By IANS,
Bangalore : Indian motor sport Saturday witnessed the birth of a brand-new motor sport team called Red Rooster Racing, containing a bouquet of rally and racing (cars and bikes) drivers.
Announcing the launch, the team’s Managing Director Dinesh Reddy said here it was the company’s endeavour to promote motor sport talent in India and to this end, the company also has plans to put up a racing circuit in the city soon.
Reddy said Red Rooster Racing has a budget of Rs.20 million to run and manage its rally and racing teams and another Rs.150 million towards the circuit as also a “modification” unit that will cater to a range of requirements from a simple face lift to a vehicle to engine modification.
Inspired by India’s growing involvement in international motor sport by way of Force India (Formula One), Team Sidvin India (Production class World Rally Championship) and a bunch of youngsters who are currently participating in international formula car racing and various two-wheeler series, the Red Rooster Racing hopes to nurture talent at the grassroots level, Reddy said.
Red Rooster Racing made a tentative entry to the Indian National Rally Championship last year when it sponsored a one-car team driven by former national champion Vikram Mathias.
“We are driven by our passion for motor sport and we hope to make a significant difference to Indian talent,” said Reddy.
The team is entering a two-car team in the 2008 Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) that commences in Mysore next weekend, driven by Bangalore-based Mathias (co-driver P.V. Srinivas Murthy) and young Amittrajit Ghosh from Kolkata, who was chosen from a short list of a dozen drivers invited for trials.
Both Mathias and Ghosh would be driving Group N+ Mitsubishi Cedia cars that would be serviced by India’s leading tuner, Narayanaswamy Leelakrishnan, the seven-time national champion.
The other Red Rooster teams include Gaurav Dalal (Formula Rolon Chevrolet), K. Rajini and Rohit Giri (two-wheelers, Indian and Malaysian Super Series).
Dalal has already taken part in the first round of the 2008 JK Tyre National Racing Championship held at Chennai in February when he delivered two podium finishes.
Rajini and Giri participated in the opening two rounds of the Malaysian Super Series earlier this summer, riding Yamaha R6 machines with a podium finish apiece. The two-wheeler team is managed by Andrew Morrice of Mezzo International, Singapore, Reddy disclosed. Also in the two-wheeler team is Sameer Venugopalan who is taking part in the UCAL Rolon National championship.