HYDERABAD: Ticket sales for the Formula E World Championship race in Hyderabad commenced on Wednesday with special chief secretary for Telangana government Arvind Kumar buying the first ticket.
The Formula E, first in India, will be held on the banks of the Hussain Sagar here on February 11. City's leg will be the fourth of the 16-round Formula E Championship, the world's first all-electric FIA World Championship and the only sport certified net zero carbon since inception.
The world championship for electric cars was launched in 2014 and India will debut in the ninth edition.
Ace Nxt Gen is the official promoter of Formula E in India. Ace Nxt Gen CEO Dilbagh Gill, who had also participated in these races said that Formula E will be an annual event in the city. "When we approached the Telangana government in December 2021, they were very positive. In just one year we are having the race now. I thank the government for its overwhelming support. Every year the race will be held in Hyderabad," said Dilbagh.
Arvind Kumar said that race will boost the image of the city. "The aim of our minister (KTR) is to have Hyderabad as one of the top 25 cities in the world. A race of this scale will help us to achieve the target. Hyderabad is one of the fast developing cities in the world. We will make all necessary arrangements to make this event successful," said Arvind, who had launched the sale of tickets.
"More than 20,000 tickets will be available. After watching what had happened during the cricket match, we had made sale of tickets online. There is huge demand for this race so to restrict the crowd we have introduced tickets. About 5000 tickets of Rs 1000 denomination will be available. The other denominations are Rs 3,500, Rs 6000 and Rs 10,000," he said.
Tickets can be bought at ‘book my show’ and also ‘ace nxt gen’ websites.
To provide an unique experience for school children, Arvind Kumar said that free access will be provided to practice sessions. "For schoolchildren and students free access will be provided to watch the cars race on the circuit on February 9 and 10. We will also conduct a week-long programme. On the race day we are planning to install giant screens, at least 10 as of now, in important circles along with commentary," Arvind said.
McLauren, Nissan, Porsche, Mahindra, Jaguar, Maserati are some of the top teams that would compete in the tournament.
Welcoming Formula E into India, president of Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) Akbar Ebrahim said, "This is a very special day for motor sports in India. It will be a big boost for us. They have multiple plans to make this sport popular in the country," Akbar said.
