MAHINDRA RACING ANNOUNCES STRONG NEW RIDER PAIRING OF OLIVEIRA AND VÁZQUEZ FOR 2013

MAHINDRA RACING ANNOUNCES STRONG NEW RIDER PAIRING OF OLIVEIRA AND VÁZQUEZ FOR 2013

 Mahindra Racing has confirmed its riders for the 2013 Moto3™ World Championship. An all-new line up will see experienced Spaniard Efrén Vázquez (26, from Bilbao) joined by exciting Portuguese teenager Miguel Oliveira (17, from Pragal near Lisbon).

The signing of two highly-regarded Moto3 riders is a statement of intent by the only Indian team in Grand Prix racing. Earlier this year, Mahindra announced a new technical partnership with established Swiss firm Suter Racing Technology AG for the development of a new Moto3 challenger for 2013.

The team will also move from its current Italian base to Switzerland for 2013 and introduce a number of new and experienced personnel. Having chosen the challenging route of developing its own technology to take the fight to the established racing factories in the World Championship, Mahindra Racing is confident that the restructuring will pay dividends.

“We are in the process of implementing strategic changes we had planned for next year and so far the outcome has been excellent” emphasized Mr S.P. Shukla, President, Group Strategy and Member of the Group Executive Board, Mahindra Group. “MotoGP plays an important part in our wider business strategy as a leading player in the field of mobility from 2Wheelers to Cars to Sports Vehicles. It is also a vital test bed for future technological development. We are committed to success in the series and the announcement that these two talented young riders will join Mahindra Racing underlines this.”

“This is an exciting opportunity,” explained Efrén Vázquez. “Mahindra has shown some real commitment to the sport and I was impressed by their plans. I am looking forward to working with the team and we are aiming to make the new bike into one of the top machines in Moto3.”

“Having an Indian company involved in MotoGP is great and so I am very pleased to join this project,” added Miguel Oliveira. “Mahindra Racing has enormous support in India and I want to help them achieve their goals. I know there will be challenges ahead, but I am confident and very excited about 2013.”

CEO of Mahindra Racing Mufaddal Choonia concluded: “Signing these two riders was very important to us, and I think it is testament to the efforts that we are putting in to our 2013 programme that they wanted to join Mahindra Racing. Our plans are coming together well, but we are under no illusion that 2013 will be easy. We have learned some hard lessons this year, and we have a much stronger all-round package in place for the future.”

EFRÉN VÁZQUEZ

Efrén Vázquez Rodríguez, born 02 September 1986 in Bilbao, Spain,  was educated in the MotoGP Academy and is one of the older heads in the Moto3 category, having arrived relatively late to the World Championship in 2007.

After a season in 250s Vázquez opted to move to the 125cc class for 2008. His progress in the category was rapid, performing well in the World Championship and winning the Spanish series. In 2010 he took his first podium finish and placed fifth in the world standings, and in 2011 he was seventh overall. In 2012 he has ridden in the new Moto3 class and has been a regular top 10 finisher finishing fifth on four occasions and starting from the front row on three.

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MIGUEL OLIVEIRA

Miguel Oliveira has shown in the inaugural year of Moto3™ that he has a bright future. Born on 4 January 1995, the 17-year-old from Pragal near Lisbon in Portugal has recorded some excellent qualifying results and strong race finishes including a third in Barcelona and second in Australia.

Aged just nine, Miguel Oliveira finished fourth in his domestic MiniGP championship, receiving an award from the Portuguese Sporting Confederation in recognition of his talent. His first successes came in 2005 when he won the Portuguese MiniGP championship and Metrakit World Festival in Spain. In 2006 he repeated his Portuguese success and in 2007 won the Mediterranean PreGP 125 Trophy.

In 2009, he was third in the Spanish championship, and in 2010 battled Maverick Viñales to the final race of the season for the title, eventually finishing runner-up by just two points prior to switching to the World Championship in 2011. After a turbulent first season, the final year of the 125cc class, Oliveira adapted well to the new four-stroke Moto3 class and has finished the season strongly.

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About Mahindra Racing

Mahindra Racing is the first Indian team to participate in the FIM MotoGP™ World Motorcycle Racing Championship (in 2011) and the Italian National Motorcycle Racing Championship (CIV, in 2012).

On the world stage, the Indian factory team signed off its 2011 debut season on a high note with action packed performances by both its riders. Marcel Schrötter finished 15th overall in the 125cc Rider’s Championship and the team finished a strong third overall in the Constructor’s Championship. Danny Webb made history when he secured pole position in Valencia in the last race of the 125cc era. The team has taken this learning into its participation in the all new Moto3™ class which replaced the 125cc class from the 2012 season onwards.

In the CIV, 2012 Season, the team competed in the 125 GP Class. The team became the first from India to win an international motorsport event when Riccardo took the chequered flag at the season-opening race of the CIV in Mugello, Italy on 25 March, 2012. Since then, the team recorded six victories from eight races and secured the Constructors’ Championship. Moretti secured second place in the Riders’ Championship, before joining Webb on the MGP-30 for the second half of the Moto3 season.