Chennai, December 24, 2008: The curtains will come down this year for the final round of the fourth edition of JK Tyre Junior Cup 2008 on December 27-28, 2008 at Sriperambudur, Chennai. The young stars will race for each round consisting of three races on Single Seater Formula Cars powered by 800 cc Engine. JK Tyre Junior Cup organized by Madras Motor Sports Club has generated tremendous response from aspiring young drivers from different parts of the country - Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Guwahati , Bangalore , Hyderabad , Punjab etc and has been conceptualized and developed to encourage new talents at grass root levels and to provide them a platform to develop and hone their skills at a highly subsidized opportunity cost, with major thrusts coming from sponsors and team owners.

At the end of the first two rounds, the current championship leader is Chennai youngster Gokul Krishna from Team Wallace Sports who with his trail blazing performances in the first two rounds has achieved a tally of 66 points. In second place with 46 points close on the heels is- K.Prashanth of Team Rams Racing and running third place is the driver from Guwahati – B. Paragjyothi.

Top three drivers of the JK Tyre Junior Cup will get various opportunities to race within the big league in the JK Tyre National Racing Championship, Volkswagen Polo Cup & others. This event is a forerunner to the next JK Tyre National Racing Championship, which is slated to begin in February 2009. This experience will help the drivers to be on an even footing when they race with the racing stars in the big events.

Commenting on the same, Mr. Sanjay Sharma, Head Motorsports, JK Tyre & Industries, said, "The interest of the youngsters has been overwhelming for the first two rounds. There are 16 Formula Maruti cars belonging to Ram's Racing and Wallace Sports available and 20 entrants.

It has been our constant endeavor to promote motor sports at all levels in the country. JK Tyre Junior Cup has been an ideal platform to spot and encourage new talents and provide growth opportunities for deserving young racers in the country. This format of racing is a great platform for the drivers between 15 – 24 years and has done wonders in promoting talents at grass root levels at a very marginal cost.”

He added, “No where in the world one get a single seater racing car at a price of Rs. 15,000/- for a round of three races. The prize money for the championship is in excess of Rs 10 lacs, as the top three winners also earn a free drive in the JK Tyre National Racing Championship 2009.”

This Racing Championship would also be a platform for the youngsters to move forward from Karting to four wheeler road racing. Saran Vikram and Gautam Parekh are some of the many examples that are the find of the racing event. Saran, who comes from a humble background won the Junior Cup and got a full sponsored opportunity to race within the big league in the JK Tyre National Racing Championship, country's premium racing championship. He in turn made maximum of the opportunity by winning the championship in the Formula Swift category and today is one of the brightest kid on the block.

** END **