India reacts cautiously to F1 race plans

Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president Suresh Kalmadi said on Thursday that Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone had made an offer with tough conditions attached, including the building of a race track.

The country's first Formula One driver Narain Karthikeyan hoped the IOA could make it happen.

"As a race driver, I'm really excited," he told Reuters. "I would love to drive a home race.

"The time has been ripe for a Grand Prix for the last couple of years. Definitely the fan following has been growing here," he added.

"But you have to be serious, otherwise a lot of other countries are interested," said Karthikeyan, who raced for the Jordan team in 2005 and is currently a Williams tester.

Kalmadi said the plan was to raise funds for sports in the build-up to the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, although the IOA has lagged behind in work related to those games.

The media and racing officials pointed to the lack of time and said a Monaco-style street race through central Delhi would work better because of the difficulties in building a permanent circuit.

"It's a tall order to build a complete race track in 18 months," said Indian motorsport administrator Vicky Chandhok.

"I wouldn't say it is impossible, but it's exceedingly difficult and needs huge commitment in terms of money and there simply cannot be any delays."

India, with a booming economy, has been in the frame for a Formula One race for some time with Delhi and southern Hyderabad seen as possible venues.

Previous plans to hold a race in Hyderabad fizzled out after the local government that backed the move was voted out of power.

Businessman Vijay Mallya, whose company is a sponsor of Toyota, and German driver Ralf Schumacher met government officials in March to push for a race.

Sanjay Sharma, motor sports head of JK Tyres company said a less expensive street race would be more feasible.

"The IOA is close to the government and if the government puts its heart into it, anything can happen," he said.