From Food Joints To Helipad - the Business Of F1

Monday, 24 October 2011, 16:55 IST
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Greater Noida: Over 150 food joints, parking facility for 16,000 cars, a helipad, two-medical facilities and a media centre may sound like a mini-city, but these are just some of the facilities to cater to an expected 100,000 spectators of the inaugural Indian grand prix here. "Our plan is simple, we want every spectator to enjoy the race; for this we have created several world class facilities which will look after all the needs of the spectators and the teams," said Sameer Gaur, managing director of Jaypee Sports International (JPSI). Gaur said the Buddh International Circuit was more than just asphalt and concrete, as it houses several state-of-the-art facilities ranging from technical assistance for the race teams to kitchens dishing out cuisines from the world over. "When we started out the project, we did not know that there were so many things that need to come up. We did everything from erection of the facility to engineering, electronics, communication," Gaur told IANS. The inaugural race is scheduled for Oct 28-30. "At other tracks, you find several different firms involved in putting up various facilities. But here we did it all on our own," said Gaur. The food section has been designed to cater to the palette of Indian and international spectators, teams and the huge contingent of overseas media. Popular culinary brands such as Haldirams and Nirula's will also put up their stalls. "We would be having 150 food marquees that will be open to all spectators, serving all kinds of Indian and international cuisines, snacks," Boris Lazaric, JPSI's chief operating officer for construction, told IANS. "We have around 10-mega kitchens spread across the facility, with every kitchen designed for supply of particular food items, such as snacks, main courses and others," added the Croatian civil engineer. The race track facility also houses a media centre for around 450 international journalists expected to be at the three-day event and offers a dedicated broadband with speed of 840 MB. "The media centre over here is of international standards. You can take this facility and place it in London or anywhere and you would not see any difference"," Klaus Kock, senior project manager at Siemens India, which is responsible for constructing the media centre, told IANS. The 5.14-km circuit has been designed by German architect and racetrack expert Hermann Tilke, who was also associated with similar projects in Malaysia, Bahrain, Indonesia, China, Turkey, the UAE, South Africa, South Korea and the US. The track's combination of 16 corners, high-speed straights and dramatic changes in elevation has been designed to provide ample opportunities for overtaking, taking motor racing to the next level of excitement, officials said. The circuit is part of Jaypee Sports City, spread over 2,500 acres, which will include a cricket stadium, a hockey arena, a sports training academy and similar infrastructure for other sports. Another big attraction will be a performance from American pop icon Lady Gaga -- her first ever in India -- on the last day of the race.
Source: IANS