Night races after evaluation tests: Chandhok
Chennai, 21 July 2019: Confirming that night races, the first in India, at the MMRT circuit here were definitely on, Vicky Chandhok, the Chairman of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship and vice-president of MMSC, said the club has earmarked funds to install floodlights at the FIA certified Grade 2 track.
Speaking to the Media here today on the sidelines of the third round of the National car racing championship, Chandhok said: “A very professional lighting expert has given us a quote of Rs.16 Crores do up the lights just like the Singapore circuit. But we are going for low lighting just like they have at Le Mans. We are planning to install basic lighting that can help the Marshals and Officials see the incidents on track so that they make sure that `no one is injured’. Safety is one aspect which I and everyone at the Club, are very particular,”
To this end, the MMSC has scheduled a “test run” on August 7 between 6 pm and 11 pm to evaluate the possibility of full-fledged night races in the near future, he affirmed.
Chandhok, the former president of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs in India, said the Club planned to upgrade many facilities at the MMRT and was keen on taking the green path. On the anvil is a Solar Park to support their needs while a huge compost pit would come up soon.
“In the long-run, we would like to host a lot of Endurance races and we are also planning to upgrade the track to support racing in the anti-clockwise direction which needs about 56 changes to the track,’’ the veteran administrator who brought F1 to India, said.
“At MMSC, we have always set the standards. But we will be very conscious of safety. On August 7, we have night testing and once the evaluation process goes through, we will decide if we need more lighting and we will definitely have night races starting with saloon cars,’’ he added.
