Organisers predict Indian GP sellout

Organisers of the inaugural Indian Grand Prix and home-grown Formula One drivers believe there will be a full house for the October 30 race at the 120,000-capacity circuit on the outskirts of Delhi.Sameer Gaur, managing director and chief executive of race promoters JPSI, announced the start of ticket sales yesterday and handed the first two to Indian F1 drivers Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok.Gaur said all logistical arrangements had been made to ensure a full house at the 5.14-km Buddh International Circuit and his optimism was shared by Chandhok.“I believe there is a big enough audience and I was told 27mn viewers watch Formula One on ESS (ESPN-STAR Sports) and if you get 0.5 percent of that, that’s over 120,000 people,” Chandhok explained.Karthikeyan added: “There is an overdose of cricket (here) so people will want a change ... I believe it’s going to be a full house.”He believes the challenging Buddh International Circuit will provide fans with quite a spectacle when F1 comes to the country this October. “I can relate some of the corners to corners of some other circuits in the world. There are a lot of overtaking opportunities and long straights. Spectators can see the speed of an F1 car, which would go up to 320kms per hour. It will be a huge spectacle,” noted Karthikeyan, who had competed in the first half of the 2011 season for Hispania before being replaced by Daniel Ricciardo for the rest of the season. He will be back behind the wheel for the race while Chandhok, who replaced Lotus team mate Jarno Trulli in a one-off appearance `in last month’s German Grand Prix, has his fingers crossed he will feature as well.“It (circuit) is challenging for drivers. The elevations change, then there are 2-3 corners with double the width for overtaking, great for spectators. It’s a tremendous facility,” said Chandhok.