Growth Of Motorsports In India

History Early Beginnings Current Position Some Challenges Faced Future

HISTORY

The first Indian Road Race was held in 1904 by the Motor Union of Western India and it ran from Delhi to Mumbai. When motor sport made its advent, well before World War II broke out, it was largely unorganized. In the morass of an unorganized sport, a few clubs took birth - The Madras Motor Sports Club, the MG Car Club in Mumbai and the Bangalore Motor Sports Club

EARLY BEGINNINGS

The Federation Of Motor Sports Club of India was formed it 1971. It was recognised as the official body of control of motor sports in India. It was recognised by the government only after 15 years. The south of India has been considered the cradle of motor sport in the country.

CURRENT POSITION
Currently there are various forms of professional racing taking place in the country like rallying, supercross, single seater racing and go karting. Today not only do we have a world class racing circuit made by the Jaypee Group but also a formula 1 team i.e. Sahara Force India thanx to Vijay Mallya. We also have two Formula 1 drivers now.

SOME CHALLENGES FACED

The government classifies motorsports as entertainment and not as a sport.

A few politicians opposed a formula 1 race being held in India claiming that it was too elite and expensive for the common man.
The government charged heavy taxes for equipment got from abroad and also created problems with the visa for a few racing drivers. Some politicans claim that in land of such disparity , so much money should not be wasted on motorsports. However no government funding has been used to host the recent F1 race .

FUTURE
Apart from a Formula 1 race , India may soon be a host for other categories like Motogp , GP2 and the V8 Supercar series.

Also another series called the i1 Super series which is to begin from next year .

CONCLUSION
Coming from very humble beginnings and while not getting much support from the government, motorsports in India has achieved a lot. With corporate money and sponsorship coming into motorsports, the future of the motorsports looks very bright .

REFERENCES

www.wikipedia.com www.google.in www.fmsci.in www.formula1.com