Mahindra Racing will extend its international racing programme to include the competitive FIM CEV International Championship in 2014. The ground-breaking Indian constructor will supply two MGP3O Moto3™ racers to the Spanish Mahindra TMR Competicion team for a new programme in the Dorna-run, Spain-based series that has become the main feeder of new riders into Grand Prix motorcycle racing.
Mufaddal Choonia with the eight bikes representing Mahindra on the world stage
Mahindra Racing has been competing as a factory team in the Moto3 World Championship, part of the MotoGP™ series, since its inception in 2012. But this year the factory pairing of Portuguese Miguel Oliveira and Australian Arthur Sissis are joined by six ‘customer’ MGP3O bikes in the World Championship. The addition of two further bikes in the CEV programme is aimed to assist with the development and set-up of the MGP3O, while also giving Mahindra the opportunity to assess some exciting new racing talent.
The Mahindra TMR Competicion team has secured the services of 17-year-old Spanish rider Albert Arenas and exciting 15-year-old Italian Stefano Manzi. Both riders are bright prospects who come to Mahindra with excellent pedigree: Arenas was a race winner in the CEV Championship in 2013 while ex-Red Bull Rookie Manzi won a race in the CIV Italian Moto3 Championship.
Mahindra MGP3O bikes to debut in FIM CEV Repsol International Championship
“Our new involvement in the CEV series is an exciting addition to our growing racing programme,” explains Mr SP Shukla, Chairman of Mahindra Racing and President of Mahindra Group Strategy. “In addition to the technical benefits, it gives us the chance to keep an eye on new emerging talent in motorcycle racing. Mahindra’s corporate philosophy of ‘Rise’ is perfectly embodied in this new initiative which seeks to help realize the potential of young riders. We will be keeping a close eye on the progress of Albert and Stefano in Spain.”
“It has been a very busy winter for us,” adds Mahindra Racing CEO Mufaddal Choonia. “The excellent performance of the MGP3O in the World Championship led to a lot of interest from customer teams and so it will be great to see eight Mahindra bikes on the grid in Qatar. Adding Mahindra TMR Competicion’s CEV programme makes sense for us as it is a great opportunity to gain even more data from our bike that will feed into our development programme. It also enables us to assess the Moto3 stars of the future. We had great success with our Italian racing programme, winning the 2013 Constructors’ and Riders’ titles, and I hope that Mahindra TMR Competicion can replicate that in Spain.”
Mahindra Racing’s World Championship season gets underway on Sunday 23 March in Qatar while the CEV International Championship begins on 6 April in Jerez.
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