Ahead of the Hyderabad leg of the FIA Formula E world championship race which is scheduled to be held on February 11 in the city, the organisers of the event Wednesday kicked off the sale of tickets via an online booking platform. Around 22,500 tickets are up for grabs, even as the organisers are working on increasing the capacity to 25,000 seats.
The Hyderabad E Prix circuit is a 2.8 km track with 18 turns on the banks of the historic Hussainsagar lake. As host of round four of a total of 16 races to be held across the world, Hyderabad not only becomes the first Indian city to hold Formula E races but also reserves the right to host the annual event till 2026.
Tickets under four different categories are available on acenxtgen.com and bookmyshow.com. While the grandstand tickets are priced at Rs 1,000, tickets for charged grandstands, premium grandstands, and Ace grandstands are available for Rs 3,500, Rs 6,000 and Rs 10,000 each.
Apart from viewing stands along the race track, the organisers will arrange for live commentary and big screens on at least 10 strategic locations across the city on the race day, said Arvind Kumar, special chief secretary (Municipal Administration and Urban Development) for Telangana government after purchasing the first ticket via online.
Stating that there is huge enthusiasm for the electric car race in India, Dilbag Gill, the CEO of ACE NextGen, said, “The world championship races are here to stay as an annual event in Hyderabad. The decision-making (about the city hosting the event) was super quick and done in less than 24 hours.” The Formula E race is being officially promoted in India by ACE NextGen with support from the Telangana government.
Season 9 of the championship kicks off on January 14 in Mexico City. Other cities to host the event are Diriyah (Saudi Arabia), Cape Town, Sao Paulo, Berlin, Monaco, Jakarta, Portland, Rome and London. Lining up on the Formula E grid in Hyderabad for the first time will be automotive icons McLaren and Maserati, competing against the likes of Porsche, Jaguar, Nissan and Indian-Formula E team Mahindra cars vrooming at top speeds of 322 kmph. While the qualifying race (main event) is at 4 pm on February 11, all 11 teams and their 22 drivers will be seen practising on the track between 12 pm and 4.30 pm on February 10 and between 10.30 am and 4 pm on February 11.
Besides the event, ticket holders will also get access to the Allianz Fan Village, where they will be welcomed with a slew of experiential games and activities and also learn about Formula E. For those who do not have a ticket, the state government will allow the general public to the viewing area two days before the race day to catch a glimpse of practice sessions. In addition, the Telangana government, being one of the partners of the Hyderabad leg of the race, will hold an e-mobility week with events on sustainability and e-mobility starting February 6 to coincide with the global event.
Clarifying that the two recent races held on the same track along Hussainsagar lake were entirely different from a Formula E race, Arvind Kumar said the lessons learnt from holding the Indian Racing League event in November and December, especially concerning crowd management and parking arrangements will help the state government put up a state of the art show. “The track’s safety aspects are being audited by three international firms as per the standards laid by FIA,” he said.
“Why tickets are what we are being asked frequently. We are getting a humongous response and if we make it a free event, controlling the rush would be difficult. So, two days prior, during practice sessions, we have decided to open it up for free, especially for school children and families,” said Kumar.
“Learning from the stampede incident last time (during the sale of tickets to the India vs Australia T20 international match in September), the entire ticket sale has been made online,” he added.