Island Ground Urban Square may house Formula 4 race track

CHENNAI: Soon, Chennaiites may not have to make the long trip to Irungattukottai to watch cars whizzing, as the metropolis is all set to have a Formula 4 race track in Island Grounds in the heart of the city. The proposed racing track will be developed by Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) and Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT).

According to sources, the race track will be developed inside the Island Grounds under the Urban Square project announced in the State Assembly. “However, the proposal is in the initial stages and discussions are in progress. Once the government approves the proposal, an official announcement will be made in a big way,” source told DT Next.

Even though the Urban Square project is being implemented by CMDA, it is learnt that the Formula 4 race track will be created by the SDAT. However, there is no clarity yet on how the racing track will be used once it is developed.

The Urban Square will come up on 30 acres of land at a cost of Rs 50 crore. PK Sekarbabu, who is the Minister in charge of CMDA, had recently said that after reviewing the feasibility of the project, a detailed project report (DPR) would be prepared with the approval of Chief Minister MK Stalin. Recently, Sekarbabu and Tourism Minister K Ramachandran inspected Island Grounds to expedite the project.

Apart from the racing track, the Urban Square will also have an amusement park spread across 39,000 sqft, a public park, open ground for events, Madras Museum, entrance plaza, exhibition centre, amphitheatre, multilevel parking with seven floors to accommodate 280 cars, parking spaces in three places, besides the existing features and facilities.

Presently, the nearest race track is the Madras International Circuit in Irungattukottai, which is more than 35 kilometres away. Formula 4 is lower level Formula racing for junior drivers, who aspire to take part in Formula 1 races, the ultimate level of skill and spectacle.