JK Tyre announces JK Racing Asia series

New Delhi, Feb 11 (PTI) In a major move that could takeIndian motorsport to the next level, JK Tyre today announcedthe launch of a new racing series -- JK Racing Asia Series.

The championship will run under the patronage of JK Tyrebrand but will remain under the management of Motorsport Asia,the biggest motorsport promoter and organiser in thecontinent.

The JK Racing series will showcase a line-up of driversfrom all corners of the world including Asia-Pacific, Europeand Africa. The race car will be christened Formula JK TyrePacific and will run on JK tyres.

The races will commence in April, the venues beingMalaysia, Korea, Indonesia, China, Singapore and India. Theseries will consist of 18 races on six weekends in the 2011season. On three occasions, the series will support FormulaOne Grand Prix in Malaysia, Singapore and the newly-builtJaypee International circuit in India.

The remaining three weekends will be part of the AsianFestival of Speed in Korea, Malaysia and Indonesia.

The number of cars on the grid will be 30 out of which,22 drivers have confirmed their participation. The two slotswill be reserved for Indian drivers and Karting champion RajBharat has been finalised as one of the drivers.

The series will be a single seater series, where talentedyoung drivers showcase their abilities to a wide group ofmotorsport enthusiasts.

The JK Racing Asia Series is the replacement series forthe Formula BMW Pacific, which had been running successfullysince 2003. Following a change in strategy for the BMWMotorsport programme in July 2010, Motorsport Asia put plansin place to continue the series in an independent form.

"JK Racing Asia series features an ultra-modern standardspecification race car and a comprehensive training andintensive support programme for drivers. The series allowsdrivers as young as 14 to test their talent and developingtheir skills," said Raghupati Singhania, vice chairman andmanaging director, JK Tyre and Industries Ltd.

"We are excited to be coming to India later this year toend our first race season with JK Tyre at the newly builtJaypee International race circuit. The series will make Indiathe motorsport hub of Asia," said David Sonenscher, CEOMotorsport Asia.

"F1 is coming to India this year. The launch of JKseries, the two Indian drivers on the F1 radar bears testimonyto this fact. 2011 truly is a year of Motorsport in India,"said Vicky Chandhok, President Federation of Motorsport Clubof India.

JK Tyre is the first Indian company to sponsor anymotorsports event at the international level. .