Press Release

Racing Scene in India

24.02.2014 - Racing isnt a popular sport in India. Unless you consider the bus and taxi drivers who drive like one, Racing just isnt a popular sport like cricket.

There could me many reasons for this. India isnt really a sporting country. Here parents normally force children to study hard, performance in academics form the main goal for most children in India. Indian children mostly like cricket because it can be played anywhere and the rules are pretty simple.

F1 is normally regarded as a niche sport and the sport for the rich. Normal Indians donot have access to a racing car, only the rich do, and most of them donot venture into sports. They might buy a cricket/racing team or two but wont actually bother playing.

The main problem is having no real Indian superstar in the sport. For a short while interest in F1 had increased when Narain Karthikeyan donned the racing gear for Jordan in 2005. But Karthikeyan said he was blown away by the difference between Formula One's stragglers and a top flight team. He obviously didnt perform well and faded out of the circuit. Even India's business magnate who bought a F1 team (force India) didnt involve him in their team.

For a while Narain's involvement in the F1 arena did spark an interest in SOuthern India for the sport which eventually faded with his career.

In 2011, an F1 race finally reached Indian shores. It was greeted with an extraordinary fanfare. Top Bollywood stars and politicians queued up to attend but the development of the race since then has to be viewed as a disappointment. Ticket prices are too steep for an average Indian family and the depreciating rupee has caused this to worsen still.

ANother problem has been the government not really helping the event terming it as an entertainment rather than a sport and levying on it some additional burden of entertainment taxes. ALso the F1 race in India is privately funded and has no help from the government.

Force India had conducted several competitions and promotional events to gather crowds in the stands, but the involvement of a British-based, Indian-owned team does not seem to have the same resonance with the fans as having an Indian driver does.

I am not exactly an expert in this field but I feel a superstar Indian F1 Driver needs to emerge to stoke the flames of passion for the sport. If Karun Chandok manages to make his way to an F1 team, we might see some interest and fanbase develop.

Till then F1 will just be a sport for the rich and privileged.