India will get the world’s first city-based motorsports league, called the X1 Racing League, in the first quarter of 2019. The country’s top international car racers Armaan Ebrahim and Aditya Patel have joined hands to bring in a custom-made two-seater sports car racing league to India. The Xtreme1 Racing League or X1 Racing League will be held in a mix of track and street circuits. The league will witness eight city-based franchise teams, each comprising of two cars and four drivers.
The races will take place on Saturdays and Sundays on four consecutive weekends in the first quarter of 2019. Each race will be for 45 minutes duration and there will be three races per day, with innovative race formats. Noida’s Buddh International and the MMRT in Chennai have been chosen for the track venues and the street races will be held in Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh, and Mumbai, like the layout of the Monaco and Singapore F1 races. The League is aimed at introducing racing to the people through City races and promote responsible driving and road safety. The league has already submitted the circuit layouts to the international federation for approvals as it aims to ensure compliance to safety procedures and regulations.
The X1 Racing League is backed and sanctioned by the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI), the governing body of motorsports in India. The league has entered into a long-term partnership with the federation to promote motorsports in India and nurture Indian talent. This association also ensures the stability and commercial viability of the league. Talks are on to rope in well-known race drivers including former Formula One, Formula E, Indy 500, Le Mans and NASCAR drivers to the X1 Racing League.
In a bid to make it interesting, each team will comprise of one international male driver, one international female driver, one Indian international driver and one Indian domestic driver. The Indian international driver will have five or more years of driving experience in international series, while the domestic driver will be a young upcoming racer picked from the national championships in the country. As a part of women empowerment initiative and encouraging the theme of gender neutrality in sports, female drivers will race along with male drivers in this first-of-its-kind format. Moreover, it also gives equal opportunities to rookies and national champions through a platform where they compete with the best in the world.
Speaking on the occassion, Gautam Singhania, Chairman of the FMSCI said, "The X1 Racing League is a great product and the team of Aditya and Armaan are very well-equipped to execute a successful motorsports league. As a long-term believer in motorsports, the X1 Racing League has the right mix of traditional motorsports along with the modern mix for TV viewing audience and fan engagement that will make it successful from year 1.The league's ethos of providing equal opportunities to upcoming race drivers and gender neutrality through the inclusion of women drivers is quite a headline and I fully support their vision. This will surely encourage young Indian motorsports enthusiasts and in particular, women to take this sport as a professional career choice. Commercially, this product has the potential to deliver high ROI to all stakeholders and is a great way to promote road safety through motorsports in India. We wish the X1 Racing League a very successful launch and extend my full support."
