Abbas-Mustan thriller fans won't have to wait much longer as the sequel to the 2008 blockbuster Race is ready for its release, scheduled for 25th January, 2013.

After several deliberations, director duo Abbas-Mustan, producers UTV Motion Pictures and Ramesh Taurani of Tips zeroed in on the release date of the film.

Confirms Producer Ramesh Taurani, " Race 2 releases January 25th next year. We felt it was just the right date to release our film."

Having gone on floors earlier this year, the highly-anticipated action thriller from the house of Tips completed its second schedule through the month of Jan-Feb with starcast Anil Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, John Abraham, Deepika Padukone, Jacqueline Fernades and Amisha Patel.

Says director Abbas, " Race 2 is in the same genre and will be made on a grand scale as the original. We will be shooting in Turkey and Cyprus next. The story has plenty of twists and turns and every character will have gray shades.”

Adds producer Ramesh Taurani, “We shot for the second schedule of the film from 23rd Jan to 24th Feb. It took off smoothly and the star-cast has been accommodating throughout. We are very excited and hope to make Race 2 bigger and better than the original.”

In spite of being a multi-starrer, sources confirm that the shoots went off smoothly and everyone on board was accommodating given their excitement over the film.