Chennai, Dec 1 (IANS) MRF Formula championship took a big leap forward, at least in terms of visibility as the final two of the eight rounds in 2011 series will be run as an official support race for the inaugural Formula One Indian Grand Prix scheduled for Oct 29-30 at the Jaypee International Race Circuit in Greater Noida, near New Delhi.
The previous six rounds will be held in Chennai at the Madras Motor Sports Trust track over two weekends, Feb 5-6 and 12-13, a sort of throwback to the fabled Sholavaram races that were usually run over two weekends every February.
Announcing this at a media conference here on Wednesday, Arun Mammen, managing director of MRF Ltd., said MRF has built 12 Formula cars in addition to the 12 that were raced earlier this year as a single-make championship.
Each of the cars will be offered to racers at Rs.15 lakh per season on an ‘arrive and drive’ basis. The fee covers car rental, service, fuel, tyres and transport costs for the entire season while under the ‘early bird’ scheme, a driver submitting his confirmed entry by December 20, will be provided air tickets and accommodation. The entries close on December 31.
Tony Rodricks, GM (Advertising), MRF Ltd., said the final two rounds in Noida would be challenging as the drivers would be allotted only 30 minutes of timed practice on the Friday of the race weekend.
The MRF Formula cars are powered by Ford Duratec engines and mainly imported parts like Hewland 5-speed sequential gear box, Bilstein shocks and AP braking system. The cars will be serviced by JA Motorsport with Indian mechanics, supervised by foreign engineers.
The total prize-money is $100,000 with $50,000 for the winner, $30,000 for the second place and $20,000 for third.
The MRF Formula Championship 2011 is being organised by the Madras Motor Sports Club in conformity with the regulations prescribed by FIA (Federation Internationale de l’Automobile) and FMSCI (Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India).
On the two weekends in February, races will be held in Super bike 600cc, Indian bikes 165cc Group B, Super Saloon and IJTC (Race Star Cup Cars) classes as part of a four- race Indian Championships.
