Mahindra Racing Team Principal Mufaddal Choonia, presents a team T-shirt to Sarath Kumar

Chennai’s local lad Sarath Kumar, all of 19 years old will team up with the 2009 champion in the 125cc class, Riccardo Moretti (Italy) in Mahindra’s entry into the Italian Motor Racing Championship, an event that has given us riders like Valentino Rossi, Giacomo Agostini and Marco Melandri.

Mufaddal Choonia, Team Principal, Mahindra Racing, said: “We are proud to announce our entry into the Italian Motor Racing Championship with Sarath Kumar. This is a conscious step being taken by Mahindra Racing to nurture and grow riding talent in India. Some of the best names in the World MotoGP championship like Valentino Rossi, Giacomo Agostini, Marco Melandri have been Italian Championship winners. Riding in a championship with such high standards of competition would be a great opportunity for Sarath. This will provide him with the right opportunity to hone his skills and compete at the international level with some of the finest emerging talent in motorcycle racing.”

19-year-old Sarath Kumar is the first Indian to participate in the MotoGP 125CC World Championship. He was the 2010 National Champion of India in the 165CC Expert class and the 2008 National Champion in the 130cc 4-stroke novice class.

In 2007, Ricardo Moretti finished 5th in the Italian Championship and then went on to finish 2nd in 2008, with just 2 points separating him from the winner. In 2009, he won the Italian Championship with an amazing 5 wins and 5 pole positions in 6 races.