CHENNAI: The F4 India Championships, which is part of the Indian Racing Festival 2024, was apparently delayed due to technical reasons on Saturday.
The event that was supposed to begin at 2pm could not go ahead because the track needed some work.
“We regret to inform our fans that due to technical issues, there will be a delay in today’s activities at the Indian Racing Festival at Chennai,” announced the organiser in an official statement.
It is understood that there were issues with turn 10 and 19. The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) wanted some changes to the turns which were sharp. This is India's first night street racing event.
It is understood that the overnight torrential rain also complicated matters for the organisers. The Racing Promotion Private Limited, the promoters of the event had approached the Madras HC to grant them more time to get the FIA license.
By the evening, the matter was sorted and a provisional license for hosting the event was granted in the evening and as per the revised schedule, the race is set to begin by 8pm. Earlier, it was supposed to be held by 7pm.
It is understood that the rain had affected the testing of the street circuit. The 3.5-km circuit has 19 corners and goes around the Island Grounds.
However, according to the revised schedule shared the first practice sessions will start at 7pm and the F4 practice session will begin at 8.20pm. The track will close at 11pm.
The qualifying sessions have been pushed to Sunday.