Motorsports body appoints chief executive officer

Chennai, Dec 16 (IANS) In a landmark decision, the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) has appointed a chief executive officer in Rajay Syal who will be reporting to chairman Vijay Mallya and the newly-elected president K.D. Madan.

The FMSCI's Annual General body Meeting (AGM) was held here Monday and the elections were conducted Tuesday.

The CEO's appointment follows Mallya's professed wish to modernise the functioning of the FMSCI as part of a long-term plans of promoting and developing motorsport in India in a systematic manner.

At an informal interaction with the Media here Monday night, Mallya said: 'I want the FMSCI to function like the FIA (Federation Internationale de l'Automobile, the world governing body for motor sport) and have a CEO to run the federation and possibly have a Board of Directors professionally.'

Speaking to IANS today, the 55-year old Chennai-based Syal, who will now relinquish his post as the honorary secretary of the Madras Motor Sports Club (MMSC), said: 'Indeed, I am very happy. It is part of our efforts to run Indian motor sport in a professional manner.'

The terms and conditions of Syal's appointment are still to be finalised, but it is likely that he will take charge on Jan 1, 2009.

Syal , himself a former racer and rally driver, has been the chairman of JK Tyre National Racing Championship for the past five years, a position that he would be giving up in view of his appointment as the CEO of the FMSCI.

K.D. Madan, representing the Madras Motor Sports Club, returns to the helm after an eight-year interlude while Mallya will continue as the chairman.

Madan's election was said to be unanimous as he replaces Kolkata police officer Rajat Majumder who headed the FMSCI for the past four years.

Mallya will be the India delegate at the FIA and Madan will represent the FMSCI at the FIM (two-wheelers).

The FMSCI recently regained the sporting power from its rival body, the Motorsport Association of India (MAI) that had overseen the sport in India since 2000.

The FMSCI office-bearers are:

Chairman : Vijay Mallya. President : K D Madan . Vice-president: J Prithviraj.

Council Members: Madras Motor Sports Club (Madan), Coimbatore Auto Sports Club (Prithviraj), Karnataka Motor Sports Club (Praneeth Perumal), Bengal Motor Sports Club (Rajat Majumder), Sportscraft (Shrikant Karani), Himalayan Motor Sports Association (Vijay Parmar), Sports Trek (Shyam Kothari) and Nashik Automotive Sports Association (Ravi Shamdasani).

The Chairmen of sub-committees: J Prithviraj (Two-Wheeler Race commission); Praneeth Perumal (Rally commission); R Gopinath (National Racing, 4-wheelers); Vicky Chandhok (International racing, 4-wheeler); Shrikant Karani (2-wheeler commission); Shyam Kothari (Motorcross/supercross); Balamurugan (Disciplinary) and Rajat Majumder (Safety and Environment).