the goan I network
PANAJI
India’s top international car racers Armaan Ebrahim (29) and Aditya Patel (29) have joined hands to bring a custom-made two-seater sports car racing league to India in the first quarter of next year. The Xtreme1 Racing League or X1 Racing League will be held in a mix of track and street circuits. The league will include eight (8) city-based franchise teams, each comprising of 2 cars and 4 drivers.
The X1 Racing League is backed and sanctioned by the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI), the governing body of motorsports in the country. The league has entered into a long-term partnership with the federation to promote motorsports in India and nurture Indian talent. This move also ensures the stability and commercial viability of the league.
Talks are on to rope in well-known race drivers including former Formula One, Formula E, Indy 500, Le Mans and NASCAR drivers to the X1 Racing League which also happens to be the world’s first city-based franchise league in motorsports. Each team will comprise of one international male driver, one international female driver, one Indian international driver and one Indian domestic driver.
The Indian international driver will have five or more years of driving experience in international series, while the domestic driver will be a young upcoming racer picked from the national championships in the country.
In a strong move towards the inclusion of women in motorsports in India and pushing the theme of gender neutrality in sports, female drivers will race along with male drivers in this first-of-its-kind format. The league aims to discover India’s next racing superstar by providing equal opportunities to rookies and national champions through a platform where they compete with the best in the world.
Races will take place on Saturdays and Sundays on four consecutive weekends in Q1 2019. Each race will be of 45 minutes duration and there will be three races per day, with innovative race formats. Noida’s Buddh International and the MMRT in Chennai are the obvious candidates for the track venues and the street races will be held in Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh, and Mumbai, like the layout of the Monaco and Singapore F1 races.
The League aims to bring racing to the people through city races and promote responsible driving and road safety. The league has already submitted the circuit layouts to the international federation for approvals, indicating its intent to ensure compliance to safety procedures and regulations. Besides the four weeks of the main league, the X1 Racing League will run a year-long domestic season of over 12 races with the Indian drivers and the “patron’s seat”, scoring points for the team throughout the year. Patron’s seat equips team owners to race for their team or appoint someone to race on their behalf.
The league will comprise of 8 city-based franchises and are in extensive discussions with many prospects. The league will announce the process of owning a team shortly. The league promises to give opportunities to young Indian drivers to rub shoulders with famous International drivers and compete with them on an even platform. And with a solid media plan in place, the talented young drivers from India will find that this like the IPL will become an ideal platform for the world to recognize their talents.
And finally, the most exciting aspect of the league is that it proposes to run 2 of the 4 rounds in 2019 on street circuits. This will be a big breakthrough, as a street circuit takes the sport to the masses and thus automatically helps build the interest and following in the sport.”
