Mahindra Racing enters Italian Championship with Indian rider Sarath Kumar

- Sarath to team up with former Italian Champion Riccardo Moretti

December 1, 2011, Mumbai: Mahindra Racing, the first team from India to participate in the MotoGP, today announced that it will be entering the Italian Motor Racing Championship in the 125cc class with Indian rider Sarath Kumar. The second rider in the team is Italian Riccardo Moretti, who was also the 2009 champion in the 125cc class.

19-year-old Sarath Kumar is the first Indian to participate in the MotoGP 125cc World Championship. He was the 2010 National Champion of India in the 165cc Expert class and the 2008 National Champion in the130cc 4-stroke novice class.

Mufaddal Choonia, Team Principal, Mahindra Racing, said: "We are proud to announce our entry into the Italian Motor Racing Championship with Sarath Kumar. This is a conscious step being taken by Mahindra Racing to nurture and grow riding talent in India. Some of the best names in the World MotoGP championship like Valentino Rossi, Giacomo Agostini, Marco Melandri have been Italian Championship winners. Riding in a championship with such high standards of competition would be a great opportunity for Sarath. This will provide him with the right opportunity to hone his skills and compete at the international level with some of the finest emerging talent in motorcycle racing."

26-year-old Riccardo Moretti started his racing career in cross motorcycle racing but had to give it up owing to a serious accident at the age of 16. Bouncing back after a 3-year break, Riccardo restarted a career in road racing at the age of 19. In 2007, he finished 5th in the Italian Championship and then went on to finish 2nd in 2008, with just 2 points separating him from the winner. In 2009, he won the Italian Championship with an amazing 5 wins and 5 pole positions in 6 races.

The Italian Road-Racing Championship is the leading national track competition in Italy and a launch pad for Italy’s best young motorcyclists as they head towards the international arena. It is staged on the country’s best racetracks from March to October over six weekends and 8 rounds. The event is organized by FMIFederazione Motociclistica Italiana and CIV - Campionato Italiano Velocita.

Recent Italian Champions include the following: 2008: Lorenzo Savadori (competed in the World Championship till last year); 2009: Riccardo Moretti; 2010: Francesco Mauriello (competed in 2011 125cc World Championship); 2011: Niccolò Antonelli.

During the 2011 season of the Italian Championship, 300 Riders and 60 teams participated in the championship including all classes - 125GP / Moto3; Superstock 600; Superstock 1000; Moto2; Supersport; Superbike. Ten bike makers competed in the 2011 season, including the likes of Ducati, Yamaha, and Aprilia. The season was witnessed by 70,000 race day spectators, 2.5 million TV viewers in Europe and reached 26 million readers through magazines.

Provisional 2012 Calendar
25 March: Round 1 - MUGELLO
8 April: Round 2 - IMOLA
29 April: Round 3 - MONZA
23 June: Round 4 - MUGELLO
24 June: Round 5 - MUGELLO
28 July: Round 6 - MISANO
29 July: Round 7 - MISANO
14 October: Round 8 - VALLELUNGA
Out of the above, Mugello and Misano are also used as MotoGP World Championship circuits.

- Mahindra Racing