Motorsport: JK Karting begins Friday, sees 38 entries

The popular JK Tyre-MMS Rotax Max Kart Open championship commences here Friday with two rounds scheduled.

Conducted by Meco Motorsports and JK Tyre, it has received 38 entries thus far, a 15 per cent increase over previous year's response.

The event will see the country's top teams like Rayo Racing, Dark Don Racing, India Karting, Mohites Racing and Meco Racing. The new entrant this time is BPC Racing.

The competition will be held in three age-group categories - Micro Max, Junior Max and Senior Max. There is also a category for rookie drivers who have not won any race in the last five years as well as new entrants.

The first round will be held on Saturday. Following the qualifying round, there will be five races for each of the three classes and this will be repeated for the second round on Sunday.

The highest points from round one and round two in each of the classes will determine the top three in Overall and Rookie categories.

"We are in our 15th continuous year of promoting karting in the country and this kind of commitment and efforts are unparalleled," said Sanjay Sharma, head, motorsport, JK Tyre and Industries.

Akbar Ebrahim of Meco Motorsports said: "The Rookie Cup was introduced by us to give the newcomers an opportunity to get more prepared for the National Championship. It helps them to understand the level they need to be at when compared to the regulars, though not all regular karters take part in the Kart Open.

"Karting is most crucial for drivers planning to get into racing as this level of karting deals with very high speeds and enormous cornering speeds. It also teaches young kids what wheel-to-wheel racing is all about and disciplines them in a way that they start to respect the others."