Deccan Chargers launch F1 ticket sale

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Deccan Chargers captain Kumar Sangakkara kicked off ticket sales for the second edition of the Grand Prix of India when he was formally handed a replica for the October 28 race at the Buddh International Circuit here on Tuesday.

With the first edition of India’s maiden Formula One GP a raging success, Jaypee Sports Internati-onal chief executive Sameer Gaur presented Kumar Sangakkara and team-mates Dale Steyn, J.P, Duminy, Shikhar Dhawan and Parthiv Patel with formal invitations to the event.

The five Chargers’ men were also given a taste of a Formula One track — a first-time experience for them all — as they were driven around the 5.14 km track in a posse of Mercedes SUVs for three laps to give them a taste of life at high speed.

To give more motorsport enthusiasts a chance to watch an F1 race, JPSI has increased the seating capacity by almost 2,000 to a total of just under a hundred thousand seats from this season onwards.

And while the minimum ticket price for the three-day action-packed event has been pegged at Rs 3,500 for what used to be the Picnic and Natural stands, seats in the 20,000-plus seater main grand stand have been reduced by Rs 5,000 to Rs 30,000 per head, inclusive of a certain amount of catering.

Asked why ticket sales had started to early this time, Gaur said the idea was to give people more opportunity and time to plan their vacations around that time to India,

“Many people did not get an opportunity to buy tickets last year. That is why this time we have started sales early so that they can plan their vacations well in advance,” said Gaur.

He also promised better facilities at the venue. “We have taken notes of all the feedback we got last year and have worked on those. Facilities at BIC had been improved further and you can look forward to a far more entertaining F1 race this year.

We’re also trying to bring some other international races to BIC, details of which will be announced soon. We are trying to have at least four events,” said Gaur.

He was however reticent on the anticipated arrival of World Superbike and MotoGP action in India.
“The window is just about five months, between October and February when we can host such events so we are looking to maximise events as well as earnings.

“But I assure you there will be news very soon on more events here,” Gaur added.