Gear up: FIA F4 Indian Championship R1 at Kari Motor Speedway International Circuit
Tamil Nadu govt recently announced plans to build motorsport infra and develop talent, while the union govt has constituted a task force to bring Formula 1 races to the country. “Entry numbers have jumped 30% to 40% compared to previous years, with a spike in participant entries across both car and bike categories. Because racing itself is not only about the driver; it involves engineers, fabricators, machinists, electronics specialists, tyre specialists, logistics and many other disciplines, that creates an ecosystem around motorsport.
Rajini Krishnan, nine-time national champion who runs RACR academy, said the growth is driven by social media. Competitive pathways are emerging for children as young as four, he said, with OEMs such as TVS and academies starting junior programmes. This aims to bridge the six-to-eight-year gap against international practice from Asia to Spain, and will allow India to produce globally competitive talent, he said. Nagarajan Thangaraj, chief event manager at Madras Motor Sports Club (MMSC) at Irungattukottai, India’s oldest track and one of three certified tracks in the country, said entries have risen sharply. On the govt move, he said, “Hosting international events will help the domestic ecosystem and expansion of the overall market will be a boost for the ecosystem. There has been a shift over the last decade, with more people willing to spend time and money experiencing motorsport rather than just watching it, says Narain Karthikeyan , India’s first F1 driver, who is involved in OEM testing and driver development. Its motorsport culture developed alongside its engineering and automotive ecosystem, and that environment played an important role in my own development as a driver,” he said.
It is creating demand for track infrastructure, rider management firms and marketing, along with custom manufacturing, specialised engineering talent and technical support roles. Govt interest in hosting world championships has added to the conditions. Industry representatives believe the interest has reached a tipping point and is turning into an organic cultural phenomenon. “Professionals at different age groups, enthusiastic about racing come to fulfill dreams or experience circuits. Enthusiasts buying superbikes are enrolling in the academy’s courses to gain track skills and ride more maturely on roads. Existing teams run training sessions nationwide, bringing in competitors from across India. ” MMSC is to open a CIK-certified karting track for two-wheeler training for kids from age eight in partnership with TVS., structured as a domestic feeder pipeline aligning Indian youth with platforms like the MiniGP World Series. “We see more karting tracks, racing schools, championships and arrival-and-drive programmes, while social media and digital broadcasting have made the sport more visible. We must convert this interest into a structured pathway, from recreational karting, to competitive karting, to cars and eventually international racing. TN has been central to Indian motorsport, with two of the country’s Formula One drivers, Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok, hailing from the state. “There are OEMs, component manufacturers, engineering companies, testing facilities and a large pool of technically skilled people in the region. Coimbatore is also a good example. The opportunity now is to connect the automotive industry more closely with motorsport as a platform for engineering development, skills and employment, he added.
Tharunkumar S, executive director of Kari Motor Speedway, the internationally certified circuit in Coimbatore, said tracks operate near capacity, with weekday OEM and EV startup testing accounting for up to 60% of utilisation.
OEM weekday revenue subsidises academy track costs,” he said. Manufacturers, particularly new-age startups, rely on circuits for vehicle dynamics, battery performance and component R&D such as suspension. “The track business models have expanded from racing events into open track, arrive-and-drive days for enthusiasts, and corporate brand events such as smartphone launches featuring drift shows.