With only three major race tracks across the country, Indian motorsports have been in need of a boost for a long time. Now, a new race track with all the approvals from the FIA is being developed near Pune.
Just off the Mumbai-Pune expressway, the Nanoli Speedway will be within spitting distance of both cities. Considering both cities also have a big number of motorsports enthusiasts, the speedway will be a sight better than travelling to one of the three corners of India just to get a fix.
The Nanoli Speedway has been designed by Driven International - the same firm that is responsible for the upgrades at the Kari Motor Speedway – and former F1 driver, Karun Chandhok. The layout has undergone multiple iterations and the final full circuit is a total of 2.928 km long with 12 turns.
The track has also been designed to feature additional configurations, namely the Speed Circuit featuring 14 turns and 2.788 km of track and a West Circuit and an East Circuit featuring with seven and eight turns and 1.425 km long and 1.463 km long tracks respectively.
A simulation run on the full circuit using a Jaguar F-Type got a lap time of one minute and 21.6 seconds with a top speed of 123 km/h. There is a mix of grass and asphalt run-off areas, but along with this, there are plans to build other facilities as well.
The building, paddock and VIP lounge areas will be included, but there are also plans to build a 4X4 and off-road centre beside the track featuring a varied range of man-made obstacles. Plans of a go-karting track and a skid pad are also being made.
The track has already received its approvals from the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) and the international governing body, FIA, however, the FIA licence will only be secured once the track is ready and an assessment has been made.
Currently, there are three operational tracks in India, the Buddh International Circuit, Madras Motor Race Track and the Kari Motor Speedway. Of these tracks, the BIC is the only F1 approved race track but has been used for other purposes since the Indian GP was dropped in 2013.
The Nanoli speedway will primarily be used for track days ad racing events for the Nanoli Country Club members. Currently, the organisers are planning to have the track completed by late 2021.
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