Chennai team is new franchise in i1 Super Series

New Delhi: The organisers of the i1 Super Series on Tuesday announced Chennai Super Sonics as the fifth franchise for the upcoming motorsport league.

Chennai thus joins previously announced teams from Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi.

K Raghu Ramakrishna Raju, Chairman of Ind-Barath Power Infra, an infrastructure development company, is the owner of the franchise.

Tollywood actor Nagarjuna is the owner of Hyderabad, Arjun Baljee and Rudra Dalmia of Bangalore, Arindam Chaudhuri of Delhi and Bollywood Superstar Shahrukh Khan of Mumbai.

The i1 Super Series will have nine city-based teams from across the country with each team having a driver of Indian origin and an international driver.

"I am very pleased to announce that we have finalised on our team owner for Chennai for the upcoming i1 Super Series to take place in January, 2012. Raghu is a big motorsports fan and was adamant that he be a part of the i1 Super Series," M Darshan, CEO, i1 Super Series, said.

K Raghu, said, "The i1 super series has the makings of a great sporting league that will gain popularity and a fan following like no other. Chennai has been the home of motorsports in India for a long time and the Chennai Super Sonics will do their best to make sure we stay on top."

The inaugural i1 Super Series season will begin in January 2012 and be held in India, UAE, Malaysia, Bahrain and Qatar. Teams will compete for a USD two million prize.