Indian Racing League gives people of Hyderabad a taste of race cars in their backyard

HYDERABAD: The keenly awaited Indian Racing League (IRL) came rumbling to the city on Saturday for the first time and the atmosphere on the Hyderabad Street Circuit was nothing short of electric as racers driving Wolf Racing’s GB08 Thunder cars gave the locals their first taste of a major motorsport event.

A racing event organised on NTR Marg, turned into a city circuit, where most people on a normal day would go for an evening walk, made the event all the more special for Hyderabadis. The event demonstrated the city’s readiness to host major sports events as the arrangements made by HMDA along with Indian Racing League (IRL) and Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) appeared impeccable.

The event, which was flagged off by IT minister K.T. Rama Rao, was held on the same street circuit that will host the main Formula-E event in February. Saturday, day one of the two-day event, saw motorsport enthusiasts from the city enjoying their favourite teams racing it out on the track

Though entry on ticketing app BookMyShow showed full occupancy, the event saw a small turnout for day 1, as the makeshift stands with a capacity of about 7,500 were mostly empty. Saturday being a working day for most people was perhaps the reason for the lukewarm response.

Empty stands meant that people, mostly children, from the surrounding neighbourhoods had a gala time watching the cars flashing by. However, Day 2 of the event is likely to attract more spectators. Day 2 is when the qualifying events and the main race are scheduled to take place.

Meanwhile, lack of communication between the organisers and city police created some confusion for those who had purchased passes. While some, including senior citizens, had to wait outside the entrance for over an hour, some were being sent from one gate to another as marking of gate numbers was not clear.

Although arrangements, including the seating and food stalls were done well, some confusion that remained was ostensibly because IRL was debuting in the city.