FMSCI elects Vicky Chandhok as President

David Bodapati December 21, 2010

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Chennai, 21 Dec 2010: At the 37th AGM of the FMSCI chaired by Dr. Vijay Mallya yesterday in Chennai, Mr. Vicky Chandhok, past President of the FMSCI from 2003 – 05, was elected President once again by the council in attendance, with Mr. Shrikant Karani being elected as Vice President. 2011 looks to be one of the most promising years in Indian Motorsport history with the inaugural Indian GP taking place in Noida in October.

Vicky Chandhok will take over as President from Mr. KD Madan. Chandhok is no stranger to Indian motorsport and has been instrumental in bringing the first Formula One Grand Prix to India. Shrikant Karani, who has been involved in motorsport for over three decades, is Vice President of the FIM Asia has played a key role in promoting 2-wheeler racing in the country.

On his appointment as President for a second time, Mr. Chandhok commented, “Firstly I must thank the outgoing President KD Madan for his crucial role promoting the sport in the country. He has been an inspiration to the association and been instrumental in setting up management systems for FMSCI clubs and in particular, the Doctrine of Internal Management to add credibility to the Clubs in India. While it is indeed heartening to have the support of my peers at the FMSCI, there is a lot of work to be done to improve the infrastructure of the sport in the country. I have always been pushing for the sport to grow at the grass root level before all else. We’ve had our team doing just that with Rallying, Motocross and Go-Karting respectively and we will look to carry this into all segments from the next year on. We will have a renewed focus on rallying in India and will work hard to ensure it is up to international standards. We are keen to push all forms of racing in India and I will work closely with my new team to ensure we achieve this. It is promising also, to see our two officials, Anand Sashidharan and Roop Kumar, on the official list of the FIM Commission”.

While this year itself has been a tremendous boost to motorsport, 2011 will see the sport grow even further with a total of 9 National Championships, the latest additions being the National Motocross Championship to be run by the Goa Motorsports Academy and the National Drag Racing Championship promoted by Spitfire Motorsport in Coimbatore; the largest number of events Indian motorsport will have witnessed. The Indian National Rallying Championship, with the help of promoter IMG Sports, will aim to get its vigour back with rallies around the country. In addition special events like RAIDS and other endurance events will also be an area of focus for the FMSCI.

“With the first Indian Grand Prix also in the mix, it promises to be India’s biggest year thus far in motorsport and I look forward to carrying my vision on karting, racing, rallying and grass root level motorsport and meeting global standards in India. Having already conducted our first marshals training program, the FMSCI will look to bring in experienced stewards from Europe to oversee events bring further developments on the safety and administrative fronts as well. With motorsport still in a relatively nascent stage in comparison to our European counterparts, it’s important to identify our shortcomings, accept them and only then can we look forward and build a stronger base for the rising stars from the Indian motorsport fraternity.” , Chandhok signed off.

The President addressed the need to have active interactions with auto manufacturers, both 2 and 4 wheelers to encourage them to use the platform of motorsport, to meet as many of the event organisers, not just of championship event but also to help conduct the sport at the grass root level.

FMSCI Chairman Dr Vijay Mallya, who chaired the AGM said “The Auto Industry in India is on the move as is our country and we are seeing a complete transformation largely driven by young Indians. Indian Motorsport should not be left behind and we should do whatever it takes our sport forward in the fast lane. With the F1 GP coming to India for the first time as well as the FIA General Assembly and the FIA Annual Awards ceremony to be held in New Delhi next December , it is an ideal opportunity for us to tap and showcase motorsports to attract more Corporates and sponsors.”

The following clubs were elected to the council for the forthcoming year: