The much-awaited Indian Racing League’s i1 Super Series is finally making some good noise about its arrival. A fresh statement from the series organizers Machdar Motorsport has confirmed that its first ever pre-season test will be held at the famous Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi on December 20th 2011.
The test will also see the organizers announce their driver line-up (on Monday, 19th December 2011) for their inaugural season which starts in January 2012. While the names of the international drivers has not been disclosed yet, young Indian racing talents like Aditya Patel, Vishnu Prasad, Amittrajit Ghosh, Parth Ghorpade and Chirag Malhotra will be present at the pre-season test. What has also not been disclosed is the criteria to select these drivers. I hope the criteria is a part of their announcement in Abu Dhabi.
It hasn’t been revealed whether there will be a second of the pre-season tests, but this means that all drivers of the i1 Super Series will have limited time to adjust to the Radical SR3, the single-make car being used for the series.
i1 Super Series has already made a few announcements regarding their franchise ownerships and they can be read here:
- Shah Rukh Khan will own the Mumbai team of the i1 Super Series
- Arindham Chaudhari to own the Delhi franchise of the i1 Super Series
- i1 Super Series confirm Nagarjuna and Arjun Baljee as team owners of the Hyderabad and Bangalore
Whether Indian Formula1 drivers Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok will be present at the pre-season test is not known, but do read my thoughts on whether Narain or Karun should drive for the i1 Super Series.
(Read post: Should Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok drive in the i1 Super Series)
Interestingly, there is no mention yet of the other Indian F1 hopeful, Armaan Ebrahim, and whether he will be racing in the series.
For those new to motorsport and the concept of i1 Super Series, do read my introductory piece here – Indian Racing League is launched, welcome the i1 Super Series
Follow the provisional racing calendar of the Indian Racing League. Do also read my thoughts on the calendar here, i1 Super Series debut season calendar gone for a toss.
