Tarun Reddy to participate in Formula Renault Championship

NEW DELHI: Teenaged Indian driver Tarun Reddy today confirmed his participation in the 2014 Protyre British Formula Renault Championship starting this weekend with reigning champions MGR Motorsport.

The event will be the 16-year-old's first tryst with single-seater racing in Europe and in a series featuring a competitive field.

Reddy, who is managed by former British F3 driver Rupert Svendsen-Cook, had tested with MGR Motorsport at the end of last year.

The teenager, formerly a part of the Sahara Force India Formula 1 Team Academy, progressed from karting into cars at the age of 15 by competing in the domestic MRF 1600 series.

Underlining his promise, Reddy became the youngest ever winner of a race in the category in only his third outing.

He got his year off to a great start by winning both races in the first round of the 2014 MRF 1600 Championship.

Reddy will have his first race this weekend at Rockingham International Super Sportscar Circuit in Northamptonshire.

"I am really happy to be racing in the UK. Everyone knows that doing well in the UK is key to having a successful racing career," said Reddy.

"Unfortunately I could not get as much testing as I wanted due to my exams. My parents have made it clear that school is priority above anything else so I have been travelling up and down to the UK between my exams."

His team-mates include Pietro Fittipaldi, grandson of double World Champion Emmerson Fittipaldi, Matteo Ferrer, who debuted with MGR in 2013 and Colin Noble, the reigning Radical SR1 Cup Champion.

The championship will be contested over 15 rounds at six race events with a mixture of double and triple headers. The grand finale will form part of the British Touring Car Championship event at the iconic Silverstone Circuit in September.