FMSCI Annual Awards 2020: Top Indian motoring personalities felicitated

Over 110 national champions received their trophies at the FMSCI Annual Awards 2020. A special 'Outstanding Women in Motorsport 2019' award was handed out to deserving female racers from across the country. 

The Federation of Motor Sports Club of India Awards (FMSCI) Annual Awards took place at the PHD House in New Delhi on 29th February 2020 – a special date chosen for a very special ceremony, which recognised the incredible achievements and victories of Indian motorsport athletes in domestic and international racing championships held over the past year. The proceedings began with a warm welcome to Shri Kiren Rijiju, Honorable Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports, Govt of India, who graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. The welcome was headed by Mr Shivu Shivappa and Mr J. Prithviraj, Vice-President and President of the FMSCI, respectively.

The first set of awards was given out to Gaurav Gill, Yash Aradhya, and Lal Nansunga. Gill created history last year by becoming the first motorsport athlete to be awarded the Arjuna Award, the highest civilian honour for sports in India. Similarly, 17-year-old Aradhya became the first-ever motorsport athlete to win the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Shakti Puraskar. Mizoram's 18-year-old Nansunga, meanwhile, took home the FMSCI Upcoming Motorsport Person of the Year and the Gautam Singhania Rolling Trophy for securing 7 podium finishes in numerous motorcycle racing championships.

Following the special awards, the gathering recognised the achievements of Indian-international racers like Aishwarya Pissay, Narain Karthikeyan, Jehan Daruvala, Arjun Maini, and Abhimanyu Gautam. Pissay, as most readers may be aware, became the first Indian to win the FIM Bajas World Cup (on technical grounds). Karthikeyan won the second Super GT x DTM Dream Race in his debut Super GT season, whereas Jehan Daruvala secured a top-three championship finish in the 2019 Formula 3 season. He recently made his way into the upcoming 2020 Formula 2 championship by signing with Red Bull's Junior Racing Program.

The awards then moved on to the felicitate the national champions of all two-wheeler championships and ended after recognising the national four-wheeler racing champions. An 'Outstanding Women in Motorsports 2019' award was also handed out to budding junior female racers by Ms Sita Raina – the first woman councillor and FMSCI-WIM chairperson.

Reflecting on the country’s golden year in motorsports, FMSCI President J. Prithviraj, said, 'This afternoon reaffirmed that Indian motorsports are headed in the right direction. Not only are Indian racers holding their own at the international level, but the sport is also really taking off at the domestic level with more and more young racers breaking in. FMSCI is more motivated than ever to ensure that motorsports continue to develop at the grassroots level and raise the standards of Indian racing to match international levels.'