Chennai, Mar 12 (UNI) The Madras Motor Sports Club (MMSC) will host India’s first-ever international karting competition, the FIA-CIK Arrive and Drive, in September at its Madras International Karting Arena (MIKA) in September this year.
Announcing this at the MMSC annual awards function to honour the 2025 National Racing Championship winners here on Thursday, MMSC Vice-President Vicky Chadhok said: “The Arrive-and-Drive competition in September at the MIKA circuit, will be one of the three rounds and we will see karters from across the globe competing, and it is the first of its kind in India.”
Another first for MMSC will be a 4×4 off-road facility, also at the Madras International Circuit facility at Irungattukottai in Sriperumbudur, about 40 km from here.
“That apart, we have plans to introduce the Crosscars into the Indian motorsport ecosystem. First of the crosscar is expected at the MIC shortly and we will be adding another four or five of these vehicles that will be seen in a club championship. Later, this will be developed into a National Championship,” Chandhok said.
In another incentive to young racers, the winner of 2025 MRF Formula 2000 championship will be awarded an all-expense paid test drive with Double R Formula 3 team run by former World F1 champion Kimi Raikkonen and Steve Robertson. “This is a big step up for the MRF F2000 winner in terms of experience and exposure,” Chandhok pointed out.
He said: “We also thank MRF Tyres, Honda and TVS for their active involvement in our National Championships.”
Chief guest Arun Mammen, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, MRF Ltd., outlined his company’s involvement in motorsports and a strong presence in various championships globally. He reiterated that MRF would continue to support motorsports in India across various disciplines.
“With the Indian economy attaining global stature, MRF has kept pace, and we will continue to make Motorsports broader-based and more popular in India. We also see encouraging signs that the Government is taking steps to enhance world-class events in India,” Mammen said.
He disclosed that MRF has its own testing facility which gave the company an edge. “We now possess the capability to test and develop tyres in the quickest possible manner, as we now have our very own specialised tyre testing facility with multiple tracks for various kinds of testing — the only facility of its kind in India. This gives us an unmatched edge in speed, precision and responsiveness to the tyre needs of all our customers in India and across the world.”
The 2025 National Racing Championship winners:
MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship :
Pro-Stock 301-400cc: Rider Champion: Rahil Pillarisetty (Hyderabad, RACR Castrol Power1). Team Champion: Petronas TVS Racing
Pro-Stock 165-200cc: Rider: Soorya PM (Chennai, Chandra LGE Racing). Team: Chandra LGE Racing
Super Stock Intermediate (165cc): Rider: Raj Kumar (Coimbatore, Motul Sparks Racing). Team: Motul Sparks Racing
Stock 301-400cc (Novice): Rider: Varun Patil (Bengaluru, Mad Rabbit Racing). Team: Mad Rabbit Racing
Stock 165cc (Novice): Rider: Rajender Beedani (Hyderabad, MAI Racing). Team: MAI Racing
Girls (Stock 165cc): Rider: Jagathishree Kumaresan (Chennai, One Racing). Team: One Racing.
ONE-MAKE CHAMPIONSHIPS (OMC)
Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup ( (CB 300F): Rider: Solomon R (Chennai)
Petronas TVS– Open (Apache RR 310): Rider: Mohan Babu (Chennai)
Petronas TVS Rookie (Apache RTR 200): Rider: Hari Haran (Coimbatore)
Petronas TVS Girls (Apache RTR 200): Rider: Jagathishree Kumaresan (Chennai)
PETRONAS TVS ELECTRIC RTE: Rider: Sarthak Chavan (Pune)
Petronas TVS Media: Rider: Saran Kumar E (Chennai, Rev Nitro).
MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Car Racing Championship
MRF Formula 2000: Driver: Ishaan Madesh (Bengaluru)
MRF Formula 1600: Driver: Sai Shiva Makesh Sankaran (Pune)
Indian Touring Cars (ITC): Driver: Biren Pithawalla (Mumbai, Team N1 Racing). Team: Buzzing Hornet
Indian Touring Cars 1625: Driver: Vidyaprakash Damodaran (Coimbatore, Team Performance Racing).
Team: Team Performance Racing
Indian Junior Touring Cars (IJTC): Driver: Viswas Vijayaraj (Nellore, Team Performance Racing).
Team: Team Performance Racing
Super Stock (SS): Driver: Diljith TS (Thrissur, DTS Racing). Team: DTS Racing
Formula LGB 1300 (Open): Driver: Vinith Kumar (Tirupur, DTS Racing). Team: DTS Racing
Formula LGB 1300 (Junior): Driver: Vinith Kumar (Tirupur, DTS Racing). Team: DTS Racing
MRF Saloons: Driver: Akshay Muralidharan (Coimbatore).
Volkswagen Polo Cup: Driver: Aman Nagdev (Noida).
