Indian GP back on track, say organisers

Sameer Gaur, Managing Director of JPSK Sports, promoters of the event, did not disclose how the organisers managed to overcome the hurdle after the Sports Ministry had denied them the approval to remit USD 36.6 million to the Formula One Administration.

All Gaur was willing to share was that the obstacles have been cleared. “There will be no problem whatsoever. It’s premature to disclose the details and when time comes, we’ll share everything. But we can tell you that god has been kind enough. The construction work for the race track is in full swing and it will definitely be ready before 2011,” Gaur said.
The organisers earlier seemed to have reached a dead end when the Reserve Bank of India asked them to get the approval of the Sports Ministry for the remittance of the foreign exchange.

The Sports Ministry refused to oblige, bluntly telling that neither it considers Formula One a sport nor did it believe the race would do any good to Indian sports as such.

Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone, however, assured that the Indian Grand Prix would go ahead as scheduled. In fact, Ecclestone was to arrive in the capital last month to lay the foundation stone but there seems a change in his schedule.