Back to school

Have your kids been gushing to you about a certain Sebastien Loeb? Does their vocabulary now include words like ‘yump’? And have they been eyeing the family car with a glint in their eyes and a wicked grin on their faces? Don’t worry — the solution to your problems is not the neighbourhood correctional facility. Instead, your kids will be happier at The Rally Academy — an initiative by MECO Motorsports and JK Tyre. The academy, set up in MECO Motorsports’ Ministry of Speed facility at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad, will be functional next month. And as the name suggests, it is the place for would-be rally drivers. The Rally Academy aims to train people interested in the sport with two types of training programmes — basic and advanced. The basic programme will be run over two days, while the advanced programme will be run over three days.

The academy will be headed by five-time Indian National Rally Champion Hari Singh. Other instructors include Asia Zone rally champion Akbar Ebrahim, former rallyist Rohitaaz Kumar, and Production World Rally Champion Karamjit Singh as guest instructor. Don’t forget that rallying is what these men do the best. They have competed in the most gruelling rallies the country has to offer, and they’ve come out on top. Plus they’ve even competed abroad and brought home laurels. What this translates into is some very erudite teachers who will whip any young rally aspirant into prime ‘yumping’ shape in no time at all!

In terms of equipment, JK Tyre is providing the Academy with two fully prepared

Mitsubishi Cedia and Lancer rally cars along with dirt and tarmac rally tyres. And if you’re worried about the fact that this school is located in Hyderabad, this is the first of many such schools that the company plans to open across the country.

The existing facility also houses the MECO Motorsports Racing Academy which has racing and karting simulators for young ’uns to measure their speeds and learn the finer points of racing too. The simulators have high-end data logging and telemetry software on them, thus enabling drivers to see their brake, throttle and steering techniques after each session. There is a further association with Volkswagen too — a Volkswagen Polo will join the academy’s fleet. And starting next month, training programmes for those interested in Touring Car Racing will also kick off. How’s this for a one-stop school for speed? Go on, give your kids a fine education!

Contact: meco.motorsports@yahoo.com or
call 044-2836115-116