JK Tyre National Karting Championship gets bigger and better this year

New Delhi, May 22, 2019: The JK Tyre National Karting Championship in its rejigged avatar promises to take the country by storm, making it much more affordable and accessible to every young motorsport enthusiast.

The championship will not only spot promising talent but will also nurture them and chart their future path towards glory, just like it has done for the likes of Karun Chandhok, Armaan Ebrahim, Aditya Patel, Arjun Maini and Kush Maini in the past.

In the new season, JK Motorsport and the authorized Promoter & Organizer Meco Motorsports have repackaged and upgraded the entire championship to make the drivers future-ready.

The entire program will have three different sub-sets: the JK Tyre 4-stroke Sodi Kart Sprint Karting Championship, the X-30 Karting and the Rotax Karting.

Winners of the 4-stroke championship will get an option to choose between X-30 and Rotax; the X-30 and Rotax winners (Junior & Senior classes only) will go on to participate in their respective world finals and also get a sponsored drive in the LGB-4 championship during the JK National Racing Championship

1. Sodi Kart - 4 Stroke Engine: This will have the Sodi Kart Chassis from France running on a four-stroke Honda GX 200 engine. This category is an entry-level category and for all budding karting enthusiasts.

The speeds are not extremely high and the karts and engines are all single make run with the same setup, thus giving an equal opportunity to all. The top speed of these karts is approximately 70 kmph.

There will be 2 classes in this vertical: Sodi Kart – Junior Class and Senior Class.

2. Two-stroke: X-30: powered by 125cc IAME X30 2-stroke engines from Italy is a world series and exceedingly popular in India. The chassis are from Praga, Italy. All the karts are equal and run by a single team and the technical package encourages the best sportsperson to win amongst equals.

Top speed of this kart is 120 kmph. There are 3 classes, namely the Cadet, Junior & Senior Classes for 3 different age groups. The winner of this category will compete in the X30 World Finals in Europe.

3. Two-stroke: Rotax: With a top speed of 120 kmph, Rotax is the most sought-after class and run totally on international parameters. There are 6 teams on the circuit namely Peregrine Racing, Birel Art Racing, Rayo Racing, Erda Racing, RD Racing and MSport who have their own packages up their sleeves within the stipulated parameters.

It’s the combination of a race-prepared kart coupled with the driver who makes it to the podium on the given day. The winner of the class at the end of the year will compete in the Rotax Max World Finals with finalists from across the world. Each grid attracts close to 70 karts in each class.

Talking about their mega plans, Mr. Sanjay Sharma, Head of JK Motorsport, said, “We have repackaged our entire karting program this season, with the main aim of getting more and more people exposed to the sport and also to make it affordable for them.

"We went back to the drawing board and decided to get the four-stroke karting event back in the championship. The championship which was the most sought-after event in the 2000s attracted not just hundreds of participants but also drew viewers in huge numbers because of the added entertainment quotient.

"Along with giving them exposure to the very first level of motorsport, participants who want to pursue it seriously will now have an option to choose from X-30 and Rotax, both internationally acclaimed two-stroke karting championships. Therefore, a participant can start from four-stroke karting, move on to two-stroke, thereafter to Indian make Formula Car (LGB), to JK Euro to Formula 3 and so on.

“In our continuing efforts to bring more and more girls into motorsport, this year we are also launching the FIA accredited ‘Girls on Track’ program which is aimed at getting girls on the track and give them a feeler of the professional motor-racing world by testing their skills on karts and on bikes and through various race-related activities.

"The Girls on Track program will run alongside the four-stroke karting events which will ensure more participation. So, our followers can expect an action-packed karting season this year,” Mr. Sharma added.

2019 JK Tyre National Karting Championship Calendar/ Schedule

JK Tyre - Sodi Kart Junior, Senior & Ladies Classes:

Round 1: Aug 24-25, Bangalore

Round 2: Sept 14-15, Cochin/Baroda

Round 3: Oct 12-13, Bhopal

Round 4: Oct 26-27, Chandigarh

Round 5: Nov 30- Dec 1, Delhi

JK Tyre X-30 Cadet, Junior & Senior Classes:

Round 1: May 24-26, Bangalore

Round 2: June 14-16, Bangalore

Round 3& 4: July 12-14, Hyderabad

Round 5: Aug 2-4, Bangalore

JK TyreRotax Micro, Junior & Senior Classes:

Round 1: June 7-9, Bangalore

Round 2: July 5-7, Bangalore

Round 3& 4: Aug 9-11, Hyderabad

Round 5: Sept 6-8, Bangalore

The Karting Championship can’t be bigger, so #BuckleUpIndia!