After what felt like an eternity, the view of the cars shining under the floodlights and zooming past for a quick lap on the Chennai Formula Racing Circuit was a sight for very sore eyes.
On Saturday morning, everything looked like it was going as per schedule. Just ahead of Napier Bridge, drivers were seen taking a lap of the circuit on foot, security personnel, police officers and many others were being briefed and some spectators were too were in attendance to see the spectacle of a car race in their backyard.
However, the sight of drivers boarding a bus back to the hotel caught everyone off guard. There were whispers of the session being delayed but with a guarantee that it would resume within a ‘while’. On the other side of circuit, work was on in full pace to implement the recommendations from the FIA’s inspecting official.
A while became a few hours, triggering a lot of confusion among the personnel who were unaware of the developments. Members of the media couldn’t access the track, police officers were unable to let people through and there was plenty of miscommunication all around. A number of fans who had purchased grandstand tickets were not happy with the lack of action and the information overall.
A little past 7 PM, the inaugural session was flagged off by Udhayanidhi Stalin, Tamil Nadu’s Minister of Youth Development and Sports, with just four hours left for the day to close.
The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), the world body for car racing, held back its go-ahead for the circuit after identifying a few areas that needed more work. | Photo Credit: B. Jothi Ramalingam
It took a couple of hours after that, however, for the first practice session to begin - at 9:10 PM, the pit signal finally turned green. Indian Racing League (IRL) and Formula 4 Indian Championship (F4IC) drivers quickly made their way to the TV screen in the pit at the sound of the FLGB cars firing up.
None of this, however, stopped the people in the pits - the mechanics. They continued to work on their cars, despite the humid weather, in anticipation of seeing their contenders get on track as soon as possible.
This significant delay was almost seven hours long that pushed back the first session. The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), the world body for car racing, held back its go-ahead for the circuit after identifying a few areas that needed more work. While the track’s license was issued a few days back, a few modifications were recommended to be completed before sessions began over the weekend.
In focus were turns 10 and 19. These two corners were on either end of Swami Sivananda Salai. Turn 10 is near the Periyar Statue on Anna Salai and swerves into Swami Sivananda Salai. Turn 19 is where the circuit turns back into the final straight.
Turn 19’s barriers were removed and reprofiled. A median had to be broken and the alignment of the barrier had to be tweaked. Turn 10 which is right in front of the Omandurar Government Hospital. The barriers were wider here with a larger run-off space but that had to be changed to allow better movement of ambulances into the hospital.
A dog was spotted running into the race track and was quickly removed. | Photo Credit: R RAVINDRAN
After what seemed like forever, the cars were able to get a feel of the track that was kept from them for hours after the scheduled start. While things smoothened out towards the end of the day, it was far from seamlessly at the beginning.
At first glance, the lit-up streets of Chennai looked stunning with the sound of engines echoing around Island Grounds.
It was almost like cinema. The floodlights were on, the tracks were clear and all that was left was for the cars to get going.
And get going they did, as the Indian Racing Festival (IRF) was given the green signal to go ahead with Round 2 at the circuit.
One cannot deny that a few hiccups and challenges were expected during this maiden endeavour, but it can be said that the sights and sounds that beheld those who waited endlessly were worth it.
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