New Delhi, April 7, 2008: Chennai lad and India's youngest racing sensation and champion in two classes of the JK Tyre National Racing Championship 2007, Ashwin Sundar at the age of 17, has been invited by German racing team - Ma Con Motor Sports for a three years sponsorship. Ashwin would be racing in German Formula Volkswagen ADAC Championship 2008.

Ma Con Motor Sports the leading cars racing team in Europe, conducted testing sessions for the selection of two out of the 8 drivers from Britain, European Union countries and Ashwin from India. Ashwin's sterling effort is duly rewarded as he is selected out of the eight shortlisted drivers. Ashwin is the "Reigning Indian National Racing Champion" in Formula LGB Swift Class and Formula LGB Hyundai Class. He also has raced for international races like Asia Road Racing Championship - 1st Runner up - under 21 class - 115cc 4 stroke category. At such a tender age, Ashwin has also become Indian National Racing Champion in 2 wheelers category and was declared as 'Champion of Champions' in the year 2006.

(L to R) Sanjay Sharma ( GM-PR & Head Motorsport), Ashwin Sundar &
Marian Hamprecht, owner of the Ma-Con Motorsport team

JK Tyre is spearheading the motorsport development in India. The national racing championship organised by JK Tyre is witnessing plethora of new talents who are representing the country at global motor sporting events. Ashwin Sundar joins highly successful JK Tyre prodigies club which has big names such as Karun Chandhok, Armaan Ebrahim and Narain Kartikeyan in the international arena.

The testing sessions of Ma Con motorsports were held in Germany on 28th and 29th February 2008 and the drivers were provided Formula Konig (165 bhp) testing cars with a Volkswagen engine. The tests were held at the teams own test circuit in Germany (Berlin) which is 2.7 km long and is considered as one of the best circuit in Europe.

Marian Hamprecht, owner of the Ma-Con Motorsport team, said, "We are very happy to have Ashwin Sundar in our team for the next three years. He has shown immense talent by winning the testing sessions held in Germany in February 2008 at Ma Con motorsports' own test circuit. His progress has been clearly evident and culminated into his succesful entry into the team".

Mr. Sanjay Sharma, Head Motorsports, JK Tyre & Industries Ltd. said on the occassion, "We at JK Tyre ensured that the motorsport, widely perceived a sport for elite class, reaches out to more and more Indians. We are continuosly striving to make motorsport suitable for the Indian pockets. Therefore, we gradually established platforms for young Indian talents to hone their skills and become racing champions. Today, we feel proud that we have accomplished one more milestone in our journey.

Ashwin Sundar belongs to a humble family and I am sure, his early success will inspire many young Indians to explore the world of motorsport. Of course, JK Tyre is always there to show them the way forward".

Ashwin Sundar, during the conference, commented, "It is a dream come true and I never expected that it would come so soon to me. I am thankful to JK Tyre and Rams Racing for providing me such a good platform. I am also grateful to Ma Con motorsports for adopting me and I look forward to do best for the team. I will be joining F3 German series from next year, therefore would try to be amongst the top 3 in the upcoming championship."

German Formula Volkswagen ADAC championship 2008 consists of 8 rounds races and will be held on various circuits in Germany. With this tie up Ashwin has now set his eyes on the 2010 Formula 3 European series.

Year 2000 saw the culmination of an annual National Go Karting Championship under the auspices of JK Tyre that had the participation of the winners of the regional karting championships across seven cities. This established a step-by-step platform for the talents to hone and showcase their skills. These winners then graduate to JK Tyre National Racing Championship. Thus a complete tier took form, offering the gradual upgradation from regional karting championships to national karting, national racing, Asian series, Formula Three, GP2 and so on.

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