India is a fast-growing nation, in terms of economy, industry, population, and technology. It is also growing rapidly in auto racing. In October of 2011, Formula One will bring its cars and stars to Delhi for the 2011 Indian Grand Prix.
The 5.1 km, 16-turn track, designed initially by Hermann Tilke and modified in response to driver feedback from simulator laps, will be fast and challenging, says Mark Hughes, vice president of JPSK Sports, the Jaypee Group subsidiary in charge of constructing the all-new circuit near Delhi.
“We have shared the design with some of the Formula One teams to put it into their simulators,” Hughes told Formula1.com, “and they have come back with some recommendations on how to modify it to make it a little more exciting.
Making the track exciting has been a huge undertaking. In order to avoid a pan-flat track (a criticism laid on the Abu Dhabi and Bahrain circuits), the builders moved 4 million tons of earth to create hills.
“Between Turn 1 and Turn 3 the track goes up by 14 meters and it goes into a blind crest,” Hughes explained. “Turn 10 is going to be very similar to Turn 8 in Turkey, a very long turn. I think the drivers are going to find it a good challenge.”
Hughes was involved with building the F1 tracks in Abu Dhabi and Bahrain, countries with no motor racing at all. India has an advantage he says, because there is some racing there already.“One benefit in India is that there are two club circuits and there has been some club racing. Volkswagen has recently launched a Polo Cup there, so we do have some motorsport. In Bahrain it was the first track in the Middle East.”
Hughes says another benefit is Indian enthusiasm for sports. “One thing that we will see is a lot of Indian enthusiasm. If you go to any major sports event in India, like cricket or the Commonwealth Games, you see a lot of people and a lot of patriotism. Everyone is wearing Indian-branded clothing, waving Indian flags, and has the Indian national colors painted on their faces. There are very few countries in the world that are as passionate as India when it comes to sport.
“This is why Formula One is coming to India. India has the fastest growing middle class in the world. Also the average age in India is much lower than anywhere else. The technical side of India is growing very fast. Even India’s largest infrastructure companies are very interested in working at the circuit.”
Force India: The Home Team
With Formula One spreading across Asia, it makes sense that India would want to join China and Korea in hosting a Grand Prix. After all, India already has what neither of those nations does: a Formula One team.
Force India began life as the Jordan team in 1991, morphing into Midlands F1 Racing and then Spyker as it changed owners. In 2007, Indian businessman Vijay Mallya and Dutch investor Michiel Mol bought the team and renamed it Force India.
In 2009, driver Giancarlo Fisichella the team scored the team its first championship points with a second-place finish in the Belgian Grand Prix.
F1 has an Indian driver, too, thought he doesn’t drive for Force India. Karun Chandhok spent most of 2010 in the cockpit of the HRT Dallara.
India’s first F1 driver was Kumar Ram Narain Karthikeyan, the “Fastest Indian in the World,” as his website claims. Karthikeyan drove for Jordan in 2005, then as a test driver for Williams in 2006 and 2007.
Karthhikeyan moved on to AiGP in 2009 and ultimately to NASCAR in 2010, where he drives in the Camping World truck Series. Karthikeyan raised India’s profile in the racing world and also excited millions of Indian racing fans—most of which will never see him race unless he leaves NASCAR.c