The Madras International Circuit (MIC, previously known as Madras Motor Race Track and Irungattukottai Race Track) is a permanent motor racing circuit located in Irungattukottai, Chennai, India. It was built in the late 1980s and was inaugurated in 1990. It was the first permanent racing circuit in India and is owned by the Madras Motor Sports Club.[1] In July 2022, the track was renamed as Madras International Circuit.
 Full Circuit (1990–present)  Short Circuit (1990–present) | |
| Location | Irungattukottai, Chennai, India |
|---|---|
| Time zone | UTC+05:30 (Indian Standard Time) |
| Coordinates | 13°0′9″N 79°59′9″E / 13.00250°N 79.98583°E |
| FIA Grade | 2 |
| Owner | Madras Motor Sports Club |
| Broke ground | 1988 |
| Opened | 1990 |
| Former names | Madras Motor Race Track Irungattukottai Race Track |
| Major events | Current: Indian Racing League (2022–present) F4 India (2023–present) MRF Formula 2000 (2013–2020, 2022–present) Former: F4 SEA (2018–2019) Asia Road Racing Championship (1997, 2009–2011, 2013, 2017–2018) Asian F3 (2008) |
| Full Circuit (1990–present) | |
| Length | 3.717 km (2.310 miles) |
| Turns | 17 |
| Race lap record | 1:30.323 ( Yuven Sundaramoorthy, Dallara Formulino Pro, 2020, MRF Challenge) |
| Short Circuit (1990–present) | |
| Length | 2.067 km (1.280 miles) |
| Turns | 9 |
| Race lap record | 0:56.257 ( Cooper Webster, Mygale M21-F4, 2023, F4) |
History
edit
In 1971, the Madras Motor Sports Club, Coimbatore Auto Sports Club, Karnataka Motor Sports Club along with Calcutta Motor Sports Club and Mumbai's Indian Automotive Racing Club, united to form the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI), headquartered in Chennai, to ensure common regulations and orderly conduct of events.[2] Race meets were held on airstrips at Sholavaram in Chennai, Sulur in Coimbatore and Agara in Bangalore. In 1990, the Irungattukottai track was built to provide a permanent structure for racing.[2] Hosts the Indian Racing National Championships for both bikes and cars, and the Indian National Motorcycle Drag Racing Championships. An annual round of the MRF Challenge was held till 2020 and was since discontinued due to COVID-19.
Karting arena
editMMSC has also built a go-kart track to promote the sport at the grassroots level in 2023. The 1.2 km (0.75 mi) CIK approved track named, Madras International Karting Arena popular as MIKA, was inaugurated on 19 September 2024 by former Formula 1 world champion Mika Hakkinen in presence of former F1 drivers Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok.[3][4]
Layout
editThe main circuit is 3.717 km (2.310 mi) long with 12 turns and 3 straights, with the longest one being 250 m (270 yd). The club circuit is 2.067 km (1.284 mi) long and has 7 turns. Both the tracks are 11 m (12 yd) wide on average with 12 m (13 yd) at the start line and operate in a clockwise direction. The track is a Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile and Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme-certified circuit.[1] The tracks were resurfaced in 2007 and vehicles allowed for races include bikes of all categories and cars up to F3. FIA granted a Grade 2 license to the circuit in 2014.[5]
Events
edit- Current
- February: MRF Formula 2000, Formula LGB 1300, Indian Touring Car National Championship
- July: MRF Formula 2000, Formula LGB 1300, Indian Touring Car National Championship
- August: Indian Racing League, F4 Indian Championship, MRF Formula 2000, Formula LGB 1300, Indian Touring Car National Championship
- September: Indian Racing League, F4 Indian Championship, MRF Formula 2000, Formula LGB 1300, Indian Touring Car National Championship
- Former
- Asia Road Racing Championship (1997, 2009–2011, 2013, 2017–2018)
- Asian Formula Three Championship (2008)
- Formula 4 South East Asia Championship (2018–2019)
Lap records
editAs of December 2023, the fastest official race lap records at the Madras International Circuit are listed as:
| Category | Time | Driver | Vehicle | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full Circuit: 3.717 km (1990–present) | ||||
| MRF Challenge | 1:30.323[6] | Yuven Sundaramoorthy | Dallara Formulino Pro | 2020 Madras MRF Challenge round |
| CN | 1:30.681[7] | Rishon Rajeev | Wolf GB08 Thunder[8] | 2022 2nd Madras Indian Racing League round |
| Formula 4 | 1:36.496[9] | Cooper Webster | Mygale M21-F4 | 2023 4th Madras F4 India round |
| Supersport | 1:41.057[10] | Yuuki Ito | Yamaha YZF-R6 | 2018 Madras ARRC round |
| Asia Production 250 | 1:48.148[11] | Rheza Danica Ahrens | Honda CBR250RR | 2018 Madras ARRC round |
| Asia Underbone 150 | 1:52.184[12] | Fazli Ahmad Fazli Sham | Yamaha T-150 | 2018 Madras ARRC round |
| Short Circuit: 2.067 km (1990–present) | ||||
| Formula 4 | 0:56.257[13] | Cooper Webster | Mygale M21-F4 | 2023 3rd Madras F4 India round |
See also
edit
Notes
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Madras Motor Sports Club". mmsc.in. Archived from the original on 26 December 2008. Retrieved 2 February 2002.
- ^ a b Rajan, Sanjay (18 October 2013). "Formula One—Up from the South". Live Mint. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
- ^ Bureau, Sports (20 January 2024). "MOTORSPORTS | New karting track at Sriperumbudur to be opened later this year". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
{{cite news}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ Ragav, S. Dipak (27 August 2024). "Mika to inaugurate MIKA: Chennai to get state-of-the-art karting facility". Sportstar. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
- ^ "Chennai race track gets FIA grade 2 mark". Times of India. 28 November 2014.
- ^ "Finale Race 4 results #MRFRacing #MRFChallenge #Formula2000 #FormulaRacing #F2000". Twitter. 16 February 2020. Archived from the original on 19 July 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
- ^ "Sprint Race 1 🏁 was a spectacle of raw speed & technical prowess that saw Alister Yoong, Rajeev Rishon & Lola Lovinfosse put in brilliant performances to take the podium spots. Who will get on to the podium tomorrow & stake their claim to the championship?". Twitter. 3 December 2022. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
- ^ "Indian Racing League: All you need to know ahead of race weekend". Evo India. 19 November 2022. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
- ^ Wood, Ida (17 December 2023). "Cooper Webster wins first ever Indian F4 title in Chennai finale". Formula Scout. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
- ^ "2018 Asia Road Racing Championship Rd 4 - Madras Motor Race Track, India Supersports 600cc - Race 1 Official Result - Final" (PDF). 4 August 2018. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
- ^ "2018 Asia Road Racing Championship Rd 4 - Madras Motor Race Track, India Asia Production 250cc - Race 1 Official Result - Final" (PDF). 4 August 2018. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
- ^ "2018 Asia Road Racing Championship Rd 4 - Madras Motor Race Track, India Underbone 150cc - Race 1 Result - Final" (PDF). 4 August 2018. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
- ^ Wood, Ida (10 December 2023). "Cooper Webster takes three more Indian F4 wins at Chennai". Formula Scout. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
External links
edit