Australian V8s could go to India
Australia's V8 Supercars series is in talks to follow Formula One by taking its brand of touring car racing to India from next year, a
government trade official said on Friday.
The inaugural Indian F1 Grand Prix will take place at a purpose-built circuit outside New Delhi on 30 October and Supercar officials are
hoping to stage a race there and another on a street circuit in the southern city of Chennai.
Peter Linford, Australia's senior trade commissioner in New Delhi, said the first step would be to get an Indian driver and Indian team
racing in the series.
"Having an Indian driver with an Indian team racing against all of the other Australians makes a lot of sense because that will give
us the opportunity to televise the series more popularly in India," he told the Australian Associated Press. "Then when the series
does come to India it will have a fan base already established."
The V8 Supercar series, which has sometimes attracted crowds of up to 200,000 on home soil, has its origins firmly in Australia but
already opens its season at the Formula One circuit in Abu Dhabi.
Linford conceded that although there had been a "base sponsorship commitment" from Australia, India was very much focussed on
making sure the Formula One debut goes without a hitch.
"There's a bit of work to do, and in fairness to the Indians front of mind for them at the moment is their first F1 race,"
Linford said. "To talk to them about V8s is a little bit difficult because they're so focussed on getting the track ready, especially
as they haven't run an F1 race there before."