i1 Super Series gets two new teams in Bangalore, Hyderabad

New Delhi: The i1 Super Series, India`s first motor sports league has got two new teams in Bangalore and Hyderabad, taking the total number of franchises to four.

The racing league already had two franchises with Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan taking on Mumbai franchise and Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri, the Delhi franchise. Leading Tollywood superstar Nagarjuna has bought the Hyderabad team and the Bangalore team has been bought by Hotelier Arjun Baljee, founder of the Peppermint Hotels and part of the family-run Royal Orchid chain of luxury hotels along with Rudra Dalmia, a Partner in RD Capital, an Investment Advisory and Consulting Firm in Delhi. The i1 Super Series, charted on the popular city-based franchisee format, will have nine teams representing nine different cities from across the country with each team having a driver of Indian origin and an international driver per car marking a new dimension to Indian Motorsports. M Darshan, CEO i1 Super Series, said, "I am very pleased to announce that we have finalised on two team owners, Bangalore and Hyderabad, for the upcoming i1 Super Series to take place in January, 2012. "The dream of bringing motor sports in India is now being realised as we work steadily towards building the teams. We look forward to more cooperation as people not officially associated with the sport are now coming forward. We are nearing the start of the season and are very excited, as I am sure, are the people associated with it," he said in a release. The Series, promoted by Machdar Motorsport, will consist of 12 races with nine teams representing different Indian cities. The inaugural i1 Super Series season will begin in January 2012 and be held in India, UAE, Malaysia, Bahrain and Qatar. The teams will compete for a USD 2 million prize. PTI