Mercedes-Benz concluded Season II of the 'Young Star Driver Programme' on August 8, 2014.

This year, the programme received 5970 applications from racing aspirants, almost double of what it received in the previous season; 60% of which were from smaller towns of India. The jury, headed by renowned Indian racing personality, Vicky Chandhok along with his experienced team, shortlisted 24 young aspirants to compete for 6 slots in an elimination round held on August 7, 2014. The selection was based on pre-defined criteria like racing acumen, racing aptitude and accomplishment.

On August 8, the 6 finalists went head to head against each other to attain the best lap time in a Mercedes CLA 45 AMG, at the Buddh International Circuit. Raj Bharath, from Bangalore, emerged as the winner with a lap time of 2:26:708; followed by G Vikash Anand and Ali Yawar Hayat clocking lap times of 2:28:622 and 2:29:255 respectively.

The winner of the ‘Mercedes-Benz Young Star Driver Programme Season II’ gets a coveted seat in the AMG Driving Academy PRO-Training in Germany and a chance to meet Mercedes AMG PETRONAS Formula One team drivers, Lewis Hamilton or Nico Rosberg, in the Singapore Grand Prix this year. The runners-up get the popular AMG Driving Academy BASIC & ADVANCED course in India.

Mercedes-Benz India has announced Season II of its Young Star Driver programme. The programme provides an opportunity for budding motorsports talents across the country to showcase and improve their racing skills on international race tracks with guidance from specialised trainers.

The Young Star Driver programme is open for candidates in the age group of 18-25 years. Contenders will be chosen through a nationwide evaluation, which will be conducted by Vicky Chandok and his team on criterions like race track training, race acumen, racing aptitude and accomplishments. Those applicants who have some background or achievement in motorsport will be given priority in the selection process. 24 participants will be chosen and adjudged against each other to determine the 6 finalists. The elimination round will be held on the August 7, 2014 while the finals will be held on August 8 at the Buddh International Circuit, Greater Noida.

The winner of the programme will be rewarded with a seat at the AMG Driving Academy PRO-Training in Germany. Additionally, he gets to meet Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One team drivers, Lewis Hamilton or Nico Rosberg at any one Formula 1 race this year. The runners-up will be given seats in the AMG Driving Academy BASIC and ADVANCED courses in India.

Registrations for the Young Start Driver programme are now open. Participants need to visit the Mercedes-Benz Performance Drive website (link), where the can use their Facebook, Twitter or Google Plus accounts to login and upload their CV.