In a landmark move, Renault India presented two Duster Iconic cars – Safety and Medical - to the Madras Motor Sports Club at the Madras International Circuit.
Vikraman Vellandi, Chief of Engineering, Renault India, formally presented the keys to MMSC Vice-President Vicky Chandhok and MMSC treasurer Manoj Dalal.
Accepting and appreciating the gesture, Chandhok said: “It’s a historic day for us at the MMSC. Renault has given us two Renault Duster cars which will be used as a Safety Car and Medical Car during race weekends. The Iconic is absolute top-end and we are grateful for this gesture on part of Renault India. It is great to have a manufacturer supporting motorsport in India. Our conversation with Renault started two years ago when we explored the possibility of the manufacturer getting involved in motorsport by way of a one-make series being part of MMSC’s racing events. It may still happen, and today, we took the first step towards it.
“Renault has a lot of history with motorsport. They are heavily invested in various racing championships as engine suppliers. Renault in Indian National Rally Championship? There is still some way to go for that. Last week, a Renault Clio was seen in action in the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship round in Indonesia, finishing second overall. So, there are possibilities in the future.”
Speaking on the occasion, Vellandi noted: “It’s all about the Duster. When we developed the Duster, MMSC helped Renault India a lot in terms of making the Duster a World-class car with racing dynamics. For us, it is a way of paying tribute to MMSC for their support by presenting Safety and Medical cars. We did a lot of development work on this track (Madras International Circuit). I can now see the blossoming of a good collaboration with MMSC. We look forward to keep working together.”