The organisers of the i1 Super Series are in a race against time with just under a month to go for the scheduled shakedown in Dubai on December 19. The engines of the Radical SR3 Sportscars will be fired up in a two-day test in a preparation for the much-awaited single-make series that kick starts on January 9 at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.
M. Darshan, CEO of Machdar Motorsport who promotes the IPL-style event, says all the 18 cars and drivers will be present for the Dubai test. “The series is well on track and the teams and drivers line up will be finalised within a week,” said Darshan.
Darshan said the teams would pick the drivers in an NBA-style lottery draft. “There will be no auction. The team that wins the lottery through the lots would get to select its international driver first and it would be the last to pick the local driver. It will ensure a level-playing field,” informed Darshan.
Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan was the first to be confirmed as a franchisee owner when he bought the Mumbai team. Business guru Arindam Chaudhuri sealed the deal for Delhi, while actor Nagarjuna and hotelier Arjun Baljee bought the Hyderabad and Bengaluru franchisees respectively. The owners of the Chennai, Pune, Chandigarh, Kolkata and Ahmedabad will be revealed in the coming days.
Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok, who have already given a letter of intent, will be considered international drivers for their F1 experience, while Armaan Ebrahim, Parthiva Sureshwaren, Aditya Patel, Gaurav Gill, Vishnu Prasad, Zaamin Jaffer (based in Dubai), Ashwin Sundar and Parth Ghorpade are expected to figure in the local roster.
Chennai alternate venue
The Buddh International Circuit is scheduled to host the second race of the i1 series on January 15, but the owners Jaypee Group recently announced that the track would remain closed for maintenance till the end of March next year. “We are waiting for official confirmation from Sameer Gaur. It’s important to have a race in India in the inaugural year, so we are looking at Chennai as a back-up venue. As the Irungattukottai track doesn’t have FIA’s Grade-3 certificate — mandatory to run our cars — we are exploring the possibility of developing facilities there to get the licence,” Darshan explained.
In motorsport, handling logistics is a nightmare. From getting immigration clearance to shipment of equipment, organising a racing weekend is a tedious process. Darshan is well aware of the problems.
“We began the groundwork a long time ago. We have hired a German firm to handle our logistics. Having handled Audi, BMW and also Formula One, they have vast experience in handling motorsport logistics,” Darshan added.
The organisers are also expecting final clearance from motorsport’s international ruling body (FIA) in a couple of days. “We have already received NOCs from the national federations of UAE, Malaysia, Bahrain and India for conducting the races and submitted those documents to the FIA. We are expecting a final word from them after the World Motorsports Council meeting,” Darshan added.