MECO Motorsports Academy in association with JK Tyre launches 'The Rally Academy' in Hyderabad

Coimbatore, June 21, 2011: MECO Motorsports, in association with JK Tyre, will launch 'The Rally Academy' at the MECO Motorsports Ministry of Speed facility in the GMR complex at the Rajiv GandhiInternational Airport in Hyderabad next month. The announcement was made by Mr Akbar Ebrahim, President, MECO Motorsports and Mr Hari Singh, Manager Motorsports, JK Tyre & Industries Limited, on the sidelines of the recently concluded Round 1 of the 14th JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship 2011.

The Academy will offer two levels of training - Basic and Advanced program over two and three days respectively. The MMS Academy will be headed by Hari Singh, 5 times National Rally Champion, Asia Zone Rally Champion and Akbar Ebrahim along with former rallyist Rohitaaz Kumar who will be the On Site Instructor. PWRC Champion, Karamjit Singh from Malaysia will be assisting the Rally Academy as aGuest Instructor.

JK Tyre will be supporting the Academy by providing two fully prepared Mitsubishi Cedia and Lancer Rally Cars along with Dirt and Tarmac Rally Tires. JK Tyre & MECO Motorsports plan to set up similar academies in different parts of the country.

Mr Akbar Ebrahim, President, MECO Motorsports said, "It has always been my passion to impart all the knowledge and experience gained in my national and international racing career to young Indian drivers. To be able to watch Narain Karthikeyan, Karun Chandhok, Armaan Ebrahim excel in their international racing career gives me immense satisfaction as all of them have been through the academy."

"The new crop of drivers like Aditya Patel, Ashwin Sunder, Vishnu Prasad and Chittesh Mandody are all shaping up so well. I am sure the Rally Academy and the association with Volkswagen will provide more such opportunities to talented drivers from India," he further added.

Mr Hari Singh, Manager, Motorsports, JK Tyre & Industries said, "At JK Tyre, we have always believed in promoting and encouraging young talents through our various motorsport programs. The Rally Academy is the first of its kind in India where we will provide the youngsters the right kind of training and support

to enter into the professional world of rallying."

Karamjit Singh said, "Many competitive national and international rallies have gained momentum in India. With the launch of The Rally Academy, I'm sure very soon we will have an Indian making us proud at the world level."

To further support the vast training programs organized and conducted by MECO Motorsports, the company has also introduced the Racing and Karting Simulators. These Simulators have high end data logging and telemetry software's fitted on to it, thus enabling drivers to see their brake, throttle and steering techniques after each session in the simulator.

The MECO Motorsports Racing Academy in association with JK Tyre has now got into an association with Volkswagen and will be introducing the VW Polo Car to its fleet of racing cars. The Racing Academy has been providing training programs to interested racing drivers till now in the formula cars. With effect from July 2011 the Racing Academy will now provide training programs for those interested in racing in Touring cars, mainly in the JK Tyre-VW Polo Cup in India and abroad.