The X1 Racing League, a concept started by Indian racers Armaan Ebrahim and Aditya Patel was launched on Wednesday in Mumbai. The franchise-based league will feature six teams with former Formula 1 racers Vitantonio Liuzzi and Alex Yoong will headline the first edition, beginning at the Buddh International Circuit from November 30.
Each team will have four drivers, including an international male and female as well as one Indian international and domestic racer along with two cars. All races will be 30 minutes each and there will be three unique team-based race formats per day.
“..We are aiming to set the gold standard for the ecosystem in India and make motorsport accessible to all. It is a huge opportunity for aspiring racers from India to make their mark and all eyes from the racing community will be on the league thereafter,” said Armaan Ebrahim at a press conference held in Mumbai on Wednesday.
The league will follow the ‘eSports’ competition and the inaugural leg will be staged in Greater Noida from November 3-December 1 before it moves to the Madras Motor Race Track in Chennai on December 7-8.
Apart from Luizzi and Yoong, son of legendary Austrian F1 driver Niki Lauda, Mathias, China’s Frankie Cheng and Englishmen Oliver James Webb and Freddie Hunt, son of former F1 world champion James Hunt, will be competing in the league.
The international female drivers include the English duo of Pippa Mann and Alice Powell, Switzerland’s Rahel Frey, Denmark’s Michelle Gatting and Christina Neilsen, and Polish racer Gosia Rdest.
While the Chennai team will be owned by India’s first F1 driver Narain Karthikeyan, the Delhi team is owned and backed by the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Saeed Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan.
The Pune, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad franchises are owned by Ameet Gadhoke (Gadhoke Group), Akhilesh Reddy, and Dhaval Gada (Pen India Studios), respectively.
The sixth team ownership has been confirmed and will be announced shortly.
With PTI Inputs