Jacques Villeneuve, Fisichella, Liuzzi, Chandhok confirmed for Indian-based motorsport league

Machdar Motorsports officially launched the much anticipated i1 Supercar Series at Yas Marina in Abu Dhabi by unveiling an impressive list of drivers who will participate in the series. Drivers in the inaugural i1 Supercar Series will include 1997 Formula One Champion Jacques Villeneuve, 2011 Formula One drivers Vitantonio Liuzzi and Karun Chandhok, and former F1 race winners Giancarlo Fisichella, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Jean Alesi. Apart from the international drivers, the Indian drivers include Armaan Ebrahim, Aditya Patel and ParthivaSureswaren. At a dinner hosted by Darshan M, CEO, i1 Super Seriesalso announced the FIA approved calendar for the series with the first race in Sepang, Malaysia on January 22, 2012.

A visibly excited Darshan M, CEO, i1 Super Series said, “This is a big moment for us as we confirm our drivers and calendar for the inaugural season. As promised we have a fantastic line-up of proven international race winners mixed with young Indian drivers. The drivers will have their first taste of the Radical SR3 tomorrow so we will work closely with them to make the car even better. We are also proud to announce that we will have two women on the grid, who will comprise one team. With the first race being confirmed for January 22 in Malaysia the countdown starts now.”

There will be a driver pool of 27 drivers with 18 drivers being chosen for each race weekend. The drivers for each race weekend will be chosen by the teams themselves. The i1 Supercar Series also announced that there will be a woman line-up on the grid with Indycar driver Pippa Mann and Cyndie. Other drivers confirmed for the series includes former F1 drivers Sakon Yamamoto, Alex Yoong, Red Bull demo driver Neel Janiand former Ferrari and Sauber driver Mika Salo.

i1 Supercar Series Calendar:

About i1 series:

i1 Supercar Series is the all new motorsport racing league promoted by Machdar Motorsport. The i1 Supercar Series will consist of 10 races with 9 teams representing different Indian cities. The inaugural i1 Supercar Series season will begin in January 2012 and be held in India, UAE, Malaysia, Bahrain and Qatar. The teams will race the Radical Sportscars' SR3 roadster in the sports car racing series. Each team will be represented by two drivers. At least one driver for each team must be a driver of Indian origin. Teams will compete for a USD 2 Million prize.