Federation of Motorsport Clubs of India (FMSCI) has announced the 2016 Indian Rally Championship season, which will kick off on July 23rd in Coimbatore. A new promoter has been announced as well, with Kolkata-based RRPM (Ramakrishna Race Performance Management) running the show.
RRPM has managed to rope MRF Tyres, Mahindra Adventure, Polaris and Pincon as key sponsors for the season. MRF will be the title sponsor of the INRC, the IRC and the INTSDRC (TSD) for 2016 season while Mahindra Adventure and Polaris will be the associate sponsors along with Kolkata-based Pincon Group.
The 2016 calendar for the INRC/IRC and the INTSDRC has also been announced, beginning with Round 1 of the INRC/IRC in Coimbatore in July and ending with the national finals of the INTSDRC in December.
2016 will also see the introduction of the Shakedown, which will be a pre-event procedure conducted to provide some pre-rally practice & testing to all the competitors. Top seeded drivers will also be taking celebrities and media representatives for taxi rides.
Both gravel and tarmac events will be included, with a round for Gurgaon also on the calendar.
President of the FMSCI, Mr. Zayn Khan said “I am very happy that RRPM is promoting the INRC and IRC this season. Rallying has suffered from a lack of full-fledged support from sponsors and promoters for a few years and now I think I can safely say that it seems behind us. Rallying equates with probably the purest form of motorsport and a layman identifies with the vehicles competing. Therefore I am very happy that this discipline will now get the required impetus and grow from strength to strength on a yearly basis.”
INDIAN RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP
DATE LOCATION
24th July Coimbatore
27th August Nashik
18th September Gurgaon
26th November Bengaluru
5th December Chikmagalur
INDIAN NATIONAL TSD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP
DATE LOCATION
14th August Jaipur
21st August Haldia
4th September Durgapur
11th September Bengaluru
25th September Hubli
13th November Nashik
20th November Goa