by NR INDRAN / INT

JK Tyre, the name that stands synonymous to Motorsport in the country proudly announces the launch of a new initiative- “JK Tyre-FMSCI Indian National TSD Rally Championship 2012”. India’s first-ever National Time-Speed-Distance (TSD) Rally Championship that is promoted by the Berunda Adventure Club with JK Tyre as the title sponsor, is set for a gala launch on Saturday, August 18, 2012 with a ceremonial start in Bangalore at the Golden Gate properties premises on Tumkur Road. The championship, to be conducted under the aegis of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India and offering a prize-money of nearly Rs. 50 lakhs, has already attracted 30 four-wheeler entries from across the country in the Expert class who have registered and will participate in all the six rounds. At least 20 entries are expected in the Local Class, which is open for first-timers and companies based in the city that will be hosting a round of the championship. This will give any rallying fan the opportunity to participate and enjoy the thrill of motorsport in their respective comfort zones.

Mr. Sanjay Sharma, Head-Motorsport – JK Tyre & Industries Limited said, “Our success story in racing is a result of strengthening the basics at the grassroots level. We want to replicate the same to revive rallying, which is otherwise most favourable to Indian conditions. Ours is the only country where the terrain changes every hundred kilometres. We are glad to be back after a decade in rallying and look forward to our association with this rally championship.” The inaugural TSD Championship will be held across India and consists of six rounds. In another first, the promoters have provided an opportunity for vehicle constructors / manufacturers to compete and win the championship. TATA Motors and Volkswagen have confirmed their participation, which is six and four car teams while Mahindra, Maruti and Ford who have already established their credentials in this form of the sport will be seen in the fray soon. Berunda Adventure Club CEO, Mr. K Prasad who is also a three-time winner of Raid de Himalaya and former National two-wheeler Rally champion, said “At the outset, our sincere thanks to JK Tyre for their involvement in our venture. As you all may be aware, JK Tyre has a strong motorsport pedigree and their participation in our championship is a huge boost for the sport in India. As big rallying enthusiasts, we are thrilled to bring you this exciting new championship that will put to test the navigational skills of the participants rather than just driving as the average speeds will be within speed limits as stipulated by the law.”

The first round will cover approximately 265 kms starting from the Golden Gate Properties, Yeshwanthpur at 7 am on August 19, and run through Magadi, Ramanagar, Bidadi, Kanakapura, Sarjapur before finishing at Love Shack, Inner Ring Road, Indiranagar, at about 5 pm. While Golden Gate Properties are the event sponsors for the first round of the Championship in Bangalore, Reckitt Benckiser (RB) are the support sponsors while Woodland are the Green Apparel sponsors.

Speaking about their association with the event Mr. Harkirat Singh, Managing Director, Woodland Shoes said, “Motorsport is an emerging activity in the country, especially among a section of the society that loves adventure. Being the country’s face for adventure, Woodland Shoes is proud to partner with a national level championship like JK Tyre-FMSCI Indian National TSD Rally Championship. Adventure is part of our brand DNA which reflects in our existing product portfolio that has many offerings for the adventure space. We continuously work towards developing and launching newer and more specialised products for the extreme adventure sports category including mountaineering and mountain biking, to name a few.”

“We at Woodland respect mother-nature for giving us an appropriate platform for adventure sports and feel obliged to do our bit to conserve it for the larger benefit of mankind, which we undertake under our CSR initiative ‘ProPlanet’. We are happy that the organizers as well as all the participants have agreed to plant trees on concluding the race to negate the carbon footprint caused while organizing this event.”, added Mr. Singh.

TSD rallying (Time Speed Distance) is a form of motor sport usually conducted on public roads (following Traffic Rules) but sometimes including off-road and track sections. The objective of these rallies is to maintain precise times and precise average speeds on various segments of a predefined route. Each team usually consists of a rider/driver and navigator. In a Time-Speed-Distance Format, the route instructions, in addition to instructions to keep a team on course also gives assigned speeds. This is where a common man can get his personal road car with basic safety equipments as provided by manufacturer to participate and experience the thrill of motor rallying.

The experience & learning is the same as any other form of rallying except driving a normal car at normal speed!

JK Tyre has always been closely associated with the world of sports. Almost three decades back the company laid down a long term and sustained approach to promote Motorsport. Participating in this form of the sport has helped the company in continuously updating its products to meet the challenges of gruelling Indian conditions. The sport at that time in India was perceived for elite but JK Tyre took upon itself to package and redesign the sport to suit the masses. The company not only made the sport affordable but also equivalent to International operating standards. JK Tyre’s foray into Motorsport was a well thought out strategic decision to not only use and develop this virgin branding platform but also to realize the dreams of making India a force in the field of motor sport.

In 2011, the company acquired the Formula BMW Series and rechristened it as the JK Racing Asia Series (JKRAS). With this acquisition, JK Tyre created history in Indian Motorsport by becoming the first Indian company to acquire an FIA accredited series. The series has to its credit of producing as many as six of the current Formula One drivers, including reigning two- time champion Sebastian Vettel. By taking over the series, JK Tyre promises to utilize it as a platform to encourage and support the world’s best racing drivers and promote India as one of Asia’s motorsport capitals. Thus, JK Tyre has conquered two steps in the motorsport program where the new racing aspirants first establish themselves in India, then graduate to Asian level i.e. to Formula BMW, which is now JKRAS and then they move to higher levels of racing. JK Tyre now stands closer to achieving its mission of bringing world-class motorsport to the Indian masses.

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