Chennai Formula Racing Circuit is a

Formula racing Formula racing (known as open-wheel racing in North America) is any of several forms of open-wheeled single-seater motorsport. The origin of the term lies in the nomenclature that was adopted by the FIA for all of its post-World War II single ...

street circuit in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of ...

, India.

Background

Racing Promotions Private Limited, the organisers of the

Indian Racing League The Indian Racing League (formerly known as the X1 Racing League) is an auto racing championship based in India. It is unrelated to the proposed i1 Super Series that was based on a similar idea. History It is co-founded by Indian professional ...

and

F4 Indian Championship F4 Indian Championship is a single-seater motorsport series based in India. The series is run to the FIA's Formula 4 regulations and organized by Racing Promotions Pvt Ltd. The inaugural season will be held in 2023. The winner of the series e ...

, conceived a street circuit in

and in collaboration with the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT), formally launched the circuit on August 16. It is the second

street circuit A street circuit is a motorsport racing circuit composed of temporarily closed-off public roads of a city, town or village, used in motor races. Airport runways and taxiways are also sometimes part of street circuits. Facilities such as the ...

in India after

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

, which hosted the

Formula E Formula E, officially the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, is a single-seater motorsport championship for electric cars. The series was conceived in 2011 in Paris by FIA president Jean Todt and Spanish businessman Alejandro Agag, w ...

race in 2023. The Circuit is scheduled to host the first-ever night street race. The track will host the IRL round and the F4 Indian Championship round on 9 and 10 December 2023.

Tamil Nadu government partnership

As part of the Memorandum of Understanding, signed between Youth Welfare and Sports Development Minister

Udhayanidhi Stalin Udhayanidhi Stalin (born 27 November 1977) is an Indian film producer, actor, and politician who prominently works in the Tamil cinema. He is the Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports Development of Tamil Nadu in the ministry led by his father, ...

on behalf of the Tamil Nadu state government and the IRL promoters Racing Promotions Private Limited (RPPL) for a period of three years, the TN government will fund Indian Rs. 42 crores, while RPPL will invest Rs. 200 crores. SDAT, has also tied up with the

Greater Chennai Corporation The Greater Chennai Corporation, formerly known as the Corporation of Madras (1688-1996) and Corporation of Chennai (1996-2016), is the civic body that governs the city of Chennai in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Inaugurated on 29 September ...

(GCC) and the

Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), formerly known as the Madras Metropolitan Development Authority (MMDA), is the nodal planning agency of Chennai in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The CMDA administers the Chennai Metropo ...

(CMDA), to take up the work. The first tranche of Rs. 15 crores were presented by SDAT at a special event in Chennai on 13 October 2023. The president of the

Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India The Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India, abbreviated as FMSCI, is the governing body for motor sports in India and was founded in 1971. It is a long-standing member of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) and Fédérat ...

(FMSCI)

Akbar Ebrahim Akbar Ebrahim (born 14 December 1963) is an accomplished Indian motorsports driver. He is the first Indian to take part in an international race when he participated in the Formula 2 Britain. He is currently the President of the Federation of Mot ...

, Akhilesh Reddy, chairman and MD of RPPL and

Armaan Ebrahim Armaan Ebrahim (born 17 May 1989) is a car Auto racing, racer from Chennai, India. He is the son of the ex-Indian Formula Three, F3 champion Akbar Ebrahim. Career Ebrahim started his career in karting and became Formula LGB Champion in 2004. He ...

, one of the directors of RPPL, were present during the signing of the MoU in Chennai.

Track

The circuit will be long around the Island grounds. It starts from Island grounds and will run through Flag Staff Road-Victory War Memorial, Pallavan Road (junction), Sivananda Road and Napier Bridge and ends at Island grounds. It has significant elevation changes, and it runs about from the Bay of Bengal, within the view of Marina Beach. The street circuit will run in an anti-clockwise direction and has 19 corners with multiple chicanes. The pitlane and paddock will be on the Island Ground. It is designed by Driven International, the group which built the

Hyderabad Street Circuit Hyderabad Street Circuit is a street circuit laid out on the city streets of Hyderabad, Telangana, India. The track will be set up in and around the Secretariat Complex and will go through Lumbini Park, situated on the banks of Hussain Sagar L ...

that hosted India's first

race.

FIA FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used. Fia or FIA may also refer to: People * Fia Backs ...

(International Automobile Federation), the international governing body for motorsport is expected to homologate the track and give green signal before the first race in December.

References

Motorsport venues in Tamil Nadu Sports venues in Chennai 2023 establishments in India {{Autoracing-venue-stub