JK Tyre is rejigging its motorsport commitments in India. After having opted out of the Rotax National Karting Championship earlier this year, it has taken up the title sponsorship for the 2017 Suzuki Gixxer Cup which was erstwhile held under the MRF’s National Racing Championship (NRC) until 2016. Four selection rounds will be held, at Bengaluru (4th June), Aizwal (10th June), Pune (18th June) and Delhi NCR (25th June) before the season commences at the Kari Speedway in Coimbatore.

In addition to the Gixxer cup being part of the JK Tyre NRC, 2017 (which also runs the LGB Formula 4, the Indian Touring Car and the Euro 16 series) will mark the second year of the Road to Rookies Cup (RTRC) in India. A bid to foster and train young racing talent, RTRC runs as a support race to the Gixxer Cup novice category and comprises racers aged 13-17. The winner of Road to Rookies gets a wild-card entry into the Redbull MotoGP Rookies Cup, which is raced on 250cc, Moto3 spec bikes. 

Last year, Sachin Chaudhari from Ahmedabad was India’s entrant into the Redbull Rookies Cup qualifiers, which was held in Spain. We hope to see many more young Indian racers getting a shot at international racing in the coming years.