The Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) today announced changes for the 2014 Indian Rallying Championship (IRC) at the FMSCI Rally Commission (Rallycom) meeting. The FMSCI announced that the opening round of the 5 Round 2014 IRC will be held in Chennai in March, the South India Rally. The FMSCI also confirmed plans for a 10 round Indian National Time Speed Distance Rally Championship (INTSDRC) which will be spread across the country. The opening round of the INTSDRC will be held in mid-February in Coimbatore.
The Rallycom meeting saw some major changes being made to next year’s championship with the FMSCI now allowing foreign participants to take part in the championship next year. The FMSCI also confirmed that the number of categories will be cut down to three main categories.
At the Rallycom meeting the following three categories were announced for the 2014 IRC:
- Overall – N4 / R2 upto 3500 cc excluding turbo factor: Eligible cars will have to be FIA / FMSCI homologated and foreign drivers will also be eligible to score points.
- Upto 1600cc Group N FMSCI Homologated 2wd cars within this category: There will be a separate cup for FMSCI Homologated cars pre 2007 and this category will be open to Indian drivers only.
- Upto 2000cc 2wd Group N FMSCI Homologated cars: Foreign drivers will also be eligible for points in this category.
FMSCI Rallycom Head, Ashwin Pandit President said, “We are extremely pleased with the great response to this year’s Rally Championship. We are committed to make Rallying in India better and are confident the changes we have made will help improve the sport in India. The entry of foreign drivers will not only help develop our drivers but also make Rallying in India more competitive. In addition the INTSDRC is becoming a very popular event in the country and now we will take it across India. The next few years will hopefully see India becoming a strong force in the world in rallying. We would like thank all the member clubs for agreeing to host the events next year. ”
The Rallycom also finalized the plans for the 2014 INTSDRC (TSD Rally Championship) with plans to take the championship pan-India. There will be 10 races held next year, marking the biggest calendar for the TSD Rally Championship. The opening round of the championship will be held in Coimbatore in mid-February. The cities targeted for the 2014 INTSDRC include Coimbatore, Chennai , Bangalore, Jaipur, Mumbai , Kolkatta, Orissa, Ranchi.
The final calendars for both 2014 IRC and INTSDRC will be confirmed by the end of the year.