motorsport @ your finger tips

Chennai, July 23, 2009: In an endeavor to bring the impending sport closer to Indian women JK Tyre in association with Duchess Club and Madras Motor Sports Club (MMSC) is organizing the 2nd edition of All Women’s Car Rally on August 2, 2009. Into its 19th year, the rally will feature more than 100 cars on Time, Speed and Distance format (TSD) and will cover Chennai city and its suburbs over a distance of 80+ kilometers within a period of three and half hours. The event is open for cars of all engine capacities and categories including diesel cars and jeeps.

The number of women entering motor sports has seen a growing trend in recent years. Starting with a grid of 35 cars in its maiden event, the annual all women’s car rally today draws more than hundred entries. 40 percent of the entries in recent years have been newcomers. The rally which will be flagged off on Sunday morning from Hotel Savera will have a break for lunch at the Madras Motor Race Track near Sriperumbudur and at the same time provide an opportunity for the eves of motor sports to witness a couple of races of the country’s most prestigious motor sport event - the JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship for Formula cars. The second stage of the rally will then start off from the track and will culminate at the starting point.

At the conference, Nina Reddy from Duchess Club, said, “All Women Car Rally is one of the most popular sports event in the city. Women from varied backgrounds converge for the rally. Last year, we witnessed participation from a three generation team - a daughter, mother and the grandmother. Therefore we expect the same enthusiasm this time. Today women are driving buses, trains and taxis and even manning dance floors in various clubs. This is a testimony that we can handle pressure and difficult situations and are not confined to only soft works.”

She added, “We have been giving the rally a theme on Friendship and it has generated a lot of interest from the participants.”

Mr. Sunil Kumar, Area Manager, JK Tyre & Industries Ltd., said, “I congratulate Duchess Club, participants and media fraternity; who in their efforts made this event an exciting and memorable experience and are geared up now to present the rally with same enthusiasm and spirit. JK Tyre has a long term sustained approach to promote motorsports in the country. The company has been actively associated with various national and international level motorsport events in the country. We have built a complete infrastructure to attract budding talent to this sport and guide them at every stage to reach international milestones.

He added, “We have been promoting and encouraging women in motorsports and actively partner in organizing the prestigious All Women Rally in Chennai and Trichy. We feel that greater attention towards such sport activities could translate into a new spirit of innovation and competition in the country.”

The maximum number of persons recommended in a car is four. The rally will be held in 4 categories – Expert, Regular, Novice and Duchess.

Entry fee is Rs.600. Entries close at 13.00 hrs on 31st July. The briefing session will be held at 4 pm on Friday, 31st July at Hotel Savera. More details and entry forms can be collected from The Duchess Club – 98412 88631 and Madras Motor Sports Club, 1st Floor, Guru Mansion, 123/1 TTK Road, Alwarpet, Chennai 600 018. Ph: 2499 0998 email - mmsc_chennai@yahoo.co.in

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