India may hold Formula E race in 2016

While bureaucratic issues have left India's plan to host Formula One races in jeopardy, motorsport enthusiasts will be glad to know that Formula E could be held in the country in 2016. Mahindra Racing Team Principal, Gilbagh Gill, told dna that they are in the planning stage to bring the race to India.

"It's still early stages. We are trying to locate a city where we can have the race. We also have to find a suitable road. We also need the cooperation of local government bodies. More importantly, we have to see that the location has a good motorsport fan base," said Gill.

The FIA Formula E Championship is sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), and is the highest class of competition for electrically-powered racing cars.

Mahindra Racing is the only team from India to participate in this Championship. After six out of the 10 races, Mahindra drivers, Bruno Senna and Karun Chandhok are 10th and 14th, respectively.

While the results are evidently not in favour of the team from India, Gill felt they've succeeded in generating interest in the country.

"The position that we are in isn't reflective of the way we've performed. But the good thing is that people are following us closely. The Indian motorsport fan is more informed mainly because of magazines dedicated to motorsport. But more importantly, people connect to Formula E more because it is relevant to road usage. People feel there's more chance of owning a car that has an engine similar to that of Formula E cars," he said.

The only drawback to Formula E is that each driver has to make a mandatory pit stop to change cars as the battery technology is not sufficiently advanced to allow a one-hour race at full speed without recharging.

Each car can accelerate from 0–100 kmph in three seconds and can reach a maximum speed of 225 kmph. But Gill said that in the next four years, it won't be necessary to change cars as they are in the process of developing battery technology that will last for one hour.

"The drivers won't have to change cars, but the cars won't lose its pace either. So basically we'll make a car that is twice as better than the present one," said Gill.

The last five years have seen a tremendous increase in the number of electronically-powered cars plying on roads, and Gill felt by 2030, most people will buy alternate fuel-using vehicles. "I live in the USA and it's amazing how the adoption of electric vehicles has taken place here. You see people being so conscious about the kind of vehicle they use. And I'm sure that going forward, many more people are going to make informed choices of the vehicles they buy. They'll use cars that run on other fuels, if not electronic cars," he said.