JK Tyre Festival of Speed: A real feast for motorsport fans

As part of the X1 Racing League, India’s celebrated racers along with international stars are expected to bring the Buddh International Circuit, Greater Noida, to life this weekend.

Vishnu Prasad discussing his strategy on the eve of Day One of the JK Tyre Festival of Speed.

After three rounds of thrills and frills here, it’s going to be one big treat for the motorsport fans in the JK Tyre Festival of Speed (FOS) at BIC, Greater Noida, this weekend.

JK Tyre has always come up with something new and, this time around, it is unveiling its marquee event — the X1 Racing League. For the first time in the country, India’s celebrated racers along with international stars are expected to bring the circuit to life. They would be fighting for honours, too.

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It promises to reignite the country’s motorsport hemisphere. It will see India’s first Formula One driver Narain Karthikeyan along with the likes of former Force India driver Tonio Liuzzi, Malaysian hero Alex Yoong and legendary F1 driver Niki Lauda’s son, Mathias, in an exciting new format that should thrill over 35,000 fans on Sunday.

The stars, both national and international, will exhibit skill and speed coupled with teamwork and coordination to clinch the first of the two rounds.

Narain Karthikeyan (L) with teammate Arjun Balu at the Buddh International Circuit.

 

Beside the star-studded event, there will be a battle royal in the Formula LGB4 and JK Tyre Suzuki Gixxer Cup in the 22nd JK National Racing Championship. Chennai’s MSport team-mates Vishnu Prasad and Raghul Rangasamy, are ready for the showdown. Vishnu is in the lead with 68 points and Raghul is short of it by five points.

The two might well square up in the X1 League too, with the former pairing up with Nayan Chatterjee (Team Bengaluru) and the latter with Ashwin Datta (Team Delhi) as domestic drivers.

The FOS has an international flavour for bike lovers too, with Round 3 of the Asia Cup of Road Racing spicing up the extravaganza.

“This weekend is special in terms of its grandeur and packaging. The X1 League is easily the most exciting part of the weekend,” said Sanjay Sharma, Head of Motorsport, JK Tyre.