Chennai will receive a new street circuit to host the 2023 F4 India Championship and the Indian Racing League later this year. The location is around the Island Grounds near the heart of the city. Organisers have confirmed that races will be happening at night at the track, which will come to be known as the Chennai Formula Racing Circuit. The circuit is set to debut on December 9 of this year and will feature three and a half kilometres of track around Island Grounds.


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The three-and-a-half kilometre Formula Racing Circuit will follow an anti-clockwise layout with nineteen corners. The design work for the project will be done by Driven International, who previously worked on projects such as the Hyderabad Street Circuit and the Nanoli Speedway and the renovations at the Yas Marina Circuit. The Circuit will stretch across Island Grounds, through the Victory War Memorial and the Napier Bridge. The pit and paddock structures will be near Island Grounds. 


The Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu will invest 42 crore, while the RPPL will invest 200 crore. The state’s Youth Welfare and Sports Development Minister, Udhayanidhi Stalin, signed a Memorandum of Understanding lasting three years with the RPPL for the circuit.


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Armaan Ebrahim, the Director of RPPL, said, “We went through this with the Hyderabad track last year as well, so we have some experience in terms of building a street circuit and we are confident of the abilities we have in hand.”


The RPPL organized the Hyderabad Street Circuit for the Formula E race early in this year. The venue in Chennai will host the F4 Indian Championship and the Indian Racing League through December 9 and 10t of this year. It will be the first night race in South Asia. 


India set to see F4 debut


India is about to see its F4 debut this year despite the inaugural Formula Regional India Championship being postponed. Akhil Reddy, the chairman and managing director of RPPL, said, “I want to make sure what we are doing is a success. So, I am personally thinking of going stage-wise. Last year, we did the street circuit and Indian Racing League; so now as a second step we are going with F4.”


F4 will use the FIA-homologated Gen 2 Mygale F4 car from the French F4 championship. The grid will feature a mix of twelve Indian and international racers.