It’s official. India will host its first Formula 1 Grand Prix on October 30, 2011. The announcement came following an extraordinary meeting of the World Motor Sport Council in Paris on Wednesday. The addition of the Indian GP to the F1 calendar will make 2011 a 20-race season, the longest in the history of Formula 1. According to FIA deadlines, the track needs to be completed by July 30 and subject to FIA homologation it will get a go-ahead.
The 5.14-km race track, located on the outskirts of Greater Noida (35km from Delhi) is being built by Noida-based Jaypee Sports International (JPSI) and designed by German racetrack designer Hermann Tilke who has designed F1 circuits in Malaysia, Bahrain, China, Turkey, UAE and South Korea. According to Mark Hughes, vice-president (operations), JPSI, the track will be among the top five in the world as far as average speed is concerned. The average time per lap is expected to be around 1 minute 24 secs. The track will have straights, quick corners and elevation changes. Hughes assures that the track will be ready by May 31. FIA delegates will then inspect the safety conditions of the circuit along with the nature of the track surface.
The track, which is being built on a budget of $350 million, will have a spectator capacity of 1,00,000 to 1,20,000 and won’t be restricted to Formula 1 races alone. It is being built in such a way so as to accomodate Moto GP and Superbike races in the future.
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