The MRF Challenge is trying to balance its role as a destination for junior racing drivers to stay sharp over the winter and providing exposure to local talent.
After having gone through a bit of an identity crisis in its second and third seasons, MRF Tyre’s much trumpeted circuit racing initiative, the MRF Challenge seems to be trying to strike a balance. That being providing a way for racers in European and American based junior formulae to stay active during what is a winter downtime for them and also giving more opportunities for Indian drivers to try their hand at the most advanced Indian racing championship.
Of course, due to tensions between Indian circuit racings two most visible camps the representation is skewed towards those who have raced in MRF and Madras Motors Sport Club sponsored series. But rather than go into all that, it is definitely heartening to see Tarun Reddy being joined in the MRF Challenge by reigning Formula Ford 1600 champion Karthik Tharani and also Arjun Narendran.
The latter two drivers’ progression is clearly on a different curve than Reddy’s, who got to the podium and was again in the top three in the opening round in Abu Dhabi. However, the important thing is that drivers can expect such rewards for doing well at home. And while it does strike one as odd that the MRF Challenge doesn’t race at the Buddh International Circuit and has just one round in India there are some advantages to a young racer for tagging along for the ride.
Racing in Abu Dhabi as well as in a support race capacity to the FIA World Endurance Championship in Bahrain does offer the potential for building contacts and seeing what else international motorsport have to offer outside of Formula 1, which attracts so many racers like a night light attracts insects.
Sportscar racing in the GT classes and even LMP2 is something that drivers from India can shoot for should they venture far enough up the ladder of junior formulae in Europe one day.
Being exposed to it in the flesh and getting the chance to interact with those that make it happen is akin to a field trip for students in their area of concentration. It is a shame that it is not a readily available option to a much wider range of drivers in India but that is hopefully something the people pulling the strings behind the scenes can come to an agreement on. After all, it is in both their interests that they can claim to have a joint stake in Indian circuit racing’s future.
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