MRF Gearing Up To Launch All-new Single-Seater Championship

The Dallara Formulino Pro race car will form the basis of the new MRF Formula 2000 Series.

MRF Tyres, long since associated with Indian Motorsport, is gearing up to launch an all-new single-seater racing series in the country, sources close to events have revealed exclusively to autojunction.in.

The new single-seater championship, which is as yet unnamed, will use very high-spec single-seater racing cars designed and built by Dallara. Dallara is an Italian company with a rich heritage of manufacturing some of the best single-seat race cars in the world, including the new Indy Car, GP2, World Series by Renault, GP3 cars, and also closed-coupe sportscars that run in the iconic 24 Hours of Daytona. The cars that MRF has plans to use are the Dallara Formulino (“little formula” in Italian) Pro chassis. The Formulino is available in three specifications, which include Base (no aerodynamic elements), Plus (basic front and rear wings) and Pro (fully-adjustable aero, including re-designed sidepods, fully-adjustable suspension etc).

The Dallara Formulino Pro cars are built to a very high level of specification, and are approved by the FIA, having passed the most stringent crash and safety tests. The tub is made of carbon fibre as are the front and rear crash structures. The sophisticated suspension consists of double-wishbones at all four corners, with the option of inboard mounted offset dampers, or a single, cheaper monodamper. The chassis design calls for the engine to be used as a stressed member, which is to say the engine’s crankcase will form part of the chassis, bolted to the carbon-fibre tub at one end and to the gearbox and rear suspension at the other. The gearbox itself is a Hewland design, with five forward speeds and the option of reverse. Pneumatically-operated paddle shifters are recommended, although a cheaper stick shift is an option. The cars will be powered by 2.0-litre naturally-aspirated Renault Sport engines, producing approximately 220 PS.  

The wheels can be changed with a single central nut, if the series organisers (in this case MRF) deem that pit-stops will form part of the race.

The steering wheel and pedals are fully adjustable, and Dallara have designed the tub in such a way that the seat can be easily changed as well, making certain that the car will accommodate drivers of different height and build. Drivers also have the option of adjusting the brake bias during a race, although the rules governing their use is more the purview of the local ASN (accredited national sporting authority) and the sponsors/organisers.

Now that we’ve told you all about the car, let’s tell you a little about the series. MRF expects to field 20 cars in this series, and it will form part of the MRF Racing Challenge. Although not confirmed yet, this series could be named the MRF Formula 2000. It will run concurrently with the MRF Formula 1600 series, which presently forms the pinnacle of single-seater racing in India. The MRF Formula 2000 will slot in above this series, with aims to attract driver talent from around the globe. MRF plans to sponsor at least 2 Indian drivers in the Formula 2000 Series, who will be selected from the feeder Formula 1600 Series.

To begin with, four rounds are planned, with the first race taking place in October as a support event to the New Delhi Formula 1 Grand Prix at the Buddh International Circuit. The second round will also take place at the same venue, but in December, as a support event to the FIA GT1 World Championship. The third and fourth rounds will be held at the Sriperumbudur circuit in February. In latter years there are plans to take the Series international, with events at Sepang in Malaysia and Zhuhai, China on the cards.

The cost of competing in this Series, for the inaugural four rounds, is estimated to be in the region of Rs 40 lakh (US$ 75,000). Prize money is quite substantial however, with the winner slated to receive Rs 30 lakh, with Rs 20 lakh set aside for the first runner-up and Rs 15 lakh for the second runner-up.

autojunction.in understands that the cars will be assembled from kits in Coimbatore, and that the first 8 tubs have already been shipped there. The exact final specifications aren’t presently known, like whether paddle shifters will be used, or brake balance adjustment in the course of a race. MRF brand ambassador and Formula 1 driver Narain Karthikeyan is expected to give the car a shakedown soon, probably during the F1 mid-season break in August. We promise to bring you more details soon.