The 2021-22 season of the FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship is set to begin here next month after being hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
After a couple of postponements due to the pandemic, the premier motorsport event is scheduled to be organized here from December 16 to 18.
The announcement was made by Sports Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Muttamseti Srinivas Rao, and the promoter of INRC, Vamsi Merla, on Wednesday.
This is the first time that the city will host a motorsport rally of such magnitude and the promoter as well the government has promised to make it a grand affair.
The event will be conducted by the Karnataka Motorsport Club and apart from round 1, they have been given the responsibility to take care of the K100 Rally as well, which is round 2 and will take place in Bengaluru in January.
“It is a matter of huge pride for me that I am able to take the sport to new places which have always been my vision. I have always wanted motorsport to reach every nook and corner of the country. I would like to thank the Government of Andhra Pradesh for their support and cooperation,” Vamsi said in a statement.
While the promoter wanted to go all out and have a full calendar, due to paucity of time and delays, there will be only four rounds this year, with the Round 3 happening in Coimbatore and conducted by Coimbatore Auto Sports Club in February.
MMSC has been awarded the right to organize the grand finale which will take place in March. The venue for the finale is yet to be decided.
Apart from the championship rounds, a contender round is also being planned for April in Hyderabad.
The championship this year is expected to break all records in terms of participation and would see the involvement of major stakeholders of Indian motorsports including JK Tyre, MRF and Yokohama.
Provisional calendar:
Round 1 – Visakhapatnam, December 16-18
Round 2 – Bengaluru, January 28-30
Round 3 – Coimbatore, February 26-28
Round 4 – MMSC, March 28-30.
