Motorheads can rejoice, a racetrack is coming up near you

About half a dozen racetracks are coming up in the western and southern states, and these will be ready in the next year to year-and-a-half.

The racing tracks – Nanoli Speedway near Pune, Marque One Racetrack & Club in Andhra Pradesh, Bren Raceway and Valley Speedway near Bengaluru and COASTT High Performance Centre at Coimbatore – are being developed by motorheads and professional racers with the help of racing circuit designers of global repute. Currently there are just three such facilities: Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida, Madras Motor Race Track in Chennai and Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore.

The upcoming infrastructure spells good news also for supercar brands who have often rued the lack of infrastructure in a country where the tribe of supercar owners is increasing steadily. India sold 509 super luxury cars (those priced above ₹1.5 crore) in 2022, the highest for a year, breaking the previous record of 323 units in 2018.

“The upcoming network of racetracks is a natural extension after the expressways and highways and will improve the user experience for the supercar owners tremendously,” said Lalit Choudary, chairman and managing director of Infinity Cars, which is an authorised dealer for McLaren, Porsche, Rolls-Royce and Ducati among other brands. The trend, he said, was similar to the one seen in Southeast Asia, Europe and other markets where people head to tracks to experience the thrill of driving.

Lamborghini India head Sharad Agarwal sees this as a positive for supercar brands in the Indian market. “The fact that there are so many people seeing an opportunity in building the racetrack, gives us a lot of confidence that the trend will give a fillip to the super luxury sports car market,” he said.

The racetrack near Bengaluru is being developed by Boopesh Reddy, the managing director of real estate firm Bren Corp who himself is a supercar enthusiast – his garage has as many as 15 supercars, from a Ferrari to a Lamborghini. The 4.1-km Bren Raceway is coming up on 95 acres at Doddaballapura, just north of the Bengaluru city.”This will be a world-class motorsports facility with top-notch amenities including a clubhouse for both drivers and spectators,” said Reddy. Construction of the racetrack is ongoing and about 30% of the track is already completed, he said.

ET Bureau

The passion for racing, combined with his experience in infrastructure development and a legacy of owning supercars, made Reddy recognise the need for a racetrack in Bengaluru, he said.

With their tight hairpins and chicanes, these tracks are set to become important destinations for Indian and international motorsport events. These will also serve as an important testing ground for automakers that have their factories close to these racetracks. Some of these facilities, like Nanoli Speedway coming up near Pune, want to go beyond offering just a racetrack.

Nanoli Speedway will include a 22-room luxury resort equipped with a gym, swimming pool, spa, club house, as well as a stud farm and an equestrian facility, said Farhan Vohra, its chief operating officer.

The 230-acre land being developed at a cost of ₹160-170 crore (excluding the cost of land) will be suitable for hosting international events, he said. It will have a 3-kilometre-long, Federation of International Automobile-approved, grade-3 circuit, with the mandatory pit building, medical centre and a helipad.

“Unlike others who concentrate only on the race circuit, ours will be a luxury motorsport resort,” said Vohra.