FEBRUARY 15, 2011

Indian GP on schedule

Construction of the track for the inaugural Indian Grand Prix is on schedule.

FIA race director Charlie Whiting visited the facility this past week and was reportedly pleased with the progress. The 5.14 km track is being built 35 km from New Delhi for the race scheduled to take place on October 30th - subject to passing final inspections later in the year.

Recent major sporting events in India have been plagued with construction delays, and last year's Commonwealth games came under criticism for the poor state of the facilities.

President of the Federation of Motorsports Clubs of India (FMSCI) Vicky Chandhok, speaking to Reuters said, "The track is well ahead of schedule. He [Whiting] was very pleased. He liked the track and was impressed by the progress made so far. He suggested some changes which will be incorporated to encourage overtaking."

Managing Director of JPSI, Sameer Gaur, said, "The progress since Charlie's last visit has been fairly rapid and all of us including Mr. Whiting are very pleased with the way things stand at the moment and we are looking forward to the first Indian GP. The JPSIL F1 track will be complete ahead of schedule!"