Abu Dhabi: Machdar Motorsports today 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 Parthiva Sureswaren. At a dinner hosted by Darshan M, CEO, i1 Super Series also 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 Jani and former Ferrari and Sauber driver Mika Salo.
i1 Supercar Series Calendar:
January 21/22 – Sepang, Malaysia
February 3/4 – Sakhir, Bahrain
February 10/11 – Losail, Qatar
February 25/26 – BIC, India
March 9/10 – Yas Marina, Abu Dhabi
International Drivers
Jacques Villeneuve
Giancarlo Fisichella
Vitantonio Liuzzi
Karun Chandhok
Jean Alesi
Heinz-Harald Frentzen
Alex Yoong
Sakon Yamamoto
Mika Salo
Pippa Mann
Indian International
Neel Jani
Armaan Ebrahim
Parthiva Sureswaren
Zaamin Jaffer
Mathias Lauda
Aditya Patel
Akhil Khushlani
Phiroze Billmoria
Cyndie Allemann
Indian drivers
Gaurav Dalal
Ashwin Sundar
Vishnu Prasad
Chirag Malhotra
Abdul Ahmed
Raj Bharath
Ameya Walavalkar
Sahil Shealr
Amritajit Ghosh
Sailesh Bolisetti
