City braces up for zip, zap zoom marathon

Dec 21, 2010 - Hemant Abhishek (The Asian Age)

All tarmacs will lead to the capital in the coming year. With the inaugural Formula 1 Indian Grand Prix slated to happen in Greater Noida tentatively in October\November next year, the recent announcement that the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) Gala Awards will also be held in the capital happened to be the icing on the cake. What makes it sweeter is the fact that the city will be first in the Asian continent to host the award that felicitates motorsport champions across many disciplines.
And Delhiites are finding it difficult to hide the excitement as the D-day approaches. Tarun Sharma, student of dentistry, avers, “I was present when Nelson Piquet Jr and Lucas de Grassi brought their Renault F1 cars to Rajpath last year. With more than a lakh viewers at the venue, one can understand how people are looking forward to the races. And once Delhi gets on the world’s F1 map, drivers and their machines will often come calling.” Seconds Sahil Gupta, student of IGNOU, “I believe Force India Formula 1 team will benefit a lot when India hosts the races, but the biggest beneficiaries will undoubtedly be Delhiites, who’ll play host to the best in the racing business.”
Hope floats that the opening of the tarmac in NCR will subsequently see floodgates opening for F1 lovers and possibly, a fresh new breed of race-car drivers in the country as well. Karun Chandhok, India’s only current driver in the big boy’s league, says, “I think seeing an F1 race live will make a huge difference. I remember the first time I saw a live Formula 1 car and for sure having an F1 race in India will pull in a whole new set of fans.”

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