FMSCI moots drift race championship in India.

For Motorsports enthusiasts in India there are a lot of exciting events and races in store in 2014. It’s a known fact that the Superbike 1000cc class will be run from Round 2 of the JK Racing India series 2014. This round will take place from July 11 to 13, 2014 at the Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore, in South India.

The Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI), as per the keynotes from the various commissions,  is also working on introducing Drift Racing Championships in India for which plans are being finalized.

Drifting is a sport that has become popular with India’s leading businessman Gautam Singhania participating in such a sport. He recently took part in the open drift event of the Nissan Extreme Torque Show held in Sunderland (England). He was an official Indian entry endorsed by the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI).

Drifting is a driving technique where the driver uses throttle, brakes, clutch, gear shifting and steering input to keep the car in a condition of oversteer while maneuvering from turn to turn. Competitors are judged according to the speed, angle, showmanship and line taken through a corner or set of corners.

Seen as an extremely exciting sport, drifting is accessible, safe, and affordable, and fits nicely as a demanding yet a leisure Motorsport activity and is growing in popularity especially in the Asia Pacific region.

Coming back to the FMSCI proposals, since the recently concluded T1 Prima Truck  Race at the Buddh International Circuit was a grand success, FMSCI may now approach Tata Motors to take their efforts further and hopefully put a program in place for Indian drivers.

While north India has the well laid out Buddh F1 race circuit for all track races, the south depends on the Kari Motor Speedway for its share of track races and hence both Madras Motor Sports Club (MMST) and Kari Motor Speedway are upgrading their facilities and circuit layouts to cater to more exciting and professional racing.

The Karting Commission has noted that the participation in the JK Tyre-FMSCI National Rotax Max Karting Championship in 2014 is expected to get stronger with entries set to go beyond the 50-mark in each of the classes.

There are also plans to introduce inter-school, inter-college and inter-corporate National Karting Championships, which will have regional rounds culminating in a grand finale. This is in line with the FIA-CIK directive of promoting Karting at grassroots level, the FMSCI release added.

On its part, the FMSCI will be investing in more advanced scrutineering equipment and will also be conducting a training program for Technical Delegates and Scrutineers exclusively for the Karting discipline.

FMSCI stated that a 1.2-km Karting track of international standards is being set up in both Bangalore and Hyderabad, while an 850m track in Vizag has already been put up and is in the process of being humiliated by the FMSCI.

The Two-wheeler Racing Commission, in the meantime, is working very closely with the Bike Festival of India (BFI), a group that is promoting all forms of two-wheeler Motorsports and two-wheeler safety rides along with prominent riding clubs across the country.

BFI, under the aegis of the FMSCI, is planning to introduce track racing events, drag racing events, motocross events and stunt bike championship and a safety ride from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, the release said.

Safety is also a top priority for FMSCI. It has introduced a Mobility Commission headed by its vice-president RK Dhawan and assisted by its Racing Commission chairman Akbar Ebrahim.

Photography: Gautam Singhania does a drift / Picture for representation purpose only.