The much anticipated i1 Series is all set to begin. And in case you haven’t heard anything about the sport, the i1 Supercar Series is the all new motorsport racing league promoted by Machdar Motorsport and will consist of 10 races with 9 teams representing different Indian cities. The races will be held in India, UAE, Malaysia, Bahrain and Qatar, making the event India’s first ever global racing series. The series is fully supported and approved by the FIA and the teams will race the Radical Sportscars’ SR3 roadster with each team being represented by two drivers. Although the series will see a number of famous international drivers, at least one driver from each team must be of Indian origin. Teams will compete for a USD 2 Million prize.
Some of the famous drivers signed on to participate include Jacques Villeneuve, Giancarlo Fisichella, Vitantonio Liuzzi, Karun Chandhok, Jean Alesi, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, while famous local drivers such as Jani, Armaan Ebrahim, Parthiva Sureswaren, Zaamin Jaffer, Mathias Lauda, Aditya Patel will also compete.
A successful pre-season test has already been concluded at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi where three time Formula One race winner Heinz-Harald Frentzen topped the times, followed by Giancarlo Fisichella and India’s Karun Chandhok. Indian drivers Armaan Ebrahim and Parthiva Sureshwaren also impressed finishing in 7th and 8th positions. This is very exciting news for Indian motorsport and hopefully we are witness to a revolution to the sport in India where cricket already is getting boring.