MS Dhoni’s Superbike Championship Team followed up last season’s podium finish at the Supersport FIM World Championship with the unveiling of its new name, look and riders. The team will now be known as Mahi Racing Team India (previously MSD R-N Racing Team India), and its logo too has been facelifted in accordance with the growing stature of the team.
The new look was unveiled by MS Dhoni at a function in Mumbai in the presence of cricket, social, corporate, film and glamour personalities. For the first time in India, the superbikes were unveiled and put on display. The team and its riders were also introduced to the guests during the event.
Mahi Racing Team debuted as the first Indian team in the 600 cc class at the FIM World Superbike Championship mid-season in June 2012. The team earned a place on the podium after only five rounds, and will be aiming for the championship in their first full season in 2013 in the Supersport category.
The team announced it had signed up triple world champion Kenan Sofouglu and fourth-placed Fabien Foret, with Dan Linfoot and Florian Marino being the other two riders. They will test the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R during the official winter testing season.
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Kenan Sofouglu is a professional motorcycle racer from Turkey, who won the Supersport World Championship title in 2007 & 2010 with the Technomag-CIP team and in 2012 with Kawasaki.
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Fabien Foret is a professional motorcycle racer from France who has 24 podium finishes (including 11 wins) and 12 pole positions in the Supersport World Championship in 2008.
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Dan Linfoot is a British professional motorcycle racer with extensive experience in various categories including minibike, 125 cc, 250 cc, Superstock 600 cc, and Supersport.
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Florian Marino is a French professional motorcycle racer who has raced in various categories including Superstock 600 cc and British Superbike.
The team management is a mix of personalities from cricket, films and other fields.
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MS Dhoni is the captain of the Indian cricket team and is also an avid collector of motorcycles
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Nagarjuna Akkeneni is a film star and producer primarily in Telugu cinema, and is passionate about superbikes and cars
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Arun Pandey is a former national cricketer and founder of a sports management company. He will serve as the Chairman and Managing Director of the team.
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Nandish Domlur is an experienced professional from the kids and family entertainment industry. He will serve as the Co-Managing Director of the team.
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Amit Sandill comes from an industrialist and business background, and has raced Yamaha motorcycles and spearheaded other riders and teams. He will serve as the Director of the team.
The 2013 season is significant also because Mahi Racing Team will be supported by the Kawasaki Factory team. March 2013 will mark the debut of the Buddh International Circuit on the FIM Superbike World Championship calendar, and the popularity of motorsport in Asia can only rise with the strong performance of the Indian team in the 2012 season.
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