~Heads to Europe for two rounds~
~Showcase events to Formula 1, Blancpain Endurance Series, Spa 24 Hrs,GT 1~
~2012 season to kick off in Malaysia on May 25-27 weekend~
The second edition of JKRacing Asia Series is off to a flying start promising nail-biting action in theworld’s best circuits. The Series consisting of 16 races will take giant strides in the newseason with the premier championship going truly global in its second year, asit makes its maiden entry into Europe.
TheSecond Season of the JK Racing Asia Series (formerly known as Formula BMWPacific) kicks-off this weekend at the Sepang International Circuit. The Serieswill be a part of the Malaysian Super Series event held from 25-27 May, 2012.All of the five circuits that the series visits in 2012 are Formula 1 circuitswhich are crucial to driver development in preparing them for higher levels ofracing.
Notonly JKRAS is currently the only ‘Junior’ Formula Racing Series in the worldthat provides a unique opportunity to the drivers to compete in front of theFormula One fraternity but it‘s unique also because no other series of the sameleague runs as a showcase event to some of the most spectacular andentertaining motorsport events in the world. In Malaysia it will run as asupport race to Malaysian Super Series, at the Paul Ricard Circuit in France itwill be staged alongside the world-famous Blancpain Endurance event, atBelgium’s Spa Francorchamps, it will be a support event to the high-octane Spa24 Hours race. The series will then return to Asia and run as a support race toFormula One races in Singapore and India before finally culminating at theBuddh International Circuit, Greater Noida where it will run alongside theWorld GT1 championship where the 2012 champions will be honored.
TheSeason is set to be a battle of championship winning teams withEurointernational, the reigning Champions, having a head to head battle withMeritus.GP. Both teams are multiple Series Champions and have made their namesin various regions. This year, both teams have placed their confidence on thepast front runners to lead their teams, Nabil Jeffri for Eurointernational andAfiq Ikhwan for Meritus.GP.
LastSeason, the JK Racing Asia Series Driver Championship was won by Austrian LucasAuer under the tutelage of internationally renowned, Eurointernational. Thisyear the team will proudly display the hard earned #1 on the car driven by lastyear’s second runner up, Jeffri. And he very well understands the pressure andthe importance of carrying the #1 on his car for the team, his sponsors and forhis country.
Inkeeping with JK Tyre’s enduring philosophy of unearthing fresh Indian drivingtalent, and providing them with the opportunity to compete on the internationalstage, three promising drivers – Vishnu Prasad, Raj Bharath and Sandeep Kumar– have been provided with significantsubsidy by JK Tyre to participate in the opening round in Malaysia.
“We are pleased to provide an opportunityto three of our Indian drivers – Vishnu Prasad, Raj Bharath and Sandeep Kumarwho have been champions on the domestic ground to participate in the seasonopener race in Malaysia. Putting Indian drivers on the international grid hasalways been part of our programme and this will test their mettle in theinternational arena against some of the best in the world in their age-group,” said Mr. Sanjay Sharma, Head, Motorsport, JK Tyre & Industries Limited.
“These four drivers are products of theracing infrastructure that has been put in by place by JK Tyre — upwards fromkarting,” Mr. Sharma added.
SeasonOne’s winning team Eurointernational, Team Meritus, Eurasia Motorsport,Atlantic Racing are few of the teams in the fray for honors.
Aftermissing the win in 2011 by just seven points, Ikhwan is aiming for the Driver’sChampionship this year and the pressure is even bigger to help his team, theonce unbeatable Meritus.GP, secure a Team Championship win, which would betheir first since 2009. He had an impressive season last year claiming fifteenpodium finishes out of the eighteen races.
Meritus.GPwill also be sending in four drivers. Ikhwan will partner with last year’syoungest driver and three time podium finisher, Akash Nandy alongside twoRookie drivers, Australian Aidan Wright and Thai driver Toby Earle.
TheJK Racing Asia Series is recognised by the World Governing Body for Motorsport,the Federation Intenationale De L’Automobile (FIA), as having special statusthat allows for young inexperienced drivers to participate on a NationalLicense. The reason for this is that the Series provides them with an Educationand Coaching programme that teaches them all aspects of what it takes to builda career in motorsport.
TheJK Racing Asia Series uses the 140bhp FB02 which has an unrivalled track recordfor training future Champions and developing them for a success with graduatesat the highest level of the sport such as Sebastian Vettel, Nico Rosberg, TimoGlock, Daniel Ricciardo, Sebastien Buemi in Formula 1, Felipe Nasr and RioHaryanto in GP2, Jazeman Jaafar, Sebastian Saveedra and Carlos Sainz Jr inBritish F3, and many more. This coupled with the highest safety standards,makes the FB02 the most suitable machine for up and coming drivers to learn on.
TheJK Racing Asia Series is supported by Cody Maxx and official logistics partner,JAS Worldwide. The JK Racing Asia Seriesis organised by Motorsport Asia Ltd.
About JK Tyre Motorsports
JKTyre has always been closely associated with the world of sports. Almost threedecades back the company laid down a long term and sustained approach topromote Motorsport. Participating in this form of the sport has helped thecompany in continuously updating its products to meet the challenges ofgruelling Indian conditions. The sport at that time in India was perceived forelite but JK Tyre took upon itself to package and redesign the sport to suitthe masses. The company not only made the sport affordable but also equivalentto International operating standards. JK Tyre’s foray into Motorsport was awell thought out strategic decision to not only use and develop this virginbranding platform but also to realize the dreams of making India a force in thefield of motor sport.
In 2011,the company acquired the Formula BMW Series and rechristened it as the JKRacing Asia Series (JKRAS). With this acquisition, JK Tyre created history inIndian Motorsport by becoming the first Indian company to acquire an FIAaccredited series. The series has to its credit of producing as many as six ofthe current Formula One drivers, including reigning two- time championSebastian Vettel. By taking over the series, JK Tyre promises to utilize it asa platform to encourage and support the world’s best racing drivers and promoteIndia as one of Asia’s motorsport capitals. Thus, JK Tyre has conquered twosteps in the motorsport program where the new racing aspirants first establishthemselves in India, then graduate to Asian level i.e. to Formula BMW which is nowJKRAS and then they move to higher levels of racing. JK Tyre now stands closerto achieving its mission of bringing world-class motorsport to the Indianmasses.
TheRacing and Karting programme by JK Tyre has been the breeding ground for thecountry’s motorsport talents like Narain Karthikeyan, Armaan Ebrahim, KarunChandhok, Aditya Patel and other new emerging talents.
