Written by Vyas Ponnuri
Mother India has been no stranger to finding herself on the motorsport scene for multiple decades. The sights and sounds of the iconic Sholavaram airstrip still remain fresh, for those who witnessed racing cars take to the venue, much before the cricket fever captured the nation's eyes. DIVEBOMB counts back to ten special moments that have shaped independent India's motorsport folklore till date.....
Sholavaram — the site of an iconic racing festival
The mid-20th century witnessed the birth of an iconic racing strip. In an era when colour TVs weren't yet a thing, and motorsport fans in India wouldn't get the irresistible sight of watching icons such as Fangio, Clark, Ascari et al on their screens, they would eagerly wait for two weekends in early February to get their motorsport content for the year.
Yes, the two weekends played host to a gathering of epic proportions back then — with all types and sizes of cars and bikes flocking to this disused airfield, not too far from the major city of Madras (now Chennai).
Yet, this airfield would see enthusiasts and afficionados flock together, bringing imported racing machines to the site too.
From older-spec Formula 3 and Formula 2 cars imported by Vicky Chandhok, father of racer-turned-commentator Karun, to one Vijay Mallya, to cameo Formula One racer Tiff Needell, and Indy 500 regular Jim Crawford, this hobby racing had its fair share of glamour and star-studded grid taking part.
Still images from then reveal staggering crowds of 40,000 to 50,000 making their way to one World War II air strip, often gathering in thatched bamboo stands to witness the sight of glorious machines zooming along at staggering speeds of 300 km/h, in entertaining hobby races.
Nevertheless, Sholavaram kicked off a racing culture in India, much before the country's sensation was overshadowed by the cricket wave.
A formal body handling motorsport in India — the birth of FMSCI
Motorsport in India used to take place under the watchful eye of various regional governing bodies, who managed and controlled motor racing in their respective regions. However, 1971 saw a sea change in the way motorsport was run in the subcontinent.
An independent governing body called the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) was formed in 1971, when the regional motorsport clubs from Bangalore, Calcutta, and Coimbatore, and the Indian Automotive Racing Club joined forces to form one national independent body.
The FMSCI has been tasked with handling every domestic motorsport series running in the country, and conducting motorsport in a free and fair manner.
The body conducts the popular series such as the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC), National Rally Championship, apart from local karting tournaments. They are also responsible for conducting the newest racing series in the nation: Indian Racing League (IRL) and the Indian F4 series.
It always requires an independent, apex body to ensure smooth running of motorsports in any nation, thus the formation of the FMSCI is a crowning moment in the history of motorsport in India.
India's first permanent road course
The title of "India's first racing track" isn't attributed to the famous Sholavaram airstrip, but to a permanent facility located on the outskirts of the big city of Madras, the Madras Motor Race Track. The facility is now known as the Madras International Circuit, a title it inherited back in 2022.
Race meets used to be held at the aforementioned Sholavaram airstrip, Coimbatore, and Bangalore, before the establishment of the Madras circuit provided a common ground for motorsport events to take place, in 1988.
The 17-turn, 3.7 km (2.3 mi) circuit has remained unchanged since the circuit first broke ground, and is often a tricky course to navigate for drivers, featuring a series of quick corners along its way.
The establishment of this track only ensured the continuity of the region's love and fandom towards motorsport, carrying on the legacy of the disused airstrip at Sholavaram.
This venue is a famous haunt for various domestic racing series, with the MRF Formula 2000 and the Formula LGB 1300 series taking place regularly, whilst the Indian Touring Car National Championship too finds itself racing around the circuit every year.
The latter sees drivers race modified versions of road cars take to the track, such as the Volkswagen Polo, Ameo, as well as Honda City cars too feature in the events.
Additionally, the Madras International Circuit has also played host to the Indian F4 and the Indian Racing League in the recent past, albeit the series have taken part on shorter versions of the circuit in the inaugural running of the Indian F4 series.
The Kari way — The rise of young Indian motorsport stars
While the Madras region was witnessing plenty of motorsport activity, and had quickly blossomed into the focal point of Indian motorsport, another pioneer had been making his foray into the motorsport industry, further down in the city of Coimbatore.
Often known as the "Father of Indian Motorsports", one young Sundaram Karivardhan, better known as Kari, pioneered the Formula Maruti racing series — a championship featuring single-seaters using a one-litre, 800cc engine from India's first mass-produced car, the Maruti 800.
This led to a series named Formula Maruti being started as an affordable and frugal mode for young racers looking to take the next big step into motorsport from the grassroot level, and it saw youngsters in the form of Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok shape their racing careers along their road to Formula One.
A revolutionary, indeed, Karivardhan's mastery aided many youngsters in their quest to enter the daunting world of motorsport. Even though the Formula Maruti series was discontinued in 2006, his legacy lives on, the local circuit in the city of Coimbatore named in his honour.
Indian drivers make it to the big stage: Formula One
India's presence in the pinnacle of motorsport grew manifold in the 2000s, and one aspect driving this new wave of motorsport in the country was the arrival of an Indian racer onto the Formula One grid.
Yes, Narain Karthikeyan had penned a deal to race at Jordan for the 2005 Formula One season, alongside Portuguese racer Tiago Monteiro, the duo stepping up from the Nissan World Series in 2004.
Both drivers would famously finish third and fourth in the farcical US Grand Prix at Indianapolis, which saw only six Bridgestone-shod cars take the start after all the Michelin-shod runners pulled out on the formation lap.
Monteiro would famously take his only Formula One podium, while Karthikeyan became the first Indian racer to score points in the sport in fourth. He remains the only racer from the subcontinent to score championship points till date.
With Jordan being taken over at the end of the year, Karthikeyan's seat came under doubt, and he instead took up a role as test driver for Williams for the next two years, before venturing into stock car racing.
As fate would have it, though, Karthikeyan would eventually return to Formula One in 2011, racing for the backmarker HRT outfit for two seasons, before calling time on his Formula One career at the end of 2012, as the team folded up after only three seasons in the sport.
Another racer made it up to Formula One during the 2010s: Karun Chandhok, today a pundit for Sky Sports. He stepped up from GP2 to a race seat for HRT in 2010, despite having been linked to a Force India drive earlier. Chandhok later switched to Team Lotus in 2011, and was let go after the Japanese Grand Prix that year.
Say hello to Formula One: The birth of Force India
While the Indian Grand Prix appeared on the calendar and dropped off in a short span of time, India's presence on the Formula One stage was largely upheld by the presence of the tricolour-shod Force India cars out on the tarmac.
The emergence of an Indian Formula One team can be attributed largely down to the efforts of business supremo Vijay Mallya, who purchased a majority stake in the defunct Midland team in 2007, alongside Dutch businessman Michiel Mol, giving birth to the popular marque ahead of the 2008 season.
While Force India have been known as perennial underachievers, often finishing atop the midfield and below the front-running contenders regularly, their journey in Formula One has been punctuated by the odd podium appearance, and being famous for operating on a much lower cash budget compared to teams such as McLaren, Williams, and Renault back in the days.
A line by Mallya in Netflix's 'Formula One: Drive to Survive' highlighted the teams' financial position, given they couldn't secure the services of big names such as Fernando Alonso or Sebastian Vettel, and had to entrust their services onto younger, lesser-known names.
Nevertheless, Force India remained a strong force in Formula One up until their liquidation in mid-2018, backed up by eight podium appearances from Sergio Perez during his time with the team.
In addition to their activities on track, the Indian constructor also famously hosted the "One in a Million" talent scout programme back in 2011, an event that unearthed some famous names such as Jehan Daruvala, Kush Maini, and Arjun Maini, the trio keeping the Indian tricolour flying high today.
The Indian Grand Prix: A dream come true, albeit briefly
Perhaps the biggest "Formula One in India" moment has to be the trio of Indian Grands-Prix staged between 2011 and 2013, during one of Formula One's ever-popular V8 era.
India's aspirations to host a Formula One race had been well known ever since the turn of the
millenium, with multiple Indian cities in the running to host the showpiece event. Kolkata, Mumbai, and even a rapidly-developing Hyderabad remained in the fray, however, none of these plans materialised.
The circuits near Chennai weren't equipped with the necessary facilities to host a Formula One race, holding what was only an FIA Grade 2 rating as of the mid-2000s.
It was decided for a new venue located on the outskirts of New Delhi, in the National Capital Region, namely Gautam Buddh Nagar, would witness a multi-purpose facility built by Jaypee Group, who were looking to develop a mini sports facility at the location.
By 2011, the circuit was all set to host the inaugural Indian Grand Prix, and drivers were instantly in praise for the track layout, with reigning champion Sebastian Vettel comparing the circuit to the mighty Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, a lofty comparison for a new venue.
Vettel would go on to win the trio of Indian GP races hosted at the venue, holding a 100% win record at the Buddh International Circuit, a record that looks to stand the test of time, until Formula One returns to the subcontinent one day.
His iconic donuts on the main straight after winning the title in 2013 remains a lifelong memory for fans who witnessed the moment live, while it makes for one of the sport's many unforgettable moments. This popular moment, coupled with his win record are two major reasons for the four-time champion often being reverred by Indian motorsport fans.
While the Indian Grand Prix dropped out after tax issues and low attendance plagued the event, the sport has grown in popularity in the subcontinent in the recent past, with fans yearning for Formula One to grace Indian shores once again in the future.
Mahindra Racing and their evergreen journey in Formula E
On 13th September, 2014, ten teams and a full grid of Formula E drivers gathered at the Chinese capital of Beijing for the dawn of a new series — one that was looking to set the new trend of electric single-seater racing in the future.
One of the teams present on the inaugural Formula E grid was Mahindra Racing. The Indian manufacturer was known as a major player in the electric vehicle market back then, having sold the Reva electric car (popularly known as the G-Wiz in UK) under their brand name back in the day.
Having competed in bike racing, Formula E was the first foray into car racing for Mahindra, and the series too presented a valuable opportunity to incorporate various trends into their road cars in the future.
The team have taken five victories in their ten-season Formula E stint, whilst drivers have made a number of podium appearances donning Mahindra overalls over the past decade.
The most iconic moments in the team's history are the victories, however, cameras often used to catch a glimpse of former team principal Dilbagh Gill's famous fist-pumps, when the Mahindra cars fared well on track, be it during qualifying or the race.
A veteran in the series, Gill left the Indian manufacturer ahead of season ten, with former FIA delegate Frederic Bertrand taking over the reigns ahead of season ten.
Do keep an eye on the Mahindra Formula E cars when you tune in to a Formula E race in season eleven, so you can witness the team continue their long-standing legacy in the world of electric car racing.
Rising stars upholding India's motorsport legacy
The past few years have witnessed a rejuvenation of Indians in motorsport once again, with unheralded names steadily making their way up junior formulae, and even finding themselves across various popular motorsport series.
While Arjun Maini had a Formula 2 season to forget in 2018, the 26-year old has found more success in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) and various endurance racing series such as Asian Le Mans, European Le Mans Series, and the GT World Challenge Europe too.
His younger brother Kush currently races in Formula 2, and is best known for becoming the latest winner this year, inheriting victory after Richard Verschoor was disqualified hours after the sprint race in Hungary.
The younger Maini is also a part of the Alpine Junior Academy, and is currently being mentored by double world champion Mika Hakkinen in 2024. He also serves as a reserve driver for Mahindra's Formula E outfit.
Speaking of Formula E, a driver who raced in the series in 2023 is none other than Jehan Daruvala. The Indian racer moved from a seat at MP Motorsport in F2 to a Maserati seat for season ten alongside Max Gunther.
While his rookie season proved to be largely difficult, due to the challenges of adapting to the electric racing series, Daruvala scored a best finish of seventh at Berlin, highlighting his continued learning curve as the season progressed.
However, with Maserati replacing both their drivers at the end of 2024, the 25-year old finds himself without a seat on the grid as yet, and will be searching elsewhere in the world of motorsport for a seat to continue his racing journey.
Two other Indian racers have been making plenty of headway in the lower formulae, including the likes of Dion Gowda and Akshay Bohra racing in British F4 and Italian F4 respectively. Bohra currently sits third in the Italian F4 standings in 2024, having taken a race victory at Paul Ricard in the series' latest outing.
Such signs only speak volumes of the future of Indians in motorsport going into the future.
A stellar 2023 capped by the subcontinental return of top-tier motorsport
2023 proved to be a stellar year for motorsport in India. A series of events behind the scenes meant Formula E and MotoGP made their way into the subcontinent, while the inaugural season of F4 India too got underway later in the year in November.
Another shot in the arm came in the form of Red Bull's show run in Mumbai in March, with former Red Bull racer David Coulthard giving fans enough to cheer, doing donuts in the iconic RB7 machine, Sebastian Vettel's championship winning machine from 2011.
An agreement with the Telangana government meant Formula E made it's way into the state capital of Hyderabad for the inaugural Hyderabad E Prix, which saw a sell-out crowd of 25,000 on race day.
There was high fanfare for the MotoGP event later in the year, held at the Buddh International Circuit in the National Capital Region in late September. While the event proved successful, riders complained of the intense heat during the weekend, which led to gruelling conditions on the racetrack.
As successful as both major events were, neither returned for 2024, with Formula E's Hyderabad outing cancelled by the newly-instated government in the region, while MotoGP was removed from the 2024 calendar due to the concerns over weather conditions when the race was slated to be held, and over alleged non-payment of dues.
However, good news awaits for fans, as the premier motorbike racing series is all set to return in 2025, with a new deal being penned to keep the event on the calendar until 2027.
Finally, the inaugural edition of the Indian F4 championship got underway in November, with all five races held at the Madras International Circuit in the span of a month and a half.
The series has plans to expand in 2024, with a proposed night race around the streets of Chennai, and around the Kari Motor Speedway further down near Coimbatore too, as the calendar expands.
These are just ten moments of India being a big name within the world of motorsports. You can expect many more to be etched into the tale of Indian motorsports in the future, given the growing interest and the fanfare around the sport in the subcontinent!