Pune: With a clutch of innovative initiatives on the horizon, the third round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship gets underway at the MMRT here on Friday, July 19, featuring 14 races.

The programme includes races in the two single-seater categories, the MRF F1600 and the Formula LGB 1300, besides the popular saloon cars – the premium Indian Touring Cars and Super Stock classes – and the Volkswagen Ameo Class which has been accorded National Championship status. Running concurrently will be four Formula 4 SEA races.

While even as the National Championship season is in full swing, promoters Madras Motor Sports Club are planning to initiate a slew of long-term plans that include night racing, the first of its kind in India.

Taking an overview of this weekend’s races, Chairman of the Championship Vicky Chandhok said: “We will see a galaxy of foreign and Indian racers this unique weekend when MMSC hosts both international and National racing championship at our very own circuit. So, plenty of action for sure.

“Going forward, we at the MMSC, in keeping with our efforts to move with the changing times, plan to introduce night events with racing under lights. With a view to evaluate the possibilities of night racing, we have planned a test session on August 7, from 18:00 hrs. to 23:00 hrs  Primarily, this first session will be only for saloons with headlights mandatory. Depending on the testing, we will expand it to the 1300cc single seater cars as well. Further, for the next round (August 16-18), we plan to run the races in anti-clockwise direction. The response, thus far, has been tremendous.”

The MRF F1600, a proven platform for young aspirants looking to break into international arena, will be running to full grid with four races scheduled, while the Formula LGB 1300, an excellent option for those graduating to single-seater racing, has again attracted 20-plus entries.