At the FMSCI council meeting in Bangalore, Zayn Khan was unanimously elected as the new president of Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI). FMSCI is a member of the Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) and the Federation International de l’Automobile (FIA), which are the world bodies for 2/3 and 4-wheeler motorsports respectively. It is the only national motorsport sport federation recognized by the Government of India for the promotion, organizing and control of motorsport in India.
Mr. Zayn Khan will be taking the post of late Mr. Bharath Raj who passed away while serving as the president on August 15th this year after suffering from a cardiac arrest. Khan is based out of Hyderabad and he represents the Western India Sports Association (WISA). He has many years of experience in motorsports and has contributed in the technical direction of the sport in India. He was responsible for the steward’s development, training and deployment. With extensive knowledge in rallying and experience at an international level, Zayn Khan is well suited to take on the role at FMSCI as the president.
“My initial reaction is that it is overwhelming. I hope to bring unity to the FMSCI”, said Zayn Khan after being elected as the president. He was also a very good friend of late Mr. Bharath Raj and quoted that he would like to take forward his friend’s tenure on a high note.
He added that his first priority would be to tour and visit various motorsport clubs across India to promote motorsports. He said that India is currently at the absolute peak of motorsports and that promotion and publicity is the key to attract attention and get motorsports to the forefront with the help of his team.
With three rounds left in the rallying season in India this year, Mr. Khan said that the main focus will be on the Rally in Chikmangalur in December since the town is hosting the Asia Cup round. He hinted that if this round goes well we could see the Asia Pacific Rally Championship round of 2016 in Chikmangalur.
Zayn Khan said that he would like to interact with the media more often and seek their support to publicize motorsports in the country. He added that if we played the cards right, India could become the centre of motorsports with the way things are in Europe and China at the moment.
The meeting was attended by all the councillors and by Chairman Dr. Vijay Mallya of FMSCI. Tributes were paid to late Bharath Raj, Mr. Raj Kumar (FMSCI 2-wheeler racing technical regulations Chairman) and scrutinizer Pradeep Mhaskar at the start of the meeting.