Mercedes Benz concludes first ever Young Star Driver Program in India

Niranjan Todkari from Aurangabad takes the podium and the opportunity to train at AMG Academy.

While the other programs Mercedes Benz runs are oriented towards showcasing its own cars’ capabilities, the recently concluded Young Star Driver program is motorsport oriented. Out of the 3200+ applicants, Mercedes Benz India selected a total of twelve, from which one was going to win the opportunity to hone his driving skills at the AMG Training Academy in India and Germany. The grand prize also included an internship with the Mercedes Benz AMG Petronas F1 team, during the Indian Formula 1 GP.

The selection jury consisting of known faces from the Indian motorsport family, including racers like Sanjay Balu, Arjun Balu and Amittrajit Ghosh selected a total of 12 potential Young Star Drivers, out of which the final six got the chance to go around the Buddh International Circuit in an E63 AMG to post the fastest times. Mezaan Anees from Bangalore took the third spot on the podium with Diljith TS from Thrissur and  Niranjan Todkari from Aurangabad posting very close laptimes. But in the end, it was the lad from Aurangabad who took the victory by a miniscule 0.012s and the title too!

Merc brought smiles to a lot of faces that day because what followed the Young Star Driver event was an opportunity to drive around the Buddh International Circuit. Stay tuned for a detailed report.