A dispute in India

As reported on HomeofSport

A disagreement that was damaging India’s hopes of securing a grand prix could be nearing an end. At the meeting of the World Motor Sport Council last week, the FIA ordered the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) to merge with the Motor Sports Association of India (MAI) by September this year. A statement said failure to merge might result in the FIA having to ‘de-recognise both organisations and seek a third alternative.’

‘It is my dream to bring Formula One to India and this will not be possible if conflicts continue,’ said chairman Vijay Mallya, who was appointed to head the merger.

And thousands of others [if not millions] share the same dream. It really is disheartening when steps to bring a new sport to the country get tangles in the political mayhem. I can only hope that the issue gets resolved quickly and we indeed get to see the ‘Indian GP’ in coming years.

TAGS: Formula 1 . F1 . FIA . India . Vijay Mallya

Indians on F1 track record

As reported on Economic Times

Interestingly, the viewership of F1 in India for the current season is comparable to Test cricket. With 24m individuals sampling the sport in ‘05 largely due to Narain Karthikeyan, the average viewership this year, on an all-India level, has risen almost 100%, from TRP of 0.14 to 0.25.

While Mumbai and Bangalore rose to levels of 3.4 and 1.5, respectively, Delhi went from 0.9 to 1.9, Hyderabad from 0.2 to 1.6 and Kolkata from 0.3 to 1.3. What’s best, these impressive F1 TRPs — the Bahrain and Malaysian grand prix races — were build up on the face of India- England test series at its peak. “We have grown the F1 viewership at the rate of an impressive 27% year-on-year.

On the back of F1’s increasing popularity in India, toy maker Mattel has launched F1 collectible cars for adults, much like Tag Hauer’s watches in 2004. Meanwhile, beer is expected to see a spike in sales.

TAGS: Formula 1 . F1 . India . telecast . sponsors . viewership . Narain Karthikeyan