In a press announcement today, the Indian Racing League’s i1 Super Series finally announced their much-awaited driver line up. The series organizers also announced their 2012 i1 Super Series racing calendar which was finally approved by the FIA. (Read post: FIA approved and confirmed i1 Super Series Calendar for 2012)
The press release carried the following names as drivers for the debut season of the i1 Super Series:
International: Jacques Villeneuve, Giancarlo Fisichella, Vitantonio Liuzzi, Karun Chandhok, Jean Alesi, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Alex Yoong, Sakon Yamamoto, Mika Salo, Pippa
Mann, Cyndie Allemann.
Indians (with international experience): Neel Jani, Armaan Ebrahim, Parthiva Sureswaren, Zaamin Jaffer, Mathias Lauda, Aditya Patel, Akhil Khushlani, Phiroze Billmoria.
Indian drivers: Gaurav Dalal, Ashwin Sundar, Vishnu Prasad, Chirag Malhotra, Abdul Ahmed, Raj Bharath, Ameya Walavalkar, Sahil Shelar, Amritajit Ghosh, Sailesh Bolisetti.
While there are a few surprising names that have made and miss out on the above list, the mix of ex-Formula1 and current Indian racing drivers could surely stir up the Indian motorsport scene when the series launches in January. The biggest name missing in this list is that of India’s first ever Formula1 driver, Narain Karthikeyan.
I shall share my comments on these names tomorrow, however, it is interesting to note that there will be 27 drivers confirmed for the season and 18 will race via the 9 franchise teams.
Off the 9 teams, only 5 have been disclosed so far and the announcement of the remaining 4 should be expected anytime soon. Some previous posts regarding the franchise announcements:
- Shah Rukh Khan will own the Mumbai team of the i1 Super Series
- Arindham Chaudhari to own the Delhi franchise of the i1 Super Series
- i1 Super Series confirm Nagarjuna and Arjun Baljee as team owners of the Hyderabad and Bangalore
For those new to motorsport and the concept of i1 Super Series, do read my introductory piece here – Indian Racing League is launched, welcome the i1 Super Series
You can also get to know more about the series by listening to the i1 Super Series podcast.
Most read i1 Super Series topic on my blog: Should Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok drive in the i1 Super Series
A few pictures from the driver unveiling ceremony are pasted below:
