New Formula 1 Track Proposed as India Expands Motorsport Ambitions

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay has proposed a 'Motor Sports City' in his state along with Olympic City, to bolster the motor racing infrastructure, with an F1 track in mind.

While India's only F1 track Buddh International Circuit is looking for a revival in the coming years via new investment from Adani Group, Tamil Nadu CM Vijay has proposed a 'Motor Sports City' in his state to add and enhance the existing onto the motorsport culture.

He proposed the same during his speech in the Assembly on Thursday under Rule 110. Apart from other proposals, the Motor Sports City got an approval from India's first-ever F1 driver Narain Karthikeyan after he re-shared the speech on his Instagram handle.

No more details has been laid out by Vijay, but only a proposal to create a world-class facility that will not just house F1, but also the feeder competitions like Formula 2, Formula 3 and Formula 4. Basically, he wants to create a hub of racing in Tamil Nadu.

This will include race tracks and world class training facilities, to tap and develop young talent to compete at national and international levels in the time to come. Tamil Nadu already houses FIA Grade 2 & Grade 4 circuits in Chennai and Coimbatore, repsectively.

Both the Madras Motor Race Track in Chennai and Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore runs Indian national events and has hosted international events like F4 South East Asia and Asia Road Racing Championship (two-wheeler racing).

Vijay highlighted Tamil Nadu's leading capacity in production of four-wheel and two-wheel cars. In fact, the MMRT circuit is opposite to a huge Hyundai facility. Even for motor racing, he noted about key manufacturing units are based near KMS circuit.

He wants to tap on the potential and provide greater facilities for youngsters, whether as racers and or mechanics/engineers, to practice their skills and represent India at the larger stage. It is to be seen if the city will be an extension to Olympic City.

While the proposal is in place, it will be too early to jump on the F1 bandwagon just yet. Even the return of Indian GP to BIC seems like 2-3 years away while Adani Group battles out for ownership. There are positive indications, but still in discussions stage.