8th Edition of JK Tyre Rotax National Karting Championship Flags Off this weekend in Kolhapur

~Champions from across categories get set to prove their mettle for the coveted title~

Kolhapur, June 01, 2011: The 8th edition of the JK Tyre Rotax Max National Karting Championship kickstarts this weekend at Circuit 09, Kolhapur. With over 53 seasoned and new drivers in the fray from across the country, the battle is surely going to be very intense and competitive. With top drivers like Kush Maini, Abhirath Shetty, Jehan Daruvala, Tarun Reddy, Raj Bharath, and Chittesh Mandody the competition is going to be hotly contested across categories.

The Championship in its 8th year consists of 6 rounds held across the country – Kolhapur, Hyderabad, Coimbatore and Greater Noida. This year has witnessed over 13 entries in the Micro max category (age group 7–12 yrs), over 18 entries in the Junior Max category (age group 13–15 yrs) and over 22 entries in the Senior Max category (age group 15 yrs and above) representing five professional teams namely – Meco Racing from Chennai, Amaron Pro Racing from Hyderabad, Mohites Racing Academy from Kolhapur, Rayo Racing from Mumbai and Red Rooster from Bangalore.

Mr. Sanjay Sharma, Head– Motorsports–JK Tyre & Industries Limited said, "It is heartening to see such an overwhelming response this season. We have grown leaps & bounds. Year on year we have produced champions through our national karting championship who have done India proud at the international level. The global success of our prodigies from Narain Karthikeyan to Karun Chandhok to Armaan Ebrahim to Raj Bharath is the best reward we could have asked for."

The winners of the Junior and Senior Max categories will get the opportunity to represent India in the Rotax Max World Finals in November. The highest points scorer after two rounds in the Junior Class will get nominated to go for the CIK World Finals Preliminary Championship in 3 Countries, namely Italy, France and Bahrain. The event has been the stepping stone for the karters in the country to establish themselves in the country and then to represent India at the international level. Many of the India's best drivers have graduated from this championship and over 70 percent of the Senior Class grid are also racing in the VW Polo Cup and Formula LGB Swift class in the JK Tyre National Racing Championship.

JK Tyre is credited with introducing the concept of Karting in India and has patronized Karting circuits in seven cities of the country. JK Tyre together with MECO Motorsports introduced the professional level of karting in 2004 with the introduction of the Rotax 2 Stroke Kart Engines. It was then the JK Tyre Rotax Max National Karting Championship came into being and today it is the only National karting championship of the country. The winners of the JK Tyre Rotax Max National Karting Championship are selected to represent the country in the Rotax Max World Finals held every year. Raj Bharath, the only Indian driver to race in the JK Racing Asia Series is a national karting champion and has represented India in the world karting finals last year. Raj has proved his mettle on the Indian track and is now showcasing his racing prowess at the international circuit.

JK Tyre through its annual karting championship brought into existence the concept of team culture and currently there are 5 professional teams taking part in the form of Mohites Racing Academy, Rayo Racing, Red Rooster Racing, Amaron Pro Racing with MECO and MECO Racing.

JK Tyre – MECO Motorsport academy, the only racing academy in India runs its own training programs and the winners of these programs get a direct entry in the JK Tyre Rotax Max National Karting Championship.