A cool breeze inside Pune’s Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex blew away the dirt in the air which was replaced by high fives, gaiety hooting and the noise of celebration with the organisers, team owners and riders hugging and congratulating each other.
The last weekend of January saw around 10,000 fans get enthralled, gasping at the sight of motorbikes kicking up dirt and jumping steeply as the Indian Supercross Racing League (ISRL) made its debut.
A couple of weeks prior, Harith Noah was welcomed with garlands, the beating of drums and a huge entourage at the Kochi airport as the 31-year-old returned from Saudi Arabia as the best Indian finisher at the dangerous Dakar Rally, clinching an incredible 11th position.
January proved to be a landmark month with the niche Indian motorsports community achieving two of the biggest highs. But sadly, it was also witness to one of its nadirs when Formula E announced the cancellation of its Hyderabad race.
Brought in with a lot of pomp and show in 2023, Formula E only saw one race in India before getting entangled in the web of politics. A four-year contract, signed between the organisers of the electric car racing championship, promoters Ace Nxt Gen and the previous Telangana government, was not fulfilled.
Though the race, held in February last year, itself wasn’t without hiccups, it ran into further trouble when the promoters pulled the plug as they weren’t able to fulfil their financial obligations.
The final nail in the coffin was when Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), the party which played a significant role in getting the FIA World Championship to India, lost the Telangana assembly elections in December and Congress came to power. Discussions between Formula E and the new government did not progress, leading to the cancellation of the race.
The development mirrors the unceremonious exit of Formula 1 from Indian shores after three races (2011 to 2013) due to tax, bureaucratic and financial hassles. “It affects the reputation (of India). It is not nice for fans or the structure of the sport (in India) to be missing out on such global events because it brings in a lot of interest, especially from the corporate side. It helps corporate to wake up and see other sports apart from cricket,” says rally great Gaurav Gill.
While the reasons for cancellation of both events were different in nature, some of the common denominators are finances and the cobweb of politics and bureaucracy.
“Our country is a very politically volatile environment for anybody. The minute governments change, your neck is on the chopping block, except cricket that seems to survive the test of times. Governments need to understand that these are investments where you get viewership. We should use it as a marketing and advertising platform,” said Vicky Chandhok, former president of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) who had played a key role in getting F1 to India.
“For international events, there are hassles bringing cars and bikes into the country. That itself is the first big hurdle. The minute you start regarding it as part of your hardware that is needed, only then will the attitude change. It is easy to organise an international rally or race but most difficult to get carnets and temporary import documents. The paperwork and bureaucracy, to overcome that is the biggest challenge that puts international people off.”
Politics and bureaucracy come in where permissions are concerned. For example, the support of local authorities is vital for Formula E which, unlike racing series held on purpose-built tracks, is run on street circuits inside a city for which many arterial roads need to be blocked.
“The promoter or rights holder would have to factor in if there is an election during the course of the contract. They would need to know how it binds another government that comes into power. It all depends on how the contracts are established. While signing long-term deals, you must factor in the ability to sustain the entire impact of running such an event,” says FMSCI president Akbar Ebrahim.
The model in India is also different. In West Asian nations like Saudi Arabia, Bahrain or Qatar, the state itself is the promoter which completely rules out political, legal, bureaucratic, financial or administrative hurdles. Europe, for example, is the epicentre of motorsports with most countries having established norms and structures that have run successfully for decades. Since European borders are open, transport of both machinery and personnel is also a non-issue.
Then comes the all-important financial angle with sustainability, most of the times, boiling down to deep pockets. These events run on a typical business model with a local promoter signing a deal with the commercial rights holder and then seeking permissions and help from local authorities to hold such an event.
“Sustainability is more from the financial side. These are highly expensive events. Contracts don’t get fulfilled or promoters exit because their evaluations don’t work out. After getting into it is when they find out there are so many things that hadn’t been factored in and is way beyond what they had budgeted. That is when the issues come for the promoter. You don’t know how hot or cold the water is until you get into the pool,” says Ebrahim.
MotoGP became the third global motorsport world championship to enter the Indian market with its first race held at the Buddh International Circuit (BIC) in September 2023. Like all other major motorsport events in India, the race too faced several issues, including most teams and riders not being issued visas on time. But the race eventually went ahead successfully with most riders enjoying the 5km circuit. “All events have to face operational hazards. There will always be hiccups and niggles in operations which are challenged and overcome,” added Ebrahim.
But Fairstreet Sports, the promoters of MotoGP in India, have a huge advantage that neither Formula 1 or Formula E had – the same political party both at the centre and state which in this case is Uttar Pradesh. “That made life easier. Hopefully, fingers crossed MotoGP will run again this year but you never know till the last minute,” adds Chandhok, who if the father of Karun Chandhok – the only Indian to drive both in F1 and Formula E.
Also, racing motorbikes, rather than cars, are far more convenient in India which is the world’s largest motorcycle market. All MotoGP manufacturers – Yamaha, Honda, KTM, Ducati and Aprilia – had expressed their eagerness to come and race in India which is a huge market for them.
Also, the lower cost of operations and the easy availability of bikes are other reasons why bike racing can thrive in India. An enthusiast can easily get interested and also afford to buy a bike seeing his favourite team – whether Honda, Yamaha or Ducati – win races on track.
“It is much easier to spend money on bikes and go riding or racing. Hundreds can afford to buy bikes but only one out of 100 can buy a rally car. The cost of rallying on bikes is one-tenth of rallying in cars. Two-wheeler is a great tool to get to the masses. Had ISRL been a league for rallying, it would never have taken up like this,” said Gill, who co-owns Gujarat Trailblazers, one of ISRL’s six franchises.
