Madras HC to pass orders on PIL questioning F4 night street race on Friday

Chennai: A division bench of the Madras High Court said on Tuesday that it will pass orders on Friday (February 16) on a bunch of PILs questioning the necessity of holding Formula 4 night street race around Island Grounds here.

The Formula 4 night race was to be held in Chennai on December 9-10, 2023, but was postponed due to heavy rains.

Justices R. Mahadevan and Mohammed Shaffiq, who had listed the PILs for hearing on Tuesday, asked the state home department whether the plan to conduct the race has been abandoned.

To this, Advocate General P.S. Raman replied that the race had only been postponed to the next season. The division bench then said that it shall pass orders on the merits on Friday.

It may be noted that the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) had decided to conduct the race in collaboration with the Racing Promotions Private Limited.

They had entered into a Memorandum of Undertaking (MoU) for the establishment of a street race circuit around the Island Grounds.

The organisers had expressed confidence that holding the street race in Chennai would improve the economy of the region. They had also said that thousands of people were expected to visit Chennai to watch the race, apart from the scores of car race enthusiasts who would watch it on television.

The petitioners, however, informed the court that they had questioned the need to conduct such a race in the heart of the city.

The circuit passes through the Flag Staff Road and part of Kamarajar Salai through Napier Bridge, before taking a right turn at Sivanandam Salai to join part of Anna Salai, and then it is connected back to the Flag Staff Road.

The pit stops for the race had been planned inside Island Grounds.