[khanak]

Pictures - MRF F-1600 Launch - a photoset on Flickr

It’s good news for all race enthusiasts. The MRF Formula 1600 race car is here. India’s catching up fast with developed nations. Indians have been proving their gut for speed here and abroad. Narain Karthikeyan has been doing us proud with his successive victories.
The launch of the race car here is truly fodder for excitement. Budding race car enthusiasts can now train in a genuine race car. The MRF Formula 1600 is manufactured by British-based motorsports firm Elan Motorsports Technologies (EMI) and is currently priced at Rs.15 lakh. It will be powered by a 155 bhp 1.6-liter 16-valve Ford Duratec engine which is currently used across the world in small race cars. The lightweight engine enables better throttle for the car.

The car will undergo critical tests during February for power and performance after which it will be assembled in the country and released to the public. It’s expected to be ready before the coming year’s Indian National Racing Championship where MRF plans to launch 10 of these in the event.

Indian Car Automobile Blog Online from Carazoo.com, India's First Interactive Car Portal

ON THE face of it, it seems like a competition between the two big tyre companies. Although neither is ready to admit, the fact remains that two of the big changes in the last month or so in Indian motorsport circuit have come pretty close to each other.
Just a month ago, MRF announced their new Formula MRF 1600 cc to feature in their annual Touring Car championship. On Thursday, JK Tyre announced the introduction of pit stops (in Enduro with Formula Hyundai) in their National Championships. That apart, they said that it will be the first time that all the teams have got financial backing from companies.
The idea, both say, is to bring international quality racing to India.
"What we felt was that most of the cars that were racing in India were not of international class. They were indigenously produced. So we felt that it was necessary for us to import the best to India," a MRF spokesperson said.
The car that they will be using will be of 2007 specification and has been designed by Elan Motorsports.
However, when it will see the light of the day hasn't been decided as yet. "We will have to test the car before it can be used in our annual championship."
The JK Tyre-backed Nationals will have a new look. Apart from the Enduro with Formula Hyundai, where there will be pit stops for the first time, we'll see the introduction of reverse grids for the top eight teams like in GP2 series. There will be six rounds in Chennai and Coimbatore of two classes Formula LGB Swift and Formula Rolon Chevrolet.
Asked whether the changes were a reaction to MRF introducing their Formula MRF 1600 cc, JK Tyre's Vicky Chandhok, the brain behind the changes said, "No. There is no connection but I think it should make the races a bit more interesting."

MotorSport circuit set to get keener- Hindustan Times

The MRF Tyres recently launched their F-1600 Formula racing car in Chennai, India. The car was designed and built in the UK. MRF would be racing 10 of these cars at their series in 2008. The imported chassis has a 1.6 litre Ford Fiesta engine. MRF will thus be returning to Formula racing after nearly 10 years.

MRF F-1600 Launch - a photoset on Flickr


Any chance of this competing with the Formula Chevrolets?