CEAT revs up for 2017 with Racing Team, title sponsorship of CEAT SLADA Championship

CEAT’s love affair with Sri Lankan motorsport continues to evolve, with the country’s top tyre brand announcing it will field its racing team – runaway champions of the track in 2016 – at all major race events to be run this year.

The team that won all three championships of the 2016 CEAT Sri Lanka Super Series and captured three of the four top awards of the 2016 CEAT SLADA Championship has signed on for another year ofhi-Octane racing under CEAT colours and will seek its fourth consecutive car team championship in 2017, the company announced.

The CEAT Racing Team for 2017 comprises of drivers Upulwan Serasinghe, Pasindu Peiris, Ushan Perera, Malika Kuruvitarachchi, Prasanna De Alwis, Lalin Kirinda, Lt. Colonel Duminda Jayasinghe, Lt. Colonel Indu Samarakoon, Devin Serasinghe and Chamod Perera and riders Evon B. Gurusinghe and Lahiru Jeewantha.

The team will compete at race meets to be conducted by both the Sri Lanka Auto-sports Drivers Association (SLADA) and the Sri Lanka Association of Racing Drivers and Riders (SLARDAR) this year.

Speaking at the formal signing of team contracts, Mr Vijay Gambhire, Managing Director of CEAT Kelani Holdings said CEAT had chosen to stand by motor racing and commit itself to taking it forward despite the confusion prevailing in the sport at present. “We strongly feel that racing and CEAT have a very good affinity in Sri Lanka, and that our support to the sport has been mutually beneficial,” he said. “As a brand owner and a profit-making entity, we would like to see the sport rise above the challenges and take its place on the country’s sporting map.”

The formal constitution of the CEAT Racing Team for 2017 was followed by the signing of CEAT’s title sponsorship of the 2017 CEAT SLADA Championship, marking the eighth consecutive year that the brand has supported an annual racing championship series in Sri Lanka.

The CEAT SLADA Championship will be based on the results of five race meets – the Fox Hill Supercross, Gajaba Supercross, Sigiriya Rallycross, Katukurunda Circuit Meet and Gunner Supercross.

Speaking on behalf of SLADA, the Association’s vice President Mr Yoga Perera thanked CEAT Kelani Holdings for its longstanding support to motor racing in Sri Lanka, and for identifying some of the best drivers and riders in the country and supporting their aspirations and development by forming the CEAT Racing Team.