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NEW DELHI, India - India is still on schedule to hold its first Formula 1 race in October, F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has assured the world.
Then he urged organisers of the race scheduled for the $350-million Budh International Circuit in Greater Noida on the outskirts of New Delhi on October 30, 2011, to work hard to generate interest in what is a cricket-mad country.
'...PERHAPS EXTRA EFFORT?'
The 5.14km circuit is still under-construction but Ecclestone said it would be ready for the race. "It will be one of the nicest circuits and will be completed in time," Ecclestone said. "People are working hard and checking everything on a daily basis - it will be in good shape."
"F1 is new to India," he told reporters at a function to announce telecom major Airtel as the title sponsor of the race. "It will take effort to generate interest. We will never catch cricket but we can get close to it... perhaps with some extra effort."
The value of Indian telcom Airtel's three-year naming rights deal for the Indian Grand Prix is R61m, according to a report byTimes of India.
"The deal is...worth much less than Indian corporates pay for a slice of the cricket pie," stated the report.
Earlier this month, Airtel pulled its reported R287m title sponsorship of the Champions League Twenty20 cricket tournament.
F1 has been followed closely in India since 2005 when local driver Narain Karthikeyan raced for the now-defunct Jordan team. He returned in 2011 with the Hispania racing team. Now another Indian, Karun Chandhok, son of a man closely associated with the new track, drove last year for Hispania.
Airtel official Sanjay Kapoor said his company was delighted to be associated with the event but wouldn'gt say what it cost. "Such events do not come cheap," he said. "We see value in this investment. F1 is a sport and Airtel is a brand. Both resonate well in contemporary markets."
Then he urged organisers of the race scheduled for the $350-million Budh International Circuit in Greater Noida on the outskirts of New Delhi on October 30, 2011, to work hard to generate interest in what is a cricket-mad country.
'...PERHAPS EXTRA EFFORT?'
The 5.14km circuit is still under-construction but Ecclestone said it would be ready for the race. "It will be one of the nicest circuits and will be completed in time," Ecclestone said. "People are working hard and checking everything on a daily basis - it will be in good shape."
"F1 is new to India," he told reporters at a function to announce telecom major Airtel as the title sponsor of the race. "It will take effort to generate interest. We will never catch cricket but we can get close to it... perhaps with some extra effort."
The value of Indian telcom Airtel's three-year naming rights deal for the Indian Grand Prix is R61m, according to a report byTimes of India.
"The deal is...worth much less than Indian corporates pay for a slice of the cricket pie," stated the report.
Earlier this month, Airtel pulled its reported R287m title sponsorship of the Champions League Twenty20 cricket tournament.
F1 has been followed closely in India since 2005 when local driver Narain Karthikeyan raced for the now-defunct Jordan team. He returned in 2011 with the Hispania racing team. Now another Indian, Karun Chandhok, son of a man closely associated with the new track, drove last year for Hispania.
Airtel official Sanjay Kapoor said his company was delighted to be associated with the event but wouldn'gt say what it cost. "Such events do not come cheap," he said. "We see value in this investment. F1 is a sport and Airtel is a brand. Both resonate well in contemporary markets."