FIA gives green light to conduct F4 street race after delay in acquiring licence

CHENNAI: South Asia’s inaugural night street race which was set for a grand opening here at the Chennai Formula Racing Circuit, saw a five-hour delayed start due to the proceedings pertaining to the changes suggested by the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) on the track.

The first division bench of the Madras High Court directed the organisers, Racing Promotion Private Limited, (RPPL) not to hold the event without obtaining the mandatory certification from the governing body FIA.

The first practice session, which was scheduled to start at 1:45 pm was cancelled by the organisers due to the changes suggested by the FIA on turn 19 of the circuit, which is the last corner coming to the Napier Bridge.

The showers in the city on Friday evening took a toll on the organisers who were not able to get the track up-and-ready for inspection at 11 am on Saturday morning. The team of experts from the governing body suggested changes that resulted in the delay of certification acquirement.

It left the drivers who showed up to the circuit in morning to return to their hotels. With some local drivers staying on the grid, the others came to the circuit only around 5 pm for the drivers’ briefing regarding the changes made on the track.

The RPPL was supposed to submit the track approval document to the court by 12 noon, but later they requested the High Court for an extension to submit the certification. With the division bench of Justice R Suresh Kumar and Justice PB Balaji extending the time till 8pm, the track got the FIA Grade 3 licence which is valid till 2027.

Minister of Youth Welfare and Sports, Udhayanidhi Stalin flagged off the event at around 7pm for the Formula 4 cars to zoom through the streets for the very first time.