Chennai, Sep 6 - India's opening batsman Gautam Gambhir test drove the spanking new 1600cc Formula Ford car during the luncheon break at the Petronas Asia Road Racing Championship, here Sunday.

Gambhir, who was signed up as MRF's brand ambassador last week, took the racing car on a full lap of the MMRT track.

The 1600cc single-seater car was launched in 2007 as part of a new series that MRF had envisioned. However, for various reasons, the series never got off the ground, but the Chennai-based tyre company stated that the Formula Ford championship would be flagged off later this year.