JK Tyre’s Armaan to enter FIA GT1 Worlds
New Delhi, 31 Aug 2012: JK Tyre brand ambassador and India’s youngest racing sensation Armaan Ebrahim is all set to make his entry into the FIA GT1 World Championship, widely regarded to represent the pinnacle of sports car racing in the world. Armaan Ebrahim is the lone Indian driver on the grid and this is going to be his first outing in the World GT1 Championship at a brand new world-class facility-Moscow Raceway which is located on the outskirts of the Russian Capital. The Chennai based racing driver will represent ‘Team India’ and will drive for SunRed Engineering, a leading motor racing team from Spain.
GT1 features fiercely competitive racing between the world’s most desirable luxury sports car brands. The entry list reads like a who’s who of automotive exotica. Cars from the Aston Martin DBRS9, Audi R8, BMW Z4, Ferrari 458, and Ford GT, to the Lamborghini Gallardo, McLaren MP4-12C, Mercedes SLS and Porsche 997 GT3 R will vie for the honour of being crowned FIA World Champion at the end of the season.
With two races per event, the GT1 championship gives the world’s best drivers an opportunity to battle it out in 10 events that are organised on the finest circuits in 10 countries around the world. Each GT1 race runs for 60 minutes and each car must perform a mid-race pit-stop to change tyres and drivers. The last round of the championship is scheduled to take place at India’s Buddh International Circuit on December 2, 2012.
Armaan’s team – SunRed Engineering – is a professional race engineering company based in Spain with a very successful record of accomplishment in sports and touring car racing at the very highest international levels. The company has been granted the rights to compete within the FIA GT1 World Championship under the designation of ‘Team India’.
Mr. Sanjay Sharma, Head-Motorsport, JK Tyre & Industries Limited said, “We hope that this move helps Armaan consolidate his next career move in the world of motor-racing. It will be a dream come true for a youngster to be finally racing in India in front of his family and supporters. We wish that this move will help him get closer to achieving his ultimate goals.”
The FIA GT1 World Championship was launched in 2010 and is one of five FIA recognized world championships, alongside events such as Formula 1, World Rally and World Endurance Championship.
Armaan Ebrahim said, “I would firstly like to thank my Principal Sponsors JK Tyre who have done a lot of work in putting this together, thus giving me the opportunity to drive for Team India in a World Championship and most importantly in my own country at the Buddh International Circuit subsequently. I will have to get used to the GT Cars as I have raced in Formula Cars all my life and to that extent, the test in Barcelona last month was a satisfying experience. I’m very happy that I’m going to be in the elite company of the best drivers in the world on a debut international race meet in Moscow.”
The young driver views the FIA GT World Championship as a big moment in his life. “To compete in a World Championship was what I have been working towards since I was 12”, he added.
“We are delighted to have finalised a contract with young Indian sensation Armaan Ebrahim to drive for our Team in the last 3 Rounds, which will hopefully lead to a full year’s contract in 2013. We have been following Armaan’s career and he is definitely one of the brightest prospects from India and it is our desire to work hard with Armaan in 2013 to deliver to the world, the 1st Indian World Champion”, commented Joan Orus, Team Principal of SunRed Racing.
SunRed Racing has done very well in other championships and is the World Touring Car Championship title winning team. The team is working hard on getting the Ford GT 40 upto its paces, which Armaan will be driving.
Qualifying round of the championship is scheduled to be held on Saturday, September 1, 2012 at 3.15pm (local time) with Race 1 on Sunday, September 2, at 11.15am and Race 2 at 3.15pm at the Moscow Raceway. The next race is scheduled to take place at Nurburgring in Germany on the 22nd and 23rd of September and the final round at the Buddh International Circuit in India on the 1st and 2nd of December 2012.
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