After The Success Of iifa And IPL, India To Host F1 Race
This year’s Formula One championship is heating up with every passing day. Just at the moment when the race teams and the constructors are putting in all their efforts towards the battle of the titles the organizers have devoted equal attention towards the planning and scheduling of the upcoming season of 2011. Among several other changes that are expected to take place next year a major one is the addition of India in the Formula One calendar.
The first Delhi Grand Prix is expected to take place next year on the tracks of Delhi, the Indian capital, one of the fastest developing countries of the world.
A big dilemma to deal with during the initial planning of the event is the pricing of the tickets. One of the clues to fix the price is decided to watch the upcoming October Commonwealth Games closely which could provide a guideline to the organizers about the interest of the local people in global sporting events.
The Formula One brand is a racing event that is widely claimed to be one of its types as despite the fact that Indy 500 or NASCAR etc had been able to claim much fan following in past few years but still the global appeal that Formula One had been able to maintain is still unmatched.
The Jaypee Group which is involved in building the Delhi track which lies around 20 miles away from the city centre are very cautious as they set the ticket price. They are of the opinion that the price range is very crucial in attracting the interest of the locals as well as of race lovers form other parts of the world. The organisers have so far promised to release 25,000 tickets for general spectators, ranging at around £20, however, they seem positive that they can even set prices equivalent to that of IPL for the remaining 150,000 seats.
The organisers were excited to learn that the Delhi’s drivers knew very well about the car races, the way the roads are built around here resemble rally track which is thought to excite as well as challenge the skills of Formula One drivers.
All the countries that are developing fast are very much interested in hosting major sporting events in order to showcase their emerging competitiveness as well as to improve their international image along with encouraging tourism and sponsorship in their countries.
Well, as per the early estimates Delhi is thinking of the event to be really big and it is expected that the spectators can reach upto175, 000. The track envelops the second biggest grandstand which can hold up to 29,000 people whereas the biggest one is at China’s Grand Prix track.
Currently there is monsoon season in Delhi, and the track is yet to be laid but once the rainy season is over, proposals are to sent away to asphalt the entire area.
Well, this is something alarming for the race organisers as the Grand Prix is scheduled to take place in October 2011 that means two monsoons to go before the next year’s race which can result in the ticket prices being the least of the organisers’ concerns.
The history of the Indian Grand Prix is already very shaky even before it has started. The idea of a grand race in India first came up in 1997 when it was supposed to be held in Kolkata; however Hyderabad signed a seven-year deal in 2003 to showcase it there. However, it was then Mumbai that obstructed that arrangement; it neither won any contract itself nor let the interested cities like Bangalore and Lucknow to be successful.
Finally in the year 2009 after several rounds of negotiations with the Indian Olympic Association Delhi was finalised as the event host.
Well! There is only a year to go and a lot many final arrangements are yet to be made. Let us see if India will be able to make the event as big as its iifa or IPL or will the race’s future would be ....
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