• Essentially to encourage new talents at grass root level
• Top three winners to drive in JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship 2010

Chennai, November 26, 2009: JK Tyre in association with Madras Motor Sports Club (MMSC) presents the fifth edition of the JK Tyre FMSCI Junior Cup Racing 2009 beginning November 28-29, 2009. The event 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. The popularity of this event can be gauged by the fact that the grid for this weekend is full with 22 competitors in the fray.

The Junior Cup this year will witness a four round event in the Formula Maruti category and is essentially for beginners and young racing enthusiasts who have not raced or won a race in the last two years. Each round consists of three races with 8 laps each in the short loop. The races have been scheduled on two weekends – the first two rounds on 28th and 29th November and the final two rounds on 5th and 6th December 2009. The dates have been selected keeping in mind the school and college going youngsters who would be able to get the opportunity to race without affecting their studies. Also, the races are finished over a period of two weekends without disturbing their weekdays. The races will be held at the Madras Motor Racing Track in Irrungattukottai near Chennai.

The series has become a great opportunity for budding talents with encouragement and valuable inputs coming in form of free training from country's racing champions and JK Tyre prodigy Rayomand Banaji and Akbar Ebrahim among team principles.

Commenting on the same, Mr. Sanjay Sharma, Head Motorsports, JK Tyre & Industries, said, "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 such a low price. 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. Now with VW Polo Cup in India from next year, the opportunities for the youngsters have increased and they can look forward for the races this weekend. VW Polo Cup is a touring car concept which has helped the entry level racing around the world.”

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 FMSCI 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.

Apart from the Formula Maruti races, there will be also two races each in the Race Star Saloon cars category and TVS Race a Bike class.

The JK Tyre FMSCI Junior Cup is a forerunner to the next JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship which is slated to begin in February 2010. This event is bound to provide plenty of thrills and spills apart from providing an opportunity to young racers to hone their skills. This experience will help them to be on an even footing when they race with the racing stars in the big events. The single seater car racing in JK Tyre FMSCI Junior Cup costs Rs. 15,000 (Rupees Fifteen Thousand only) for a round of races.

The Schedule:

Round 1 : 28th November
Round 2 : 29th November
Round 3 : 6th December
Round 4 : 7th December

The duration of each round will be a full day schedule with practice and qualifying races early in the day followed by the races.

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