45 drivers eager to make their mark in national karting

Hyderabad, June 25 (IANS) The country's most exciting and hard fought motorsport event for young racing enthusiasts is back. The JK Tyre-FMSCI National Rotax Max Karting Championship 2013, a platform for young and aspiring drivers, will be flagged off here Saturday.

The first round of the National Rotax Max Karting Championship 2013 that will be held here over the weekend will be followed by rounds in Coimbatore and Bangalore.

Over 45 drivers, including the country's top karters and new entrants, will be seen battling across three categories that include Micro Max (7 to 12 years), Junior Max (13 to 16 years) and Senior Max (15 and above) here at the tracks of the Lahiri Resorts.

In addition to Mohites Racing, Rayo Racing, Dark Don Racing and Meco Racing, the 2014 season will also witness the debut of one new karting team - Bangalore's BPC Racing, which has Robert Danison as team owner.

The event will begin with qualifying rounds followed by heats Saturday. The warm up races will take place Sunday morning followed by the pre-final and the final races.

JK Tyre prodigies, namely Karun Chandhok, Armaan Ebrahim, Aditya Patel, Jehan Daruvala and Arjun Maini, to name a few have all graduated from these karting championships to make a name for themselves in the global motorsport arena.

The Championship will feature well-known names in the Indian Karting circuit such as Kush Maini, last year's 'Most Promising Karter'; Paul Francis, 'Rookie Champion 2013'; Nikhil Bohra, 'Rookie Champion 2014'; Yash Aradhaya, 'Kart Open Champion 2014'; Mira Erda, 'the only girl karter' besides names like Nayan Chatterjee, Vishnu Prasad, 'National Senior Max Champion 2013'; Chittesh Mandody, Akhil Rabindra and Nanjappa as well as last year's defending champions Pradyumn V Danigond, Krishnaraj Mahadik and Ameya Bafna, 'National Senior Max Runner-up 2013'.

The winners of the JK Tyre National Rotax Max Karting Championship 2014 will get a lifetime opportunity to represent the country at the 2013 Rotax Grand Finals in the US.

"Two young Indian drivers claiming podiums in races abroad last weekend augurs well for motorsports in the country and it is such results that vindicate the claim that the national championship, now in its 11th year, is a proven springboard for young contenders who want to make a name for themselves in the highly competitive world of professional motorsport," said Sanjay Sharma, head - Motorsport, JK Tyre & Industries Limited.

JK Tyre together with MECO Motorsports introduced professional karting in 2004 with the introduction of the Rotax 2-stroke kart engines. It was then that the JK Tyre Rotax Max National Karting Championship came into being and is today the most revered karting championship in India.