Mahindra Racing Rider Arthur Sissis Was 17Th, Narrowly Missing out on His First Points of the Season

Press Release For Immediate Dissemination Italian Grand Prix race report

MAHINDRA’S MIGUEL INCHES FROM PODIUM IN SUPERB MUGELLO GP 1.1 Mugello, June 01, 2014: Miguel Oliveira claimed a resounding fourth place in the Italian GP today, showing all his skills and the growing strength of the Mahindra MGP3O Moto3™ racer in a fearsomely close race, with a gang of more than 15 riders locked in close slip-streaming combat down the spectacular Mugello circuit’s long straight.

Fourth equals the Portuguese teenager’s best finish of his second season with the only Indian team in world championship motorcycle racing, but was a landmark of race-craft and skill. He had started from 19th on the grid, and picked his way through a huge brawling group to finish a tenth of a second off the top-three podium, and 0.121 seconds behind winner Romano Fenati.

At the finish there were still ten riders within six seconds, and the first seven of them within just over half a second. Two more of them were Mahindra MGP3O machines, with CIP rider Alessandro Tonucci seventh, and Ambrogio rider Brad Binder ninth. A fourth Mahindra also took points in the hands of San Carlo Team Italia’s Matteo Ferrari.

Second Mahindra Racing rider Arthur Sissis was 17th, narrowly missing out on his first points of the season. Sissis had qualified 24th, and was delayed by slower riders as he moved through towards the top 15.

The next race is the Catalunyan GP in Barcelona, in two weeks.

MIGUEL OLIVEIRA – Fourth position It was such a hard race. Unfortunately yesterday’s qualifying wasn’t the best. We tried to improve the bike and it turned out not to be the best decision. I didn’t start so well, but I felt good and I started to recover some positions. Of course the last lap was the key: I tried to get behind the group and save the tyres, and in the end to attack under braking – and I could make some positions. In the last corner, I tried for more but it was very hard. I am very happy with the result and for the team after some disappointing races. This gives us more motivation to keep pushing. We still need more work, but we have more potential than we showed at recent races. Today the bike allowed me to make the difference.

ARTHUR SISSIS – 17th position It was a hard race. It’s always the same – I start badly then I am stuck in a fight with guys who are not so fast, and on a track like this you can’t get away, because the straights are so long. You get half-a-second gap then they catch your slipstream on the straight and pass you again … and it takes another two laps to get past six riders again. When I was on my own I was quite fast, so it’s getting better.

MUFADDAL CHOONIA – CEO Mahindra Racing These are the kind of Moto3 races we all pay money to see. My compliments to our team and Miguel in particular. He showed amazing skill and race-craft to jump from 19th on the grid to fourth. Also to our customer teams, CIP and Ambrogio, whose riders Tonucci and Binder also finished in the top ten. It shows the MGP3O is improving all the time, as our customers get more used to the bike. We hope for even stronger results during the rest of the season. It was very heartening to see the gap between Miguel and the winner was just 0.121 seconds, and between Tonucci and the race winner 0.597 seconds … two Mahindras within six tenths of victory. This race was a big shot in the arm, and we look forward to the next race in Barcelona in less than two weeks.

About Mahindra Racing Mahindra Racing became the first Indian team to participate in the FIM MotoGP™ World Motorcycle Racing Championship series in 2011 and the Italian National Motorcycle Racing Championship (CIV) in 2012.

In 2014, Mahindra is competing in its third year in the Moto3™ class of MotoGP with its own 4-stroke, 250cc motorcycle: the Mahindra MGP3O, developed with respected Swiss firm Suter Racing Technology AG. Exciting Portuguese teenager Miguel Oliveira (19) is joined in the team by Australian rider Arthur Sissis (18).

The team made history at the 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix, when Oliveira claimed Mahindra Racing's first-ever podium finish, the first ever podium for an Indian manufacturer in the World Championship. The team recorded top-five finishes in 10 of the 17 rounds of the World Championship as well as a pole position and three circuit lap records with Mahindra placing third in the Constructors’ rankings.

In the competitive CIV Italian Championship, Mahindra Racing also enjoyed an impressive record having won the Constructors’ title in the 125 GP Class in 2012 and both the Constructors’ title and a one-two in the Riders’ championship in the Moto3 class in 2013.

Breaking new ground as an Indian constructor, Mahindra Racing is supplying three ‘customer teams’ in the 2014 Moto3™ World Championship. Ambrogio Racing, CIP Moto3 and San Carlo Team Italia are all campaigning MGP3O race bikes. In addition, Mahindra Racing is supplying the TMR Competicion team with two bikes to race in the FIM CEV Repsol International Championship that has become the feeder series for Grand Prix riders.

Mahindra’s bold decision to take on the world’s best at the highest level of motorcycle racing has won the team a number of prestigious awards in India, including: the NDTV Car and Bike Awards - 'Mobil 1 Motorsport Award of the Year', 2012 and 2013; the Bike India Magazine - 'Motorsport Award', 2013; and 'ZigWheels Motorsport Award of the Year', 2012.

For further information please visit: www.mahindraracing.com.

About Mahindra The Mahindra Group focuses on enabling people to rise through solutions that power mobility, drive rural prosperity, enhance urban lifestyles and increase business efficiency. A USD 16.7 billion multinational group based in Mumbai, India, Mahindra employs more than 180,000 people in over 100 countries. Mahindra operates in the key industries that drive economic growth, enjoying a leadership position in tractors, utility vehicles, after-market, information technology and vacation ownership. In addition, Mahindra enjoys a strong presence in the agribusiness, aerospace, components, consulting services, defence, energy, financial services, industrial equipment, logistics, real estate, retail, steel, commercial vehicles and two wheeler industries. In 2012, Mahindra featured on the Forbes Global 2000 list, a listing of the biggest and most powerful listed companies in the world. In 2013, the Mahindra Group received the Financial Times ‘Boldness in Business’ Award in the ‘Emerging Markets’ category. Visit us at www.mahindra.com.

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Downloadable images for editorial use - For further enquiries Mr. Ruzbeh Irani Mr. Rupert Williamson Mr. Davide Trolli Chief Group Communications Officer Mahindra MotoGP™ consultant PR and Marketing Manager Mahindra Group HPS Jardine Mahindra Racing Phone: +91 22 2490 1441 Phone: +44 1628 894 701 Mobile: +39 345 997 0979 [email protected] Mobile: +44 7774 295 147 [email protected] [email protected]