 India's wait to join the Formula One circuit could be a long one |
India's chances of hosting a Formula One race by 2007 have suffered a blow after the project's chief backer was voted out in regional elections. Chandrababu Naidu, who wanted to bring F1 to Hyderabad, has been replaced by YS Sajasekhar Reddy, whose priority is to tackle the problems of farmers.
"A state like ours does not need a project that needs an outlay of 1,000 crore rupees (�121m)," Reddy said.
Naidu had pledged to provide land to build a race track and a new airport.
Hyderabad, the main city of the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, became a front-runner to join the F1 circuit after the sport's supremo Bernie Ecclestone met with the then regional minister Naidu last year.
Sanjay Sharma, head of motorsport of leading Indian tyre-maker JK Tyres, admitted the change of administration was a setback for F1, but insisted all was not lost.
"At this moment, the new government won't be interested in F1 because of the focus on farmers," he said.
"But we in motor sports are not losing hope because the business model worked out made a lot of sense for the economy and the state."
MMIX
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