So, let me begin by clarifying the basics. The two common forms of organized motorsport are Racing and Rallying. What’s the difference? Well, to put it extremely briefly, races are held at a race track or circuit – multiple cars race at the same time with the aim of completing a specified number of laps, and, of course, being ahead of every other car. Rallying, on the other hand, are events held on roads closed to public use for the duration of the event – on various different surfaces such as gravel, mud and tarmac, where cars run one at a time, with the aim of taking the shortest time from the designated start to an end point.

Racing in India is thriving at the moment, with two drivers having reached the pinnacle of the sport – Formula 1. Unfortunately, there are only two race tracks in India, the MMST in Chennai and the Kari Speedway in Coimbatore, the home towns of Karun Chandhok and Narain Karthikeyan respectively. However, a Formula 1 track is currently being built outside the capital, which is expected to host India’s first F1 race in 2011.

Where to race?



The JK Tyre National Championship is a well established annual affair, and has been the breeding ground for all of India’s racing talent, vis-a-vis the MRF international challenge, which is held at the whim of the Chennai based tyre manufacturer – although it seems that the success of this years’ challenge should encourage them to make it an annual affair as well.

This year will be the 13th edition of the JK Tyre National Racing Championship, during which time there’s been a constant evolution of the categories and classes run in the championship over the years. This year boasts of the finest line up till date. The two Formula classes are being run, Rolon and Swift, are both single seater, rear engined formula cars. The Swift has Maruti’s trusty 1.3 liter petrol power plant, while the Rolon, being the more advanced and quicker of the two machines, was previously powered by a Chevy 1.6. However, after reliability problems, they also decided to change to a Maruti block. Plus, the Rolons have Formula 1 like aerofoil front and rear wings, slick tires, a highly tuned engine, and a transmission known as a ‘dogbox’ – in which instance the driver only has to depress the clutch to engage first gear, the rest of the gears can be slotted in directly. The Formula Swift on the other hand is used as a steppingstone to the Rolon class, with no wings and slicks, but a torpedo like shape built around a tubular chassis. It’s only a few seconds slower than the Rolon, as it’s smaller and lighter.

The MRF Formula 1600, powered by a Ford fiesta 1.6 twin-cam engine, accompanied by a dogbox, is without a doubt the fastest Formula car in India. It handles beautifully, and is a missile down the straights. Amusingly most of the drivers say the car is ‘over-tyred,’ – ironic isn’t it? Even then, it’s close to 7 seconds faster per lap over the Rolon’s at the moment. But with the new engine upgrades for the Rolon, the gap should be much smaller by the end of this season. The MRF Formula Ford made its debut at the beginning of this year at the MRF International Challenge.



The new saloon class inducted this year in the JK-NRC is the VW Polo Cup. As part of VW’s aggressive entry strategy into India, they’ve created a one make series around the Polo and are churning out a gird of 20 factory supported standardized racing Polo’s, which should make for some thrilling racing. My sources tell me that after some testing sessions in Chennai, the 1.4 diesel Polo’s were doing lap times quicker than the Super Saloons! And yes, I repeat, Diesel!

The Super Saloons class in one that truly lives up to its name. This category enables you to race any Indian car upto 1600cc, using an Indian engine and transmission – the internals of which you can play with a lot, such as changing piston sizes, ECUs, gearing ratios, suspension, etc., just to name a few. The list is as deep as your pockets can take you. The catch is that the cc of the car has to be divided by .75, and that gives you the minimum weight of the car, including the driver – hence the class is also referred to as ‘cc-to-weight.’ The aim of the tuner is to find the right balance of weight and power. The most common cars in this class are highly modified Esteems, some even running Baleno engines, and Zens running Esteem engines – others are Balenos and Honda City VTECs . The beauty of this class is that if you’re certain that racing is actually your calling, and you want to build your own car to participate in as many races as possible, this is your class – as you can participate in both the JK and MRF Championships, so that’s a total of 9 rounds or 18 races in a year. Awesome! This gives you ample time to develop the car as the competition is stiff, with a lot of very experienced old timers scorching the track – providing no holds barred racing.



In the MRF international Challenge, there are two Saloon car categories – the Super Saloons as stated above, and the Race Star Saloon. The Race Star Saloon is the ultimate budget class, and the most competitive class as a result. All you need to do is buy an old Carb Esteem, strip it out, add a roll cage, race spec seats and belts, suspension (if you want to replace the original), and you’re ready to race! The beauty of this class is that you can rally your carb Esteem as well, so your investment reaps double the dividends. In rallying, there’s a special ‘Cup’ awarded (hence the category is called the ‘Rally Star Cup’) to the winner of the Championship, and many past winners of the ‘Cup’ have gone on to drive for the big teams such as JK, MRF, and Red Rooster.

As I’ve got you into thinking of rallying now, stay tuned for a similar introduction to the more sideways aspect of motorsport in next months’ issue. I do hope that my hard work and toil will be of some use to you, and some of you will take the next step and pursue motorsport in some shape or form – remember, you’re never too old or too poor. If you have any further questions or want to know where you can rent a car or join a team, contact me at info@autox.in