National car racing to resume in bio-bubble

Chairman of the Meet Vicky Chandhok said after organising the national drag races, conducting the four-wheeler national championship was a step further with all protocols in place. (FILE)

After a nine-month break, national car racing is set to resume in a bio-bubble at the MMRT circuit here this weekend with the second round of the MRF-MMSC-FMSCI National Racing Championship.

The event would be behind closed doors necessitated by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and adhere to all protocols.

The strict enforcement of government mandated SOPs would mean absence of spectators, guests and the media with the entry restricted to competitors with a maximum of two helpers each and officials, a press release said here.

The Madras Motor Sports Club (MMSC) had last month had successfully conducted the first round of the National Drag Racing Championship for two-wheelers, also in a closed environment.

Chairman of the Meet Vicky Chandhok said after organising the national drag races, conducting the four-wheeler national championship was a step further with all protocols in place.

“It has been a tough year for everyone due to the pandemic, but after the government eased restrictions and allowed resumption of sporting activities, we conducted the National Drag races last month without incident.

“This weekend, we go a step further by resuming the four-wheeler championship, again with protocols in place with no compromise on safety and health of all involved by implementing temperature check, hand sanitisation, wearing of masks and physical distancing,” he added.

The weekend card includes triple-headers in the popular Indian Touring Cars (ITC), Super Stock and the Indian Junior Touring Cars categories, as also the MRF Saloon Car Championship, featuring Toyota Etios, making its debut in the National Championship, while the Formula LGB 1300, will have four races.

Going into the second round, Race Concepts (Bengaluru) drivers – veteran Arjun Balu (Coimbatore) and Rithvik

Thomas (Bengaluru) head the ITC and Super Stock classes respectively with 50 points each after scoring a double each in the opening round in February.

The Formula LGB and the MRF Saloon Car Championship classes will have their first runs of the season this weekend.

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