Ticket sales start for India's first F1 race

Jaypee Sports International Limited (JPSI) Saturday opened ticket sales for India's first-ever Formula 1 race - Airtel Indian Grand Prix - to be held in October this year and reported sale of over 1,000 tickets of different categories in the first 100 minutes.

The tickets, which can be purchased online, range from Rs.2,500 for the natural stand to Rs.35,000 for the main grandstand and are valid for the three days of the event to be held at Buddh International Circuit, Greater Noida.

There are other seating arrangements available as well in the range of Rs.12,500 for the premium stand, Rs.8,500 for the star stand, Rs.6,500 for the classic stand and Rs.6,000 for the picnic stand.

"Getting F1 to India has been a challenging task but we are confident that the results will be well worth it. Come October, we will have an event that the nation can be proud of," said Sameer Gaur, JPSI's managing director and CEO.

"The track is almost complete, final touch is being given," he added.

In the first phase, the tickets are available at web portal BookMyShow.com and in the second phase, they will be made available at different outlets across the country including in metros and tier-two cities.
 
"The second phase of the ticket selling would commence in about 10 days. There has not been any percentage of tickets reserved for the second phase but it all depends on the demand and response that we get from the customers," Gaur said.

The total seating capacity of the venue is about 1.2 lakh.

Speaking about the facilities, Gaur said each seating zone has dedicated parking lots and bus terminals and one can have one parking permit on purchase of three tickets.

Talking about the acceptance of F1 as a sport in a cricket-mad country like India, Karun Chandhok, India's Formula One racing driver, who was also present on the occasion, said: "We all grew up as cricket fans, nothing will out-take cricket. We are not trying to compete. It is something we have to wait and see."

Speaking on the occasion, Narain Karthikeyan, India's first Formula One racing driver, said: "F1 has been on TV since 1993, people do relate to big names like Michael Schumacher. In India I believe it is going to be full house."

On the talks of setting up an F1 training academy, Karthikeyan said: "We made it here the hard way... for young drivers it should be a little easier."