Mumbai: The MRF Challenge 2016 season will kick-start on Thursday with the first round taking place in Bahrain alongside the final round of the FIA World Endurance Championship.
The FIA sanctioned MRF Challenge 2016 championship will feature four rounds with 14 races in Bahrain, Dubai, New Delhi and Chennai. It will also mark the return to the Buddh International Circuit in New Delhi after a three-year absence.
This year the grid will have another promising line-up headed by the returning Harrison Newey, son of legendary F1 designer Adrian Newey, and Mick Schumacher, son of seven-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher. While Newey was part of the previous series, Schumacher Jr. made his debut in the last round of 2015 season in Chennai.
Joining them will be German F4 Champion Joey Mawson, 2015 Italian F4 Champion and F3 race winner Ralf Aron, Japanese F3 Champion Yoshiaki Katayama and Manuel Maldonado, cousin of former F1 race winner Pastor Maldonado. The 17-year-old French F4 runner up Gilles Magnus will also join the championship.
“It is heartening to see the top young drivers choosing to compete in the MRF Challenge 2016 and this year is no different with yet another exciting line-up,” Arun Mammen, Managing Director, MRF Tyres, said.
MRF Challenge 2016 Calendar:
Round 1: Nov. 17-19, 2016, Bahrain, (WEC Support Race) Round 2: Dec. 7-9, 2016, Dubai Round 3: Jan. 27-29, New Delhi Round 4: Feb. 17-19, Chennai
