How to get an FMSCI racing licence and start car racing in India

If you want to go from watching Indian circuit racing to actually doing it, the first real step is not a car. It is an FMSCI competition licence. The Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India is the country's governing body for both two wheel and four wheel motorsport, and it was granted provisional status as a National Sports Federation by the sports ministry on 23 July 2026, which makes it the body every legal race in India runs under.

What licence you actually need

For a single event, a new racer can apply for FMSCI's one event licence at the venue itself, on the day, with no medical certificate needed. It is meant for grassroots events where entries often come in at the last minute. If you plan to race more than once, you need an annual competition licence instead, and for four wheel circuit racing, drag racing, autocross or hill climb, that is the 4W Racing licence. FMSCI's own fee schedule lists these as flat, GST inclusive numbers that do not change through the year once you have paid.

What it costs

The one event licence costs ₹250. The annual 4W Racing, Drag, Autocross or Hill Climb licence costs ₹3,750. For comparison, FMSCI's two wheel licences cost ₹1,250 for a restricted licence and ₹2,000 for a full one. None of these fees include the car, the entry fee for a race weekend, tyres or fuel, which are set separately by whichever championship or club you enter.

Where you actually race it

Once licensed, the realistic entry point into national level car racing is the CTR-JK Tyre FMSCI Indian National Car Racing Championship, which has run for 29 years and is based at Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore. Its entry level single seater class is the F1300 Novice Cup, which uses a Formula LGB Swift car built around a 1.3 litre Maruti Suzuki Swift engine. If you would rather race a production based machine, the Royal Enfield Continental GT Cup runs Amateur and Pro classes on the Continental GT 650, and the JK Tyre Levitas Cup has a Rookie class built around a 1.2 litre K-series stock engine car.

The championship's 2026 season opened at Kari Motor Speedway on 24 and 25 October with 137 driver and rider registrations across eight categories and 17 races, the highest turnout for a single round in its history. Round 2 runs from 13 to 15 November and round 3 from 11 to 13 December, both at Kari Motor Speedway.

Step by step to your first grid

Start by applying for FMSCI's one event licence at a club event near you, Madras Motor Sports Club in Chennai runs several through the year, to get a feel for a real race weekend without committing to the annual fee. If you like it, apply online through FMSCI for the annual 4W Racing licence, which needs proof of age, a valid civil driving licence and, for senior categories, a medical certificate. With that licence in hand, contact CTR Sports, which organises the JK Tyre championship, about a seat in the F1300 Novice Cup or the Levitas Cup Rookie class. Most new racers do not buy a car outright at this stage. Teams in these one make categories typically run cars for multiple drivers across a season, so your real cost is the seat, tyres and fuel for each round rather than owning the machine. Budget separately for travel to Coimbatore and track time outside race weekends, since neither is covered by the licence fee.

Sources

• FMSCI one event license reintroduced for Open Status events
• CTR-JK Tyre FMSCI Indian National Car Racing Championship 2026 Creates History with Record 137 Driver/Rider Registrations in Coimbatore
• JK Tyre National Racing Championship 2026 kicks off with a day of close battles at Kari Motor Speedway
• FMSCI granted National Sports Federation status
• Formula LGB Swift