A pan-India hunt for driving talent by Toyota to select drivers for its one-make Etios Motor Racing (EMR) series concluded last weekend. At the racing event, 40 contestants in the age bracket of 15-24 years raced at the MMSC race track, Chennai. Toyota finally selected 25 out of total contestants to drive the race-built Etios in August and October at the exhibition races. They will, then, race in the inaugural season of EMR in 2013, which has a total of 6 races in its planner for the year.
Toyota conducted the selection procedure at different tracks across the country, which were designed by the team of Red Rooster Racing, a prominent name in the domestic motorsports arena. More than 900 participants drove 8 laps on go-karts to set quickest time at variegated venues and were tested on the driving skills ground. Top motorsports tuner N. Leelakrishnan was present to hand-pick the top 70 drivers from the huge attendance. He was accompanied by other leading professionals from the field of racing and rallying, namely Farad Bhathena, Nawaz Sandhu, Karandeep Sandhu, Amittrajit Ghosh and Karna Kadur.
The 40 drivers who clocked the quickest lap times at the final selection in Chennai were then taken to the MMSC circuit. At this circuit, they were made to undergo gruelling training sessions across two days before they could get behind the wheel of Etios Motor Racing cars. Toyota then zeroed in upon the 25 fastest drivers who maintained a consistent lap time on the prestigious race circuit at Chennai.
Deputy Managing Director, Marketing, Sandeep Singh, commented on EMR driver training programme, saying, “We had young aspiring racing drivers from all over India, and it was truly heartening to witness the passion and enthusiasm they showed for motorsport at the various EMR camps. This is only the beginning, and we have a lot of excitement in store, starting with the exhibition races in August and October this year.”
