Harith Noah, Prarthana Murugavel presented special FMSCI awards

Winners of the 2023 Indian National Championships were felicitated at the FMSCI Annual Awards held in Chennai. In total, 105 champions across 11 disciplines were presented with awards.

Special awards were also handed out to Harith Noah and Prarthana Murugavel. Noah made history earlier this year after becoming the first Indian to taste victory at the Dakar Rally. Murugavel, meanwhile, won the Karting Slalom gold medal at the 2023 FIA Asia-Pacific Motorsport Championship.

1. 105 champions felicitated at FMSCI Annual Awards
2. Indian Superbike League to launch later this year
3. Chennai night race given green light

10-year-old Rivaan Dev Preetham was the youngest awardee for winning the Micro Max title in the MECO-FMSCI Rotax Max National Karting Championship.

“We are happy that motorsport in India made rapid strides in the season gone by with several firsts. One of the highlights was FIM MotoGP making its India debut, something we had announced during the FMSCI awards gala in 2022. The response was tremendous and it put India firmly on the global motorsport map. The other big push came by way of launching franchise-based Supercross recently. A refurbished Indian Racing League and Formula 4 races attracted pan-India talent and also foreign competitors,” said FMSCI President Akbar Ebrahim.

“Overall, there has been a lot of positivity with an increasing number of women taking to motorsport and competing shoulder-to-shoulder with their male counterparts. Looking ahead, we hope to ride the momentum and present an even more thrilling and spectacular 2024 season.”

Ebrahim also confirmed that the Indian Racing League Chennai night race, which was pushed to 2024 due to Cyclone Michaung, has received the go-ahead following a High Court verdict.

Indian Superbike League planned for 2024

“We have plans to launch a two-wheeler racing league this year. This will be in addition to the existing 2W Indian Supercross Racing League (ISRL) and Indian Racing League (4W). These franchise-based leagues will expand the Indian motorsport horizon,” added Ebrahim.

This new series will be called the Indian Superbike League. What has been revealed so far is that it will feature professional, rookie, amateur and women classes. While rounds will be held at tracks across India, there are also plans for one international round.

Watch this space for further updates.

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I did think of stopping: Harith Noah discusses history-making Dakar 2024 run