India Races Ahead with Formula One Track
India Races Ahead with F1 Track
With the dust having largely settled on Delhi's staging of the Commonwealth Games, India's next big sporting construction project is its new Formula One race track. After the bad publicity that preceded the Commonwealth Games, with reports of delays and unfinished facilities, questions will undoubtedly be asked about whether India can finish such a massive construction project in time for inaugural race in October 2011.
Interest in motor racing in the country has increased with the launch of the Force India team in Formula One and the emergence of Indian drivers. Plans for an Indian Grand Prix were mooted back in 1997, with a circuit proposed for Calcutta. Since then, there have been various plans for tracks, including a site near Hyderabad airport, others at Mumbai, Bangalore and Lucknow as well as a street circuit in New Delhi and a permanent track near the city.
In June 2007, Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone and the Indian Olympic Committee announced a provisional agreement to hold the first Grand Prix race of the 2009 season at Gurgaon in the state of Haryana. By September, this had been pushed back to 2010 and moved to a new circuit at Greater Noida, which is around 50 kilometres from Delhi. A year later, the inaugural event had been delayed a further year. However, the agreement does now seem pretty well set in stone, with the Indian Grand Prix set for October 2011 as the eighteenth race of the season and construction of the circuit already underway.
The venue is being built by Jaypee Sports International, a subsidiary of the Jaypee Group, which is India's largest builder of dams and has interests in hospitality, engineering, construction and energy. To be known as the Jaypee Group Circuit, the track has been designed by Hermann Tilke, who has been the architect of several new circuits in Turkey, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Malaysia and China.
Circuit Layout …
The track will be 5.14 kilometres long with sixteen corners, including a long corner where cars are expected to achieve 250 kilometres per hour. It is designed as a fast track and has wide stretches to allow overtaking and encourage entertaining racing. In an attempt to prevent any criticism of the finished circuit, the design was shared with some teams so they could put it in their simulators and provide feedback. As a result of their recommendations, certain changes have been made to the track design.
Although being constructed on a level site, the track will have plenty of undulations, with changes of up to fourteen metres over the whole course. This has been achieved by moving approximately four million cubic tonnes of earth to achieve the required undulation. The first part of the construction mainly involved earth works, not only to accommodate the twelve-metre wide track but also to provide for run-off areas, service roads and the grandstands.
The circuit is to be spread over more than 4000 hectares and the construction of the infrastructure was estimated to cost around 188 million in 2009. Around 120,000 spectators will be accommodated, with the main grandstand seating 30,000 plus two further stands, the pit building and three natural hillock seating areas.
Construction Progress …
All the earth works were completed before the 2010 monsoon season in July and August. The aim was to lay the asphalt track once this ended and have the whole circuit ready for July 2011. At this time, the International Automobile Federation will conduct a 'homologation' process, where it will approve the track and ensure it matches the design it had previously endorsed. Any requested changes should then be completed well before the first race in October.
Aside from the annual three-day Grand Prix event, the intention is to use the circuit for other competitions such as MotoGP and World Superbike Championship events. It's also intended that the venue will feature smaller circuits for other motorsport events as well as a drift circuit and a karting circuit. The ultimate aim is for it to be part of a sports venue that also includes a golf course, 25,000-seater hockey stadium and a sports academy.
The circuit is expected to generate $170 million annual revenue and employment for 10,000 people. There are additional benefits for tourism, hotels and advertising as well as the boost to the country's reputation that a successful operation can bring. However, the positive effects may depend on the construction being completed on time and with no unexpected disasters, avoiding the bad publicity that preceded the Commonwealth Games.
Original Article at http://constructionbytes.com/international-news/india-races-ahead-with-f1-track
With the dust having largely settled on Delhi's staging of the Commonwealth Games, India's next big sporting construction project is its new Formula One race track. After the bad publicity that preceded the Commonwealth Games, with reports of delays and unfinished facilities, questions will undoubtedly be asked about whether India can finish such a massive construction project in time for inaugural race in October 2011.
Interest in motor racing in the country has increased with the launch of the Force India team in Formula One and the emergence of Indian drivers. Plans for an Indian Grand Prix were mooted back in 1997, with a circuit proposed for Calcutta. Since then, there have been various plans for tracks, including a site near Hyderabad airport, others at Mumbai, Bangalore and Lucknow as well as a street circuit in New Delhi and a permanent track near the city.
In June 2007, Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone and the Indian Olympic Committee announced a provisional agreement to hold the first Grand Prix race of the 2009 season at Gurgaon in the state of Haryana. By September, this had been pushed back to 2010 and moved to a new circuit at Greater Noida, which is around 50 kilometres from Delhi. A year later, the inaugural event had been delayed a further year. However, the agreement does now seem pretty well set in stone, with the Indian Grand Prix set for October 2011 as the eighteenth race of the season and construction of the circuit already underway.
The venue is being built by Jaypee Sports International, a subsidiary of the Jaypee Group, which is India's largest builder of dams and has interests in hospitality, engineering, construction and energy. To be known as the Jaypee Group Circuit, the track has been designed by Hermann Tilke, who has been the architect of several new circuits in Turkey, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Malaysia and China.
Circuit Layout …
The track will be 5.14 kilometres long with sixteen corners, including a long corner where cars are expected to achieve 250 kilometres per hour. It is designed as a fast track and has wide stretches to allow overtaking and encourage entertaining racing. In an attempt to prevent any criticism of the finished circuit, the design was shared with some teams so they could put it in their simulators and provide feedback. As a result of their recommendations, certain changes have been made to the track design.
Although being constructed on a level site, the track will have plenty of undulations, with changes of up to fourteen metres over the whole course. This has been achieved by moving approximately four million cubic tonnes of earth to achieve the required undulation. The first part of the construction mainly involved earth works, not only to accommodate the twelve-metre wide track but also to provide for run-off areas, service roads and the grandstands.
The circuit is to be spread over more than 4000 hectares and the construction of the infrastructure was estimated to cost around 188 million in 2009. Around 120,000 spectators will be accommodated, with the main grandstand seating 30,000 plus two further stands, the pit building and three natural hillock seating areas.
Construction Progress …
All the earth works were completed before the 2010 monsoon season in July and August. The aim was to lay the asphalt track once this ended and have the whole circuit ready for July 2011. At this time, the International Automobile Federation will conduct a 'homologation' process, where it will approve the track and ensure it matches the design it had previously endorsed. Any requested changes should then be completed well before the first race in October.
Aside from the annual three-day Grand Prix event, the intention is to use the circuit for other competitions such as MotoGP and World Superbike Championship events. It's also intended that the venue will feature smaller circuits for other motorsport events as well as a drift circuit and a karting circuit. The ultimate aim is for it to be part of a sports venue that also includes a golf course, 25,000-seater hockey stadium and a sports academy.
The circuit is expected to generate $170 million annual revenue and employment for 10,000 people. There are additional benefits for tourism, hotels and advertising as well as the boost to the country's reputation that a successful operation can bring. However, the positive effects may depend on the construction being completed on time and with no unexpected disasters, avoiding the bad publicity that preceded the Commonwealth Games.
Original Article at http://constructionbytes.com/international-news/india-races-ahead-with-f1-track