Chandhok, Karani to steer FMSCI in 2011

Vicky Chandhok was elected president of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India at its 37th Annual General Meeting in Chennai on Tuesday.

Chandhok, who was president between 2003 and 05, takes over from K D Madan.

The meeting was chaired by FMSCI chairman Vijay Mallya.

The council in attendance also elected Shrikant Karani of Sportscraft, Mumbai, vice-president.

Karani, who is involved in promotion of motorsport for over three decades, is vice-president of FIM Asia and the driving force behind the conduct of two-wheeler events in the country.

Immediately after being elected, Chandhok promised to work towards giving all forms of racing in India a boost.

"Firstly I must thank the outgoing president KD Madan for his crucial role promoting the sport in the country. He has been an inspiration to the association and a mentor for me. While it is indeed heartening to have the support of my peers at the FMSCI, there is a lot of work to be done to improve the infrastructure of the sport in the country," he said.

"I have always been pushing for the sport to grow at the grass root level before all else. We've had our team doing just that with Rallying, Motocross and Go-Karting respectively and we will look to carry this into all segments from the next year on. We will have a renewed focus on rallying in India and will work hard to ensure it is up to international standards. We are keen to push all forms of racing in India and I will work closely with my new team to ensure we achieve this," he added.

Chandhok also expressed delight to "see our two officials, Anand Sashidharan and Roop Kumar, on the official list of the FIM Commission".

With the F1 GP coming to India for the first time, as well as the FIA General Assembly and the FIA annual awards ceremony to be held in New Delhi next December, Mallya said it is an ideal opportunity "to tap and showcase motorsports to attract more corporates and sponsors".

"The Auto Industry in India is on the move as is our country and we are seeing a complete transformation largely driven by young Indians. Indian Motorsport should not be left behind and we should do whatever it takes our sport forward in the fast lane," he added.

The following clubs were elected to the council for 2011: MMSC (Madras Motor Sports Club), CASC (Coimbatore Auto Sports Club), KMSC (Karnataka Motor Sports Club), Sportscraft Mumbai, Sportstrek Pune, BMSC (Bengal Motor Sports Club), HMSA (Himalayan Motor Sports Association) and Spitfire Motorsports Pvt. Ltd., Coimbatore.