Tendulkar & Reddy to hold about 26% stake in IRL

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Two years after the A1 Grand Prix - first started by Sheikh Al Maktoum of Dubai-shut shop, the racing scene outside the ambit of Formula One is again gearing up and this time with India as the chosen destination.

Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and his US-based friend Anjana Reddy, daughter of a Hyderabad-based media baron, are potential investors in Machdar Ventures launching the Indian Racing League (IRL).

Tendulkar and Reddy, jointly as a block, are in discussions to pick up close to 26% stake in the league. Their joint venture investment vehicle is yet to sign a definitive shareholder agreement with Machdar.

Sheikh Maktoum's family is learnt to be one of the primary investors . Robin Webb, who spearheaded the A1 Grand Prix for Al Maktoum, is expected to be the racing director the new venture. The league is being planned on the lines of IPL - a franchise-based eight-city model - and will be held under the aegis of Federation International de l'Automobile (FIA) and the Federation of the Motorsport Council of India (FMCI). Approvals from both are expected in the coming days.

The IRC will be a club versus club single make racing series with eight teams fielding two cars each. There will be seven races in the first year to complete the championship and they will be held across circuits in India, Middle East and Fasr East.

It may be Tendulkar's passion for racing cars that brings him to the venture but he certainly won't be the only celebrity involved with the league. Each team will be further represented by a superstar celebrity for the first three years.

The organizers expect the number of teams to go up or down, depending on the first year's response and also look at the number of races going up in the future. The organizers will rope in Formula One drivers along with a few Indian names. The two cars per team concept may see one foreign driver and one Indian making up for a team. Officials at Machdar Ventures couldn't be reached a comment despite repeated attempts.

Eight Indian cities are likely to be shortlisted as prospective franchises for the city-based league while the races will be held at Delhi and Chennai in India, alongside Dubai and Abu Dhabi in Gulf, Qatar in the West Asia and Malaysia and Thailand further east.

There will be no public auction process for the sale of teams and the franchises will be sold through invitation only. The teams will have a minimum commitment on marketing within the franchise agreement while Machdar Ventures, the organizers, will take care of most of the marketing initiatives. Machdar, it is also learnt, is still on the lookout for prospective broadcasters to produce and telecast the races.