Toyota Etios Motor Racing Weekend And Fortuner Off-Roading Experience

In August this year, Toyota introduced the Etios Motor Racing series at Chennai, and after its success Toyota Kirloskar Motor unveiled another EMR weekend HUDA Leisure Valley in Gurgaon, New Delhi. The second exhibition race introduced the Race of Champions format to Indian motorsport enthusiasts. The race exhibition was as interesting as its format which featured a successful confluence of motorsport drivers past and present.

The weekend comprised of four important races:

The ‘EMR Drivers’ (24 of the selected drivers for the series next year),
‘Celebrity Drivers’ (Indian motorsport legends),
‘Media’ (auto media representatives) and
‘All-Star’ (the top four from the EMR drivers, top two each from the celebrities and media).

With just one car each on the twin tracks per race, the participants were judged on speed, consistency and accuracy. Results for the aforementioned races are as follows:

EMR Drivers
1. Binoy John Maddela
2. Vendhan Boominathan
3. Mezaan Anees
Celebrity Drivers
1. Akbar Ebrahim
2. Ramnarayanan
3. Nikhil Taneja

Media
1. Dhruv Behl – AutoX
2. Dilip Desai – Zigwheels
3. Halley Prabhakar – Overdrive
All Stars
1. Akbar Ebrahim (Celebrity Driver)
2. Binoy John Maddela (EMR Driver)
3. Swamathia Rayen (EMR Driver)

Apart from the races, the spectators were also treated with hotlaps on the track, an off-roading experience in the Toyota Fortuner SUV, racing simulators, interacting with well known Actor and VJ Rannvijay Singh, and much more.

On the response received at the second Exhibition Race, Mr. Hidehisa Nagae, Executive Managing Coordinator, Marketing said, “We are very happy with the response and feedback that we’ve received from all quarters so far. This is only the beginning and we will continue to organize similar inclusive motorsport events to further popularize the Etios brand.”

When asked about his experience over the weekend, Mr. Vicky Chandhok, President, The Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI), also a participant in the Celebrity race, said: “The presentation of the Etios Motor Racing Exhibition Race, with the Autocross format in Gurgaon over the weekend was one of the most impressive I have seen in India. Toyota is definitely setting the bar for such events, and in the course of the next few years it will certainly attract more crowds garnering greater interest and reach for the sport.”