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The IPL-themed Indian racing league has been making waves in the international motorsports community ever since it was launched a few months back. If the F1 Indian Grand Prix was responsible for putting India on the global motorsports map, this indigenous event is expected to strengthen and cement its newly acquired position in the market.
Conceptualised and marketed by Machdar Motorsports, a motorsports management enterprise, this franchise-based racing league has been pulling out all the stops to make this event into a popular and successful venture. The announcement of cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar’s partnership with the league, as an advisor and brand ambassador of the series was a masterstroke by the company. Sachin’s association with anything in India is bound to attract enough media attention and fanfare to get the event kickstarted.
The Little Master: Advisor and Brand Ambassador
After the enormous success of the inaugural F1 Grand Prix at the Buddh International Circuit, when the motorsports fraternity descended onto New Delhi, racing enthusiasts were gearing up for a host of new sporting ventures and events to make sure the momentum gathered did not fade away. Now that the Super Series has gained enough steam, business magnets and affluent personalities are coming up to show their interest and desire for a share of the spoils.
The series has been approved by the FIA (International Automobile Federation) and its Indian counterpart FMSCI (Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India), which provides the event with authenticity and credibility, important for the series to get international recognition and attract certified and proficient professional racers.
The Super Series will consist of 9 franchise teams based out of different Indian cities and each franchise will have 2 cars, one driven by a certified Indian driver while the other has to be an international motorist, a unique blend of domestic and foreign talent which will help the less experienced Indians pick up loads of experience points and exposure from their international colleagues.
These 18 drivers will set 5 international racing circuits ablaze over the course of the 90-odd days, with 2 races being held on every race weekend, taking the total race count to 10 races in the inaugural season. Famous F1 tracks like the Yas Marina in Abu Dhabi, Sepang in Malaysia and India’s very own BIC in Greater Noida will host the i1 Super Series bandwagon.
The series has tied up with Radical Sports Cars for providing the cars to all the teams. Being a single-make standardized model, all teams will have similar cars with the same technical specifications, reducing R&D costs and more importantly, the performance and results will depend more on the caliber and skills of a driver rather than the tune-up job of racing engineers.
Radical Sports Cars is an English company manufacturing racing cars for various racing leagues around the world. They also race in the Le Mans series with their SR9 model which is a Le Mans series prototype. The company will be providing its Radical SR3 SUPER CAR, which are designed to reach speeds of 250 kmph, clocking 0-100 in 3.5 seconds with drivers expected to experience forced of upto 2.5 G through high speed corners and stretches.
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The wheels of the i1 Super Series: RADICAL SR3
Technical Specifications of the two-seater RADICAL SR3:
- Aluminium honeycomb front crash structures complying with FIA Production Sports Car Crash Test
- Powertec 1340cc 4-cylinder double overhead cam engine, dry sump with remote oil reservoir & oil cooler
- Engine performance: 210bhp, 130ft/Ibs, 10,500rpm
- Stainless steel manifold and silencer
- 260mm dia. 25mm, 30-vane ventilated discs front and rear
Out of the 9 franchises, 4 have already been bought by famous personalities and industrialists. Management guru Arindham Chaudhary (of IIPM fame) bagged the Delhi team while Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan purchased the Mumbai franchise. Bengaluru is co-ownded by Arjun Baljee (owner of Peppermint Hotel chain) and Rudra Dalmia (director of RD Capital) while South Indian actor Nagarjuna took home the Hyderabad franchise. All franchises were bought at a base price of Rs 22.5 crore ($ 5 million) while the prize money for the inaugural series has been set at a whopping $ 2 million USD (approx. 10 crores).
Can the i1 Super Series unearth more such racers?
The i1 Super Series promises to be a high-octane, high-adrenaline racing series, the first of its kind in a country where cricket rules the roost. Apart from Narain Karthikeyan, Karun Chadhok, Armaan Ebrahim, Gaurav Gill and Parthiva Sureshwaran, there are hardly any well-known Indian drivers around. It’ll help unearth the huge racing potential in India while also providing motorsports enthusiasts something to look forward to in Formula One’s off-season.
