Machdar Motorsports launches the i1 Super Series EDIT: Postponed to 2013

scuderiamania · 2nd September 2011, 22:22

The Rush is here

Does someone have any knowledge of what this superbike series and superhatch series is all about? Will these also be a part of the same i1 superseries or a separate series? No dates, no announcement of vehicles to be used. I guess they are planning these additions for season 2?

shortbread · 2nd November 2011, 08:05

This is a great initiative and I believe the formula is brilliant. People will have immediate attachment to their home team and also backed by local celebrities. There seems to be a lot of negative comments regarding driver selection. Its pretty obvious that most teams will only go with experienced aka proven drivers.

The Radical SR3 is not a cheap car and I believe in full race trim it will be close to approx. 50 lac per piece. Consider 2 cars a team and a back up car that's a lot of money. No sensible owner will hire a novice to handle such a machine (unless he has plenty of dosh). In neck to neck racing one needs common sense along with talent, a broken car doesn't benefit the team or its budget.
While all of us are very convinced about our own talents, the Radical SR3 is no novice machine full stop. It is perhaps the best track car one can buy off the shelf and is very very very fast. It is not at all comfortable or forgiving. The grip is insane and it absorbs nothing...I mean nothing. One has to be experienced and in prime physical shape...or its a combination of retirements and a very sore back. Another reason why one needs experienced drivers.
An excited irresponsible driver in such a machine is not only a bad idea for the above mentioned reasons but also the safety factor. A bad mistake not only endangers his life but other drivers around him as well. To top this the team is answerable in such circumstances.
But I agree, something that bypasses all this is dosh. Money resolves broken cars, fitness trainers, practice laps, back up team etc..etc... Its a rich mans sport everywhere in the world. Of course if you are insanely talented then theres hope......but Hamiltons are a rare find.

Here are my thoughts on the series:

I think they should also broadcast these races online and attract the huge section of NRI motorsports enthusiasts.
This series can be strategically placed as the epitome of Indian motorsports, something Indian racing drivers can aspire to progress to. Its high time that the option of a viable motorsports career existed in India, for ones who have shed their sweat, blood and of course money.
I hope the Indian tire manufacturers join this series. This is an excellent platform for testing their R&D capabilities. Also nothing like MRF vs JK tire wars.
It is a brilliant idea to run the races in foreign race tracks as well. Experience in these tracks will greatly benefit the drivers in future endeavors, especially the Asian tracks. While most amateur European open car series drivers are bred on nearby tracks they have little experience on Asian ones when they step up to a larger more global series, this will be an advantage for the Indian divers.
The Radical being a two seater car is a brilliant marketing opportunity. People will be ready to pay to sit in the adjacent seat and experience the thrill (albeit a back breaking one).

Great initiative nonetheless, Best of luck to all concerned.

shyn · 5th November 2011, 12:35

Read this in today's paper- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/s...w/10609124.cms

Related news- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/t...1-Super-Series

Any idea who took the other franchises?

MaserQ · 5th November 2011, 17:43

Super idea on paper. Remains to be seen if the excitement will carry over to the actual series. It will take a huge effort to convince those outside the racing/rallying fraternity to watch the series on telly.

i1 will need to be carefully marketed. Throwing a lot of money in a new racing series has been done before with the A1 GP with not-so-spectacular results. Why not hire the ever enterprising Lalit Modi to run the series?

scuderiamania · 5th November 2011, 18:18

Shah Rukh Khan owning a team in i1 superseries will go a long way in helping machdar to market the motorsport.

MaserQ · 5th November 2011, 18:53

^^ Maybe. Shah Rukh Khan & Tendulkar are the two most marketable faces in India. But the difference is that unlike IPL, where the underlying product is cricket, the i1 series does not have a huge fan base yet.

Let me try a different angle. Vijay Mallys owns 2 of the biggest football clubs in India. Yet, how many people watch domestic club football in India? At the same time, Bangalore Royal Challengers attracts a much bigger following because of the popularity of cricket in India.

madan80 · 6th November 2011, 19:50

This might be the shot in the arm domestic motorsports viewership needs. It might have a trickle down effect with higher ratings and thus more sponsorship. Good luck @machdar

devil_angel · 9th November 2011, 18:13

I'd say this isn't even remotely close to a domestic series. It's just an international series, which features a couple of rounds in India, because of the newly constructed Buddh circuit. I closely follow all the motorsport events at MMSC track BTW. TV is the only hope for marketing it. Also, unlike cricket, where each team has a home ground to defend, not all teams here would have a home track, which is a big marketing factor.

BusyBoyKK · 22nd November 2011, 21:29

Telugu Actor Nagarjuna along with N Prasad (Matrix Pharma) buy i1 Super Series Hyderabad Franchisee. Worth noting that Nagarjuna's nephew Adithya is a race driver. (Nagarjuna buys Hyderabad franchise of i1 Super Series | News | NDTVSports.com).

ToI reports probable names like Saurav Ganguly for Kolkata, Yuvi for Chandigarh, AirAsia boss Tony Fernandes for Chennai (Stars line up for piece of Sachin's racing league pie - Times Of India)

Would be interesting to see how many (non-Indians) will be interested to watch Delhi compete with Mumbai or Hyderabad. They will have to pull in some big names (I guess they would pull in retired F1 racers for financial reasons) as drivers. Definitely Narain will be a preferred choice so is Karun.

scuderiamania · 22nd November 2011, 22:47

@busyboykk-About pulling retired big F1 racers, there are rumors going around the Mika Hakkinen is set to drive for one of the teams as an International driver. Although I had heard this quite a long time back. Haven't received any updates on the news either. But a Mika Hakkinen on the track would deifnitely pull the attention of all those who watched F1 in the late 90's and early parts of the previous decade.

jalsa777 · 2nd February 2012, 13:23

The series has been postponed to 2013 now due to various reasons.

Read here: i1 Super Series put off till 2013 - The Times of India

scuderiamania · 3rd February 2012, 18:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by jalsa777

The series has been postponed to 2013 now due to various reasons.

Read here: i1 Super Series put off till 2013 - The Times of India

Unfortunate. Hope this postponement doesn't turn into abandonment. This series will bring a lot of Indian talent to the limelight and can even become pivotal to the progress of Indian drivers on the world stage.

killjoy · 4th February 2012, 09:36

Karun has WRC commitments???

jalsa777 · 4th February 2012, 20:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by killjoy

Karun has WRC commitments???

I think that's some error by the journalist.

He is racing in the World Endurance Championship.

JRM RACING CONFIRMS KARUN CHANDHOK FOR FIA WORLD ENDURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP
Chandok to don JRM Racing colours at FIA World Endurance Championship | Motorsport News

suhaas307 · 18th September 2012, 18:33

Guess what I spotted while on the way to the movies!

Machdar Motorsports launches the i1 Super Series EDIT: Postponed to 2013-copy-17092012233.jpg

It was a flatbed. When I spotted it from a distance, I was expecting it to be some German car. But as we inched closer in the maddening MG Road traffic, I realized that there was something highly unusual about it. Through the black covers, I saw the silhouette of what seemed like a Formula car - the huge wing sealed it for me.

And then I peered out of the rear window, snapped it and asked the friendly-looking passenger in the flat-bed what it was. Trying to make himself audible, he shouted SR 3. I was confused initially and Googled SR 3 only to realize that it's actually a motorcycle-engined (Suzuki Hayabusa) road-legal track-bred car made by the company Radical. I'd read about this car before and it had even featured in TG.

Machdar Motorsports launches the i1 Super Series EDIT: Postponed to 2013-radical_sr3_sports_racer_of_richard_fricker.jpg

I'd love to get my hands on one of these 'round a race-track. I'm sure the sensation will be hard to match.

2nd September 2011, 22:22	#16
scuderiamania BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Kolkata Posts: 363 Thanked: 172 Times	re: Machdar Motorsports launches the i1 Super Series EDIT: Postponed to 2013 The Rush is here Does someone have any knowledge of what this superbike series and superhatch series is all about? Will these also be a part of the same i1 superseries or a separate series? No dates, no announcement of vehicles to be used. I guess they are planning these additions for season 2?
	() Thanks

2nd November 2011, 08:05	#17
shortbread Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: KL 7 Posts: 2,390 Thanked: 6,283 Times	re: Machdar Motorsports launches the i1 Super Series EDIT: Postponed to 2013 This is a great initiative and I believe the formula is brilliant. People will have immediate attachment to their home team and also backed by local celebrities. There seems to be a lot of negative comments regarding driver selection. Its pretty obvious that most teams will only go with experienced aka proven drivers. The Radical SR3 is not a cheap car and I believe in full race trim it will be close to approx. 50 lac per piece. Consider 2 cars a team and a back up car that's a lot of money. No sensible owner will hire a novice to handle such a machine (unless he has plenty of dosh). In neck to neck racing one needs common sense along with talent, a broken car doesn't benefit the team or its budget. While all of us are very convinced about our own talents, the Radical SR3 is no novice machine full stop. It is perhaps the best track car one can buy off the shelf and is very very very fast. It is not at all comfortable or forgiving. The grip is insane and it absorbs nothing...I mean nothing. One has to be experienced and in prime physical shape...or its a combination of retirements and a very sore back. Another reason why one needs experienced drivers. An excited irresponsible driver in such a machine is not only a bad idea for the above mentioned reasons but also the safety factor. A bad mistake not only endangers his life but other drivers around him as well. To top this the team is answerable in such circumstances. But I agree, something that bypasses all this is dosh. Money resolves broken cars, fitness trainers, practice laps, back up team etc..etc... Its a rich mans sport everywhere in the world. Of course if you are insanely talented then theres hope......but Hamiltons are a rare find. Here are my thoughts on the series: I think they should also broadcast these races online and attract the huge section of NRI motorsports enthusiasts. This series can be strategically placed as the epitome of Indian motorsports, something Indian racing drivers can aspire to progress to. Its high time that the option of a viable motorsports career existed in India, for ones who have shed their sweat, blood and of course money. I hope the Indian tire manufacturers join this series. This is an excellent platform for testing their R&D capabilities. Also nothing like MRF vs JK tire wars. It is a brilliant idea to run the races in foreign race tracks as well. Experience in these tracks will greatly benefit the drivers in future endeavors, especially the Asian tracks. While most amateur European open car series drivers are bred on nearby tracks they have little experience on Asian ones when they step up to a larger more global series, this will be an advantage for the Indian divers. The Radical being a two seater car is a brilliant marketing opportunity. People will be ready to pay to sit in the adjacent seat and experience the thrill (albeit a back breaking one). Great initiative nonetheless, Best of luck to all concerned. Last edited by shortbread : 2nd November 2011 at 08:10.
	(1) Thanks

5th November 2011, 12:35	#18
shyn Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 1,542 Thanked: 3,032 Times	re: Machdar Motorsports launches the i1 Super Series EDIT: Postponed to 2013 Read this in today's paper- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/s...w/10609124.cms Related news- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/t...1-Super-Series Any idea who took the other franchises?
	(1) Thanks

5th November 2011, 17:43	#19
MaserQ Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,196 Thanked: 166 Times	re: Machdar Motorsports launches the i1 Super Series EDIT: Postponed to 2013 Super idea on paper. Remains to be seen if the excitement will carry over to the actual series. It will take a huge effort to convince those outside the racing/rallying fraternity to watch the series on telly. i1 will need to be carefully marketed. Throwing a lot of money in a new racing series has been done before with the A1 GP with not-so-spectacular results. Why not hire the ever enterprising Lalit Modi to run the series?
	() Thanks

5th November 2011, 18:18	#20
scuderiamania BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Kolkata Posts: 363 Thanked: 172 Times	re: Machdar Motorsports launches the i1 Super Series EDIT: Postponed to 2013 Shah Rukh Khan owning a team in i1 superseries will go a long way in helping machdar to market the motorsport.
	() Thanks

5th November 2011, 18:53	#21
MaserQ Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,196 Thanked: 166 Times	re: Machdar Motorsports launches the i1 Super Series EDIT: Postponed to 2013 ^^ Maybe. Shah Rukh Khan & Tendulkar are the two most marketable faces in India. But the difference is that unlike IPL, where the underlying product is cricket, the i1 series does not have a huge fan base yet. Let me try a different angle. Vijay Mallys owns 2 of the biggest football clubs in India. Yet, how many people watch domestic club football in India? At the same time, Bangalore Royal Challengers attracts a much bigger following because of the popularity of cricket in India. Last edited by MaserQ : 5th November 2011 at 18:55.
	() Thanks

6th November 2011, 19:50	#22
madan80 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Santa Clara, CA Posts: 1,360 Thanked: 80 Times View My Garage	re: Machdar Motorsports launches the i1 Super Series EDIT: Postponed to 2013 This might be the shot in the arm domestic motorsports viewership needs. It might have a trickle down effect with higher ratings and thus more sponsorship. Good luck @machdar
	() Thanks

9th November 2011, 18:13	#23
devil_angel Newbie Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Chennai Posts: 22 Thanked: 2 Times	re: Machdar Motorsports launches the i1 Super Series EDIT: Postponed to 2013 I'd say this isn't even remotely close to a domestic series. It's just an international series, which features a couple of rounds in India, because of the newly constructed Buddh circuit. I closely follow all the motorsport events at MMSC track BTW. TV is the only hope for marketing it. Also, unlike cricket, where each team has a home ground to defend, not all teams here would have a home track, which is a big marketing factor.
	() Thanks

22nd November 2011, 21:29	#24
BusyBoyKK BHPian Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Raleigh Posts: 160 Thanked: 197 Times	re: Machdar Motorsports launches the i1 Super Series EDIT: Postponed to 2013 Telugu Actor Nagarjuna along with N Prasad (Matrix Pharma) buy i1 Super Series Hyderabad Franchisee. Worth noting that Nagarjuna's nephew Adithya is a race driver. (Nagarjuna buys Hyderabad franchise of i1 Super Series \| News \| NDTVSports.com). ToI reports probable names like Saurav Ganguly for Kolkata, Yuvi for Chandigarh, AirAsia boss Tony Fernandes for Chennai (Stars line up for piece of Sachin's racing league pie - Times Of India) Would be interesting to see how many (non-Indians) will be interested to watch Delhi compete with Mumbai or Hyderabad. They will have to pull in some big names (I guess they would pull in retired F1 racers for financial reasons) as drivers. Definitely Narain will be a preferred choice so is Karun.
	() Thanks

22nd November 2011, 22:47	#25
scuderiamania BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Kolkata Posts: 363 Thanked: 172 Times	re: Machdar Motorsports launches the i1 Super Series EDIT: Postponed to 2013 @busyboykk-About pulling retired big F1 racers, there are rumors going around the Mika Hakkinen is set to drive for one of the teams as an International driver. Although I had heard this quite a long time back. Haven't received any updates on the news either. But a Mika Hakkinen on the track would deifnitely pull the attention of all those who watched F1 in the late 90's and early parts of the previous decade.
	() Thanks

2nd February 2012, 13:23	#26
jalsa777 BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 732 Thanked: 1,678 Times	re: Machdar Motorsports launches the i1 Super Series EDIT: Postponed to 2013 The series has been postponed to 2013 now due to various reasons. Read here: i1 Super Series put off till 2013 - The Times of India
	() Thanks

4th February 2012, 09:36	#28
killjoy BHPian Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 753 Thanked: 317 Times View My Garage	Re: Machdar Motorsports launches the i1 Super Series EDIT: Postponed to 2013 Karun has WRC commitments???
	() Thanks

18th September 2012, 18:33	#30
suhaas307 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 8,830 Thanked: 12,251 Times	Re: Machdar Motorsports launches the i1 Super Series EDIT: Postponed to 2013 Guess what I spotted while on the way to the movies! It was a flatbed. When I spotted it from a distance, I was expecting it to be some German car. But as we inched closer in the maddening MG Road traffic, I realized that there was something highly unusual about it. Through the black covers, I saw the silhouette of what seemed like a Formula car - the huge wing sealed it for me. And then I peered out of the rear window, snapped it and asked the friendly-looking passenger in the flat-bed what it was. Trying to make himself audible, he shouted SR 3. I was confused initially and Googled SR 3 only to realize that it's actually a motorcycle-engined (Suzuki Hayabusa) road-legal track-bred car made by the company Radical. I'd read about this car before and it had even featured in TG. I'd love to get my hands on one of these 'round a race-track. I'm sure the sensation will be hard to match.
	(3) Thanks