Get set for the Amaron Karting Challenge season three Motorsports has arrived in India and we are all in love with it, says Mackinlay Barreto,head of Motor Sport,Amaron Pro Racing,as he takes a seat at The Taj,Chandigarh,and gets talking about the sport that has recently begun to gain popularity in India. With 76 per cent growth registered since 2003,motor sports is one of the largest growing sports in India. Even Formula Ones parent company has invested close to 2.7 billion dollars in Asia to develop this sport and because of likes of Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok on the track we are getting more aggressive by the day, says Barreto,who is in town to talk about the Big Dare: Season 3 of the Amaron Karting Challenge (AKC),which is touted as the kindergarten for Formula One racing. AKC is a talent hunt race. Karting is the initial level of motor racing and over the years AKC has been instrumental in nurturing young talent in India,right from the grass root level, says Barreto. The challenge has participants from over 30 0 schools in India,who are selected after a series of rounds. The top three drivers are given scholarship. The age of the children is between 12 and 16 years and before they take part in any challenge they are trained and educated adhering to safe standards, says Barreto,who feels that motor sports will find a larger base once children at the school level are exposed to it. A one-of-its-kind free of cost initiative in India,AKC already has over one lakh entries this year. While the India F1 race all set to vroom,the Team Amaron Pro Racing is also doing its bit to promote motor sports in India through initiatives like Amaron Scholarship Programme (that rewards those who show potential during the AKC ),Amaron Pro Racing Academy (which provides training) and the Amaron International Endorsement-Sponsorship programme (comprises Amaron brand ambassadors). Moreover,the Amaron Pro Racing team is actively involved in Rotax Karting Championship,Formula Swift and Formula Rolon racing series. There is still a long way to go though and Barreto feels that motor racing as a sport is still at a nascent stage in India. Motor sports is a technology-driven sport and F1 is a highly technologically advanced event. One cannot possibly cut costs or make compromises and that is what makes it expensive. With higher disposable incomes and an amazing number of motor sports clubs across India (Coimbatore has 300) and the rise of the global citizen who is cued into sports,the future is bright, says Barreto,adding that there is a lot more in the pipeline. Motor sports has a glorious past in India. Back in the 70s,in the down south more than 50,000 tickets used to sell for a race,and several of them were sold in black that was phase 1. Phase 2 is the AKC and phase three is F1. The screech,sound, roar and burning smell of the rubber,that motor sports,provides is here to stay, assures Barreto. For those who are raring to go,AKC 3 will be launched in Chandigarh and Delhi on November 2.
