Slow burner F4 night street race sets Chennai streets afire
The brief show on Saturday was a teaser for Chennai, which lapped up the hype behind South Asia’s first night street race that was being held on its streets.
The night street race, first such event in South Asia, electrified the atmosphere in the heart of Chennai on Sunday (Photo: Manivasagan.N)
CHENNAI: Legal issues, track certification delay, change of corners, traffic diversion - the inaugural night street race in Chennai had hurdle after hurdle hurling at it. But they all fell by the wayside, a challenge so distant that it was not even visible on the rearview mirror when the action finally began on Sunday night.
The brief show on Saturday was a teaser for Chennai, which lapped up the hype behind South Asia’s first night street race that was being held on its streets. However, even after clearing the hurdles, it was not a smooth ride on the second day. The practice session was delayed, with the Formula LGB cars starting little past 11 00 am.
But by the time spectators made their way to the stands in the afternoon, the excitement around the event reached its peak with whooshing cars burning the rubber and setting the road-turned-track on fire in the qualifying rounds.
At the golden hours of the evening, the F4 cars buzzing around the track made it a visual treat for the large crowd that assembled here.
The atmosphere was further electrified when celebrity team owners like John Abraham, Naga Chaitanya, Arjun Kapoor, and Sourav Ganguly made their way to the pitstop to greet their teams and crew members. Also present was Minister of Youth Welfare and Sports Udhayanidhi Stalin, who faced political flak for being keen on organising the event.
Meanwhile, when the real race started, Hugh Barter, who showed great dominance in round one of the Indian Racing League in Irungattukottai last week, continued his stellar performance by taking the pole position and winning the inaugural Formula 4 street race.