CEAT is back at the starting grid for the 2018 motor racing season, continuing with its own racing team for the sixth consecutive year, title sponsorship of the sport’s premier championship and support to the ‘one-make’ series of races.
Sri Lanka’s leading tyre brand and principal corporate patron of motor sports in the country, CEAT has announced the formal reconstitution of the CEAT Racing Team for another adrenaline-pumping season on the track, alongside the formal signing of the agreement for title sponsorship of the 2018 CEAT SLADA Championship.
The CEAT Racing Team for 2018 comprises of drivers Ushan Perera, Upulwan Serasinghe, Duminda Jayasinghe, Indu Samarakoon, Devin Serasinghe, Lalin Kirinda, Chamod Perera, Malika Kuruwitaarachhi, Prasanna Gunawardena, Rizvy Farook and riders Ivon Gurusinghe, and Lahiru Jeewantha.
The team will race under CEAT livery at the five race meets to be conducted by the Sri Lanka Auto-sports Drivers Association (SLADA) for the 2018 CEAT SLADA Championship. The five race meets are the Fox Hill Supercross, Gunners Supercross, Gajaba Supercross, Sigiriya Rallycross, and the Katukurunda Circuit Meet.
The CEAT team will also compete at the Sri Lanka Automobile Sports (SLAS) sanctioned other races including the ‘One-Make’ races – an exclusive event for cars using CEAT radial tyres. The vehicle categories for these tarmac races are Ford Laser /Mazda – 1300cc and 1500cc, Nissan March – 1000cc, Honda – 1000cc, and Mini – 1000cc. CEAT provides tyres for all competitors in the One-Make race category.
Speaking at the formal signing of team contracts, CEAT Kelani Holdings Managing Director Mr Ravi Dadlani said 2018 marks the 11th year of CEAT’s support to motor racing in Sri Lanka and the ninth year that the brand has taken title sponsorship of the annual championship.
“It is fair to say that CEAT has played a leading role in the renaissance of motor racing in Sri Lanka,” Mr Dadlani said. “The CEAT brand represents a portfolio of high performance, durable and safe tyres, resulting in a lot of synergy between the brand and motor racing. The ‘one-make’ races also provide an opportunity for our radial tyres to be tested in gruelling conditions by expert drivers.”
The formal signing of contracts for the CEAT Racing Team for 2018 at the JAIC Hilton on 3rd April was followed by the ratification of CEAT’s title sponsorship of the 2018 CEAT SLADA Championship and the signing of an agreement between CEAT Kelani Holdings and SLAS confirming the brand’s sponsorship of all ‘One-Make’ races in 2018.
Besides these commitments, CEAT supports the race meets conducted by the Sri Lanka Army, Sri Lanka Navy and the Sri Lanka Air Force as part of the country’s annual motor racing calendar.
