Akhil Reddy, CMD, Racing Promotions Private Ltd.
HYDERABAD
“Racing Promotions Private Limited (RPPL) is planning to have at least five street circuits in the country by the year 2025 as part of the efforts to give Indian motorsport the kind of impetus it deserves to replicate global success locally,” said Akhil Reddy, the chairman and managing director of RPPL.
In an exclusive chat with The Hindu, Akhil said RPPL wants to create a holistic ecosystem for motorsports in India.
“I will be the first private individual doing so many street circuits in India ,” he said. “As part of our endeavour to take the sport to the next level, we have started a National-level karting championship in six cities. The top six from each City will compete in the finals in Hyderabad on June 4.
“The winner will get 100% scholarship for the two-stroke championship in July. We will be supporting by way of free entry, providing a car, a mechanic and if possible, training too,” Akhil said.
“Later, we will select the top five drivers from the Rotax Racing Championship to have a separate competition amongst themselves from our side. Here, the winner will get a free seat in the Formula 4 which otherwise would cost 2.8 lakh Euros. And, whoever wins the Formula 4 this year will get a free seat in Formula 3 which again will be about 3 lakh Euros for a driver to get into a car for the full season.”
“This year, I am offering international drivers the cheapest seat for F4 drivers. The Indian drivers who want to participate will get an additional 25% discount. We are determined to create a path for the youngsters. For instance, we will be identifying four Engineering Colleges in each City and one student (mechanical and automobile engineering) will be picked on merit from each college. These four will get internships when the season is happening,” Akhil said.
“MP Motorsports is the technical partner and for training in Silverstone, they will be charging 25,000 Pounds. This we will be providing for free,” he said.
“Significantly, we are also trying to ensure a pool of mechanics, identifying four from each city, and making them work with Europeans to master their skills. They will get a chance to tour Asia and Europe and I am pretty confident many Indians, who are known for their hard work, will make the cut,” Akhil said.
“We are confident of seeing two or three Indians in each Formula race in the next couple of years. The biggest positive of IRL, which was the world’s first and only City-teams based racing league for which we have the exclusive rights, is the kind of interest it has generated. This is evident by the 20% increase in admissions to the karting centres,” he said.