Night races a possibility at MMRT, says Chandhok

Night races a possibility at MMRT, says Chandhok

SRIPERUMBUDUR: Vicky Chandhok, the Chairman of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Car Racing Championship and Vice President of the MMSC, confirmed that night races at the MMRT circuit were definitely a possibility soon. This will be the first of its kind in India, and Chandhok said the club has earmarked funds to install floodlights at the FIA certified Grade 2 track.

To evaluate the possibility of full-fledged night races in the near future, the MMSC has scheduled a test run on August 7th between 6 pm and 11 pm. 

Speaking on the sidelines of the second round of the National car racing championship, Chandhok said: “A very professional lighting expert has given us a quote of Rs 16 crore to up the lights just like the Singapore circuit. But we are going for a 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.”

Chandhok 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 that would come with the installation of lighting facilities, while a huge compost pit would also 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.

“We will definitely have night races starting with saloon cars,’’ he added, stressing that he isn’t thinking beyond the evaluation process at the moment.

His son and former Formula 1 racer, Karun, will be key to the evaluation process, Chandhok said. He confirmed that Karun’s experience racing at Le Mans combined with other international experience will be very helpful to their cause.

Chandhok added that he’s excited to see the timings the drivers can clock in the night session as compared to the day, optimistic that they could be faster, and that cooler conditions at night will be a welcome change at the MMRT.

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