Himalayas Racing

Himalayas Racing
Full Name	Himalayas Racing
Base	Kathmandu, Nepal
Founder(s)	Suraj Amatya
Team Principal(s)	Vishal Sitoula
Technical Director	Vishal Sitoula
Current Drivers	Laurent Seron Renaldo Jiménez Chacko Palaniappan Will Davison Raju Chalise Ganesh Basnet
Other Noted Drivers	Asim Adhikari Ashok Sitoula
Debut	2016 Siemens Ausdauer Reject Series season - Road Category
Races	5
Constructors' Championships	0
Drivers' Championships	1
Race Wins	2
Podiums	6
Points	4500
Pole Positions	2
Fastest Laps	1

Himalayas Racing is a Nepali racing team, founded by outcast Buddhist monk Suraj Amatya following Red Bull's spectacular showcase of their Formula One car racing in the Himalayas. Currently the team is participating in the 2017 Le Mans Cup, and following a successful debut season in the 2016 Siemens Ausdauer Reject Series season.

Creation

After Red Bull's demonstration Suraj Amatya led a rebellion sect away from the serenity of meditation and solitude usually characterized by Buddhist monks into the red-blooded, white-hot world of motorsport. They managed to buy an old Minardi Formula One car, and focused their efforts on learning the technologies of power and aerodynamics.

After discovering the internet, Amatya invited then student Syed Ansari from India to Kathmandu. Ansari coached the group of monks on building a team, and then left with the promise that he would be happy to be involved with any foray into motorsport that they made.

It was only six months later that they took him up on his offer, commissioning Ansari to build the Kailash-01, so named after one of the Himalayan peaks. Amatya had sent blanket emails out to various motorsport organisers, but had had no response until he struck gold with the Siemens Ausdauer Series, who promised him a spot in the Road category, should he be able to come up with a chassis designer and engine. With Ansari already on board, all they needed was an engine supplier.

In an attempt to circumvent Nepal's huge import tax, Hyundai had built a factory in Kathmandu in 2014, already supplying 95% of the motoring market. It was only natural that Amatya was soon knocking on Hyundai's door, asking them what they could do for the new team. With Hyundai not supplying any teams in the RWRS world, they were enthusiastic to enter the market. However with the collapse of SARS it is believed the deal will also collapse, as the ACO Le Mans Cup does not allow Hyundai vehicles.

2016 Siemens Ausdauer Reject Series season

Himalayas Racing were announced to largely shock in early 2016 that they would be involved in the initial season of the Siemens Ausdauer Reject Series. It was believed they had been testing with local talent in the alpine regions of Nepal. Some of these locals were likely contenders for racing seats, however as Nepal has no racing pedigree it was believed they would need to import experienced talent from overseas as senior drivers.

The first driver announced as racing for Himalayas was 19 year old Tropican Renaldo Jiménez. The hotshot will combine duties being the lead driver for the second Himalayas car and test driver for the Tropico Grand Prix F1RWRS team. Soon after, Belgian Laurent Seron signed a 12 month contract for the team, also combining duties as test driver for Gillet Ecurie Nationale Belge F1RWRS.

To complement the two import drivers (who would be seen as team leaders for the drivers), four native Nepali drivers were also signed, Raju Chalise, Ganesh Basnet, Asim Adhikari and Ashok Sitoula (the last being a relative of technical director Vishal Sitoula). While the young Nepali drivers have little racing experience, they have been taught to drive fast in one of the most unforgiving settings imaginable - the Himalayas. Only time will tell if these experiences will transfer to the racetrack.

The season got off to a brilliant start for the team, with Seron, Chalise and Basnet leading the car to a memorable debut victory against the odds at Indianapolis. The other vehicle unfortunately was not classified after losing nearly 100 laps due to mechanical faults, but it was clear the team had potential to win the championship. This was ratified in the following race in Canada, with an impressive second victory for the #8, with the other vehicle making the podium in 3rd and giving the team a strong lead in the championship.

The following race at Spa looked set for another dominant performance, but Seron, Chalise and Basnet could not match the pace of their rivals and only managed 3rd place; the first SARS race that hadn't resulted in a Himalayas victory. Seron, Chalise and Basnet tied up the drivers' championship with 2nd place at the Czech Republic, with the other car taking another podium in 3rd place. Unfortunately the team couldn't take the constructor's championship in Japan, putting in their worst performance to date with 7th and a retirement.

2017 Le Mans Cup

The team quickly confirmed they would be returning in 2017 to contest the Le Mans Cup, with a revitalised driver. Laurent Seron and Renaldo Jiménez's services would be retained, along with Nepali drivers Raju Chalise and Ganesh Basnet. To partner them, the team took on Indian driver Chacko Palaniappan, and the experienced Australian Will Davison.

Racing Results

Siemens Ausdauer Reject Series

Year	Chassis	Engine	#	Drivers	NC	1	2	3	4	5	TC	Pts
2016	Kailash-01	Hyundai			GBR	USA	CAN	BEL	CZE	JAP	2nd	4500
			8	Laurent Seron Raju Chalise Ganesh Basnet	Ret	1 231/231	1 221/221	3 138/139	2 186/186	8 255/262
			9	Renaldo Jiménez Asim Adhikari Ashok Sitoula	1 197/197	NC 111/231	3 219/221	Ret 17/139	3 186/186	Ret 43/139

Non-championship events