ever win ahead of Akshay Gupta and Binoy John Maddela. Diljith finished in 4th place but that was enough for him to be crowned the first ever Toyota EMR Trophy winner with Akshil Rabindra in second and Varun Anekar in third place in the standings. All the three will get the opportunity to race internationally in the Vios Cup that will take place in Thailand later this year, which is conducted by Toyota Racing Development (TRD) in Thailand.

    Results:

    Race 1, Toyota EMR

    1. Diljith
    2. Akhil Rabindra
    3. Dean Mascarenhas

    Race 2, ITC

    1. M Sivaramakrishnan
    2. V Ramnarayan
    3. N Leelakrishnan

    Race 2, Indian Junior Touring Cars

    1. Feroze Khan
    2. Charen Chandran
    3. Ananth Pitawala

    Race 3, MRF 1600

    1. Vikash Anand
    2. Tarun Reddy
    3. Kizuka Hirota

    Race 4, Toyota EMR

    1. Varun Anekar
    2. Akshay Gupta
    3. Binoy John Maddela

    National Racing Championship winners:

    INDIAN TOURING CARS

    1. N Leelakrishnan
    2. Arjun Balu
    3. V Ramnarayan

    INDIAN JUNIOR TOURING CARS

    1. Feroze Khan
    2. Charen Chandran
    3. VJ Senthil

    MRF 1600

    1. Ashwin Sundar
    2. Vikash Anand
    3. Tarun Reddy

    TOYOTA EMR TROPHY

    1. Diljith
    2. Akhil Rabindra
    3. Varun Anekar

    ends

  • Leelakrishnan dominates ITC; Jinkawa wins thrilling MRF 1600 race

    Buddh International Circuit, 14 Sept 2013: Japanese driver Yudai Jinkawa won a thrilling MRF 1600 race ahead of Vikash Anand and Tarun Reddy (later given a jumpstart penalty) with the top 3 being separated by 3 tenths off a second at the chequered flag. The final round of the MMSC-FMSCI National Racing Championship took place at the Buddh International Circuit at Greater Noida with most drivers driving here for the first time. N Leelakrishnan held off reigning champion Arjun Balu to win by 3.030seconds in the Indian Touring Car category while Ananth Pitawala claimed his first ever win in the Indian Junior Touring Car category. Diljith won Race 1 while youngster Akhil Rabindra won Race 2 of the Toyota EMR Trophy.

    The opening race, the Toyota EMR Trophy had Diljith, who started on pole position, lead from start to finish to take a dominant win. Akhil Rabindra managed to hold off Abhinay Bikkani to finish in second place, 7.716 seconds behind the leader. Varun Anekar finished in 4th place after a race long battle with Akhil and Abhinay.  

    In the ITC race, Leelakrishnan started on pole and had a good start off the line. Arjun Balu started slow but just managed to hold off a charging M Sivaramakrishnan behind him. Leelakrishnan pulled a 2 second lead in the first two laps and managed to keep the gap for the rest of the race. Arjun went faster as the race went on setting his fastest lap off the race on the second last lap. Sivaramakrishnan had a lonely race in third as he finished 13.317 seconds behind the leader.

    The next race was the most exciting with the MRF 1600 on track. Yudai, starting on pole, had a great start and went into the lead with Tarun and Vikash right behind him. Tarun and Vikash had a great battle for the first 3 laps with the latter finally getting past in the mid-sector. Vikash then started to reel Yudai in bringing Tarun with him and was right on his tail with three laps to go. Vikash drove brilliantly and tried to pass Yudai several times but could not find a way past. The top three finally finished within a mere 0.307 seconds separating them. Tarun was later given a penalty for jumping the start and ended up in 5th place with Advait Deodhar moving up to the final podium spot. Adavit, Kizuka Hirota and Masaki Fujimura had their own battle trading places throughout the race.

    The final race of the day was Race 2 of the Toyota EMR Trophy with Akhil Rabindra taking his first victory. It was the closest Toyota race with 1 second separating the top 4 at the chequered flag. Akhil and Diljith started in 7th & 8th position and worked their way through field. Akhil had a better start and was upto 4th position by lap 3. He then passed Varun Aneakr to move into 2nd place before passing Farhan Ahmed to take the lead. Diljith moved up to 3rd position and tried hard to pass Farhan for 2nd place but ran out of laps.

    Results: Race 1, Toyota EMR: 1. Diljith; 2. Akhil Rabindra; 3. Varun Anekar.

    Race 2, ITC: 1. N Leelakrishnan; 2. Arjun Balu; 3. M Sivaramakrishnan.

    Race 3, Indian Junior Touring Cars: 1. Ananth Pitawala; 2. VJ Senthil; 3. Charen Chandran.

    Race 4, MRF 1600: 1. Yudai Jinkawa; 2. Vikash Anand; 3. Advait Deodhar.

    Race 5, Toyota EMR: 1. Akhil Rabindra; 2. Farhan Ahmed; 3. Diljith.

    ends

    Leelakrishnan wins ITC race at BIC on Saturday. An Adrenna photo
    Leelakrishnan wins ITC race at BIC on Saturday. An Adrenna photo

  • BIC to host National Racing events for both bikes, 4-wheelers

    Greater Noida, 13 Sept 2013: For the first time in the history of Indian motorsports, both 2-Wheelers and 4-Wheelers of the National Racing Championship under the aegis of Federation of Motor Sports Clubs in India (FMSCI) will race together in a special weekend at the Buddh International Circuit in here this weekend.

    According to a press release from Adrenna Communications, both the National Racing Championship and Indian National Motorcycle Championship will take place on Saturday and Sunday bringing together the biggest manufacturers in the world. Toyota, Honda, Yamaha will bring the international manufacturers together while MRF Tyres and TVS Racing will keep the Indian flag flying high. This will also mark the first time that a motorcycle race will be held at the BIC since the circuit opened in 2011.

    The launch saw the 160+ participants standing on the main straight of the BIC under the start-finish lights along with various racing categories that will take place this weekend. The five partners (MRF, TVS, Toyota, Yamaha, Honda) all addressed the media and stressed on the need to develop motorsports in the country and this weekend being one little step.

    Speaking on the main straight of the Circuit Vicky Chandhok, President, FMSCI, said: “This is truly a great moment for us to have both 2-wheelers and 4-wheelers racing on the same weekend. We would like to do this in a more regular basis depending on the outcome of the weekend. The home of the Indian GP is a great place to host this event for the first time ever. It is great to see manufacturers like Toyota, Honda, Yamaha, TVS and of course MRF Racing all coming together for one simple goal – develop the sport in India. To have the first ever motorcycle race at the BIC is truly a great feeling and I am confident that this is the first of many. We will have motorcycle racing, single-seater racing, sportscar racing, what more could a racing fan ask for?”

    The historic weekend will feature the MRF 1600 category, Toyota EMR Trophy and the Indian Touring Cars and Indian Junior Touring Cars Championship in the 4-Wheeler category. The 2-Wheeler races will include the the TVS Apache RTR-180 category, Yamaha Y2F R15 One Make Championship, Honda CBR 250 One Make Championship and NRC Experts, Group C upto 165cc.

    Ajit Thomas, President, MMSC, was thrilled at the prospect of both cars and bikes racing on the same weekend. “This is the 17th year of the National Racing Championship and we are really excited about this special weekend that will see both bikes and cars running together. In our 60th year I am extremely proud of the great work done by everyone at the MMSC and all our esteemed partner. We are keen to take this unique initiative to the BIC and looking to make this a constant fixture in the coming years. We have only one objective in mind and that is to develop motorsports in the country and do everything in our power to make it a success,” he said.  

    MRF Racing, will unleash their MRF 1600 category  on the BIC for only the second time, after being the support race for the Formula One Indian GP in 2011. Ashwin Sundar wrapped up the championship in the last round in Chennai but young pretenders Tarun Reddy, Advait Deodhar and Vikash Anand will be looking to make their mark at this challenging circuit. The international drivers have been impressive with Yudai Jinkawa taking three wins and Kizuki Hirota taking one win.

    Arun Mammen, Managing Director, MRF Tyres, said: “Coming to the BIC is always a special feeling and we can’t wait to see our cars go around this great circuit. Since the lap is longer and harder on the tyres we have had to push the envelope to ensure the driver’s can push the cars to the limit. We are extremely proud of the entire MRF 1600 season and a special thank you to the entire team who have made this possible. At the beginning of the season we were clear that we wanted to have a competitive series and am glad to see that we have achieved this. There is no better way to end the season that letting these young drivers fight it out at the BIC.”

    The Indian Touring Car championship will see championship leader looking to close out the title as heads to the BIC with a 34 point lead. Last year’s champion Arjun Balu has seen his title hopes fade over the last two rounds as he has struggled to finish on the podium. He is level on points with V Ramnarayan as they will battle for the second place this weekend.

    The Toyota Etios Motor Racing (EMR) Trophy will continue their participation in the 2013 NRC with 4 races being held at the BIC for the race weekend. This will be the first time that the Toyota EMR cars will race at the BIC. The winners will get an opportunity to race outside India to further hone their skills. The Toyota EMR had a great first round in Chennai and will give their young drivers the opportunity to impress at the BIC. Diljith was dominant at the earlier round in Chennai winning 2 out of the 3 races and will be the favourite to win again.

    Commenting on this occasion, Sanjay Gupta, General Manager, Marketing, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, said, “After a fun & excitement filled exhibition race season last year, the inaugural round of EMR Trophy took place in July in Chennai this year. This is our second participation in the National Racing Championship and the first time that the EMR cars will be driven at the BIC. Racing at the BIC will be a huge boost for all our drivers as they are all geared to take on the EMR Trophy. The best three EMR drivers of both Trophy I & II will also get the opportunity to race at the Vios Cup scheduled to take place in Thailand this year. It is a single make racing conducted by Toyota Racing Development (TRD) in Thailand.”

    The races from the FMSCI 2013 FMSCI Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship will include the TVS Apache RTR-180 category, Yamaha Y2F R15 One Make Championship, Honda CBR 250 One Make Championship and NRC Experts, Group C upto 165cc.

    The TVS Apache RTR-180 category has Ananth Raj in the lead with 93 points, with second placed SK Prakash 20 points behind him and Arun M further behind. Arvind Pangaonkar, Head, TVS Racing and Advisor R&D, TVS Motor Company, commented, “TVS Racing’s commitment to motorsport is evident in the fact that TVS Motor Company has for more than 25 years participated in, supported and excelled in various types of motorsports events held across the country. Such platforms help us get practical, hands on learning and insights.  This wealth of knowledge subsequently gets translated into our stock motorcycles to enhance customer delight.”

    The Yamaha Y2F R15 One Make Championship is much closer with the top 5 riders separated by only 20 points. Shyam Shankar leads the championship ahead of Mathana Kumar. Behind them there is a five point difference separating M Sudhakar, P Ananth Raj and Dinesh Kumar.

    Speaking on the occasion Mr. Ravinder Singh, VP- Sales Strategy Planning, Yamaha Motor India Sales Pvt. Ltd. said, “Motorsports has always been an integral part of our corporate philosophy. We’ve always given special importance to motorcycle racing in India as we consider it a way of expressing the ‘Spirit of Challenge’ that we value so highly. We’ve really come a long way since 2010 when we first started the R15 One Make Race Championships in India. Through the R15 One Make race Championship, which is one of our key initiatives to connect with our customers, we aspire to take the motorcycle racing culture to newer heights in the country. This is the first time the race involving national level riders is being hosted at the Buddh International Circuit, a step which will help increase awareness on the Indian racing culture in this part of the country as well. We are very happy with this development as it is very much in line with our endeavor to take the racing culture to newer heights in the country.”

    India’s only MotoGP rider Sarath Kumar leads the charge in the Honda CBR 250 One Make Championship with 73 points. The battle behind him is extremely close with upcoming rider Sumit Lucas Toppo in second place ahead of international race winner K Rajni Krishnan.

    “This is the first time that HMSI is conducting Honda One Make Race at Buddh International Circuit. As a responsible member of society, Honda will continue to expand safe fun biking culture in India. With the CBR 250R under Team Championship, Honda will promote its global legacy of providing advanced motor-sports experience of expert riders.”, said Mr. Y S Guleria- Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India.

    The NRC Experts Group C upto 165cc category is the closest of all with K Jagan and Vivek Pillai tied for first place with Sumit Lucas Toppo in third place, just 8 points away.

    For all the live action go to www.madrasmotorsports.in

    Participants in all categories who will be racing this weekend at BiC. An Adrenna photo

    Participants in all categories who will be racing this weekend at BiC. An Adrenna photo

    ends

     

     

     

  • Toppo, Prabhu to take part in Asia Dream Cup

    Chennai, 5 July 2013: India’s Sumit Lucas Toppo and Arunagiri Prahbu could not feel more excited about racing at their home turf, Madras Motor Race Track (MMRT) in Chennai, India for the first time in the Asia Dream Cup that runs concurrently with the PETRONAS Asia Road Racing Championship next weekend.

    It’s second season running, this new class famous for its incredibly close racing and unpredictable results is conducted with the full support of Honda Motor Co Ltd Japan is a ‘scholarship programme aimed at producing world-class levels from within the Asian ranks.

    Riders will be racing astride the Honda CBR 250R, a production model that mirrors the Moto3 class in the world championship and in doing so, the Asia Dream Cup becomes the platform for hopeful riders to bridge the gap between Underbone racing to full-frame bikes either in the 600cc class, Moto3 or Moto2.

    Sumit and Arunagiri are the second batch of Indian riders to participate in the one-make series after Gautam Mayilvaganan and Deepak Papineni made their debut last year. Sumit was runner-up in the Group C category in the Indian National Motorcycle Championship last year.

    “Taking part in the Asia Dream Cup has been a an eye-opening experience. Not only do I get to compete along some of the most talented young riders in Asia and improve my riding skills but we are also constantly exposed to the technical side of racing from people who have deep knowledge of the sport,” said Sumit.

    He went on to talk about his expectations for the upcoming race and commented, “We feel highly motivated for our home-race because if there is any chance we can stamp our mark, the Madras Motor Race Track would be it. None of the other riders have been there before so our experience racing there will certainly be an advantage.”

    For more info please log on to the PETRONAS Asia Road Racing Championship official website, www.asiaroadracing.com

     

    ends

    Arunagiri Prahbu in action at Indonesia
    Arunagiri Prahbu in action at Indonesia

  • Toyota Selects Drivers for Inaugural Etios Racing Series

    Three camps were held to arrive at the final 25 drivers
    – The candidates were selected by a team of experts
    – These drivers will drive at 2 Exhibition Races in 2012 and the EMR Series     in 2013 Bangalore, 11 June 2012: The nationwide hunt for the final driver line-up of the Etios Motor Racing (EMR) Series ended last weekend after 40 young racing hopefuls battled it out in the Etios Motor Racing cars. The selected 25 will be driving the Etios in its racing avatar this year at the Exhibition races in August and October, and next year at the inaugural season of Toyota’s single-make racing series, according to a Press Release here on Monday

    Toyota

    .
    The entire selection process was well-planned and thorough in order to select the most talented racers in the country belonging to the age group of 15 to 24 years old. These drivers will go on to compete at the Etios Motor Racing Series and in turn will also have bigger and brighter opportunities opened up to them in the field of racing both in India and overseas.

    Commenting on the EMR driver training programme, Mr. Sandeep Singh, Deputy Managing Director-Marketing, said, “We had young aspiring racing drivers from all over India, and it was truly heartening to witness the passion and enthusiasm they showed for motorsport at the various EMR camps. In fact this further emphasizes the purpose of an initiative such as this for motorsports in the country. An experienced team put their heads together to select the driver line-up for the EMR Series, and will continue to partner us to hone the driving skills of the young talent the country has to offer. This is only the beginning, and we have a lot of excitement in store, starting with the exhibition races in August and October this year.”

    Driver Selection Process

    Camp 1 
    A record number of 3300 online registrations was received which were sifted through to get to a number of around 900 eligible participants. They were then invited to compete in the first round of auditions in four cities – Pune, Delhi, Kolkata and Bangalore.
    The arduous task of selecting 70 young drivers from around 900 was given to experts in the field of racing and rallying – Leelakrishnan, Farad Bhathena, Nawaz Sandhu, Karandeep Sandhu, Amittrajit Ghosh and Karna Kadur.

    As selections were held across the country at different tracks, the following was put into place to achieve the intended result:

    1. Tracks at all venues were redesigned by Red Rooster Racing to bring out driver skills
    2. Benchmark lap time on each track was set for reference
    3. Each participant drove eight laps
    4. Each participant was rated on 10 by the evaluators

    Camp 2
    The top 70 competitors were put through a more rigorous second round of selections where they were individually trained and judged by five top evaluators/ instructors with a motorsport background – Leelakrishnan, Ram Narayan, Rahul Kantharaj, Karna Kadur and Anish Rathnam. The camp was held over two days in Bangalore with a total of three rounds for a batch of five candidates in each round.
    Participants were judged on their go-kart driving skills with importance given to their lap times and consistency in lap times in Camps 1 and 2.

    Camp 3
    40 drivers were selected from Camp 2 who then went on to attend Camp 3 where for the final selection and training with the Etios Motor Racing cars. The participants were driving the EMR cars for the first time, hence were put through extensive training sessions over two days at the Madras race track (MMSC), and mentored by acclaimed motorsport drivers – Leelakrishnan, Ram Narayan, Rahul Kantharaj, Amittrajit Ghosh and Karna Kadur. The final 25 drivers (+10 reserves) were selected based on the consistency in lap timings and fastest lap timings set by the competitor on the race track.

    About Etios Motor Racing (EMR)
    Continuing the Company’s global legacy of motorsports, the EMR tourney will be supported by one of the most accomplished and acclaimed engineering companies in motorsport history – TRD(Toyota Racing Development), the corporate brand from the Toyota affiliate, Toyota Technocraft Co. Ltd. The EMR Series that is slated to be held in the second half of 2013 will be based on a single-make racing championship platform. The cars will be FIA qualified with racing parts supplied by TRD, and their technical expertise will be utilized throughout the series.

    Toyota will also partner and work closely with Indian motorsport experts, Red Rooster Racing (International) Pvt., Ltd. based in Bangalore, with Leelakrishnan former racing and rallying champion at the helm.

    MRF – pioneer of motor racing in India, DENSO – a Toyota affiliate that manufactures auto parts,and Savita – sole distributor of Idemitsu Oil products in India are now on board as‘Official Partners’ for EMR in 2012.

    The Etios racing platform will help talented young racers develop their skills, and further train them to gain a competitive edge for their future in motorsports. They will be mentored by experts in the field, and will be given an opportunity to compete amongst the best in the country. This series will not only highlight the technological prowess of the manufacturer, but also the endurance levels of the Etios and the ‘fun to drive’ aspect of the vehicle.For updates and information on Etios Motor Racing, please visit http://toyotaetiosmotorracing.in/