India has an all-new racing series; two top International drivers who hail from India, Armaan Ebrahim and Aditya Patel have come up with a revolutionary idea to create a brand new platform for racing drivers in India- a platform which the entire country will be watching. They have come up with the idea of the X1 Racing League, ‘the world’s first city based motorsport league’ which will be contested in India. Here’s all you need to know about this ground-breaking racing series!
The Structure
The X1 Racing League or the Xtreme1 Racing League will have eight city based franchises, each having 2 cars and four drivers. The races will be held in both street circuits and racetracks across the country.
Each team will comprise of one international male driver, one international female driver, one Indian international driver and one Indian domestic driver. The Indian international driver will have five or more years of driving experience in international series, while the domestic driver will be a young, upcoming racer picked from the national championships in the country.
The X1 Racing League Will Have A Combination Of Street And Track Races
Races will take place on Saturdays and Sundays on four consecutive weekends in early 2019. Each race will be last for 45 minutes and there will be three races per day, with innovative race formats to make it very viewer friendly. Noida’s Buddh International and the MMRT in Chennai are the obvious candidates for the track venues and the street races will be held in Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh and Mumbai, similar to the layout of the Monaco and Singapore F1 races.
Besides the four weeks of the main league, the X1 Racing League will run a year-long domestic season of over 12 races with the Indian drivers and the “patron’s seat”, scoring points for the team throughout the year. Patron’s seat equips team owners to race for their team or appoint someone to race on their behalf.
The process of owning a team will be announced soon, so if your interested, pay close attention to what the X1 Racing League are planning!
The cars involved
X1 Racing League say that the drivers will be racing with some super exciting custom-made two seater sportscars. More information about the cars hasn’t been revealed yet but from the looks of it, things are heading in the right way!
The Buddh International Circuit Is An obvious Option To Host An X1 Racing League Race
The role of women
The series has the noble aim of promoting women in motorsport and to give them the opportunities that they rightfully deserve. With one international female driver a must in every team, women will have a central role in the X1 Racing League and it’s growth!
A platform for the youth to perform
One of the primary aims of the series is giving rookies a stage to compete with the National Champions; both the rookies and the experienced drivers will be given equal opportunities, with the aim of developing the young drivers into capable and talented racers.
A galaxy of superstars
The X1 Racing League is working hard to get some of the top racing drivers in the world to come and race here; Formula One, Formula E, Indycar, Endurance Racing, Stock Cars, Sportscars; the best drivers who have raced in these big series are in talks to come to India and compete in the brand new X1 Racing League!
The men behind the series
Armaan Ebrahim is one of India’s most experienced and fast racing drivers; the son of former Indian F3 Champion and the President of the FMSCI, Akbar Ebrahim, Armaan has competed in a range of Motorsport series, such as the A1 GP, Formula 2, GP2 Asia, Indy Lights and currently showcases his skill in the Blancpain GT Series Asia.
Aditya Patel is one of India’s most celebrated racing drivers. A GT mastermind who represents Audi India Motorsport, Aditya has competed in the prestigious 24 Hours Of Nurburgring. In 2017, Aditya finished on the podium 8 times out if 12 races in the Blancpain GT Series Asia, three of which were race wins.
Experienced Indian GT Racers Armaan Ebrahim and Aditya Patel are the men behind the X1 Racing League
My opinion on the X1 Racing League
I feel that the X1 Racing League is a really ambitious idea and would need meticulous execution and support from the right people to make it a success. With the FMSCI, the governing body of Motorsport in India supporting the X1 Racing League, Armaan and Aditya have got their big breakthrough.
It would be a tall order to host street races at such a level in cities like Mumbai but if they do manage to do it, it will be a downright stunning achievement. The idea of fostering young talent and also encouraging women to race is something that would really please the members of the society and I feel that this ideology of theirs will help them gain recognition within the masses.
With The X1 Racing League, Racing in India Could Reach Greater Heights
I do have a few doubts about how this will be televised and marketed and also how good the racing will be but the X1 Racing League has a lot of positives and the primary one is helping Motorsport grow in India, the same goal that all racing fans in India work for. A lot of racing series in India have failed to reach the level that they aimed for primarily due to a lack of funding and effective marketing; the X1 Racing League must tackle these problems with creative solutions that get the job done to avoid the fate that several other racing series faced. Armaan and Aditya said that they have learnt a lot from the mistakes of the others and now its time to put all the learnings into reality.
The X1 Racing League offers a lot of promise and should this series be managed well, it could turn out to be a big success, both on the entertainment and also the commercial front.
None of the media used in this article belongs to me. Credits to whomsoever they may belong to.
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