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Buddh International Circuit (BIC), the biggest and the most prominent motorsport arena in India, has been sealed by the authorities over non-payment of dues by its promoters. The sealing was done on Friday, February 14, 2020, by Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority after the Jaypee Group failed to clear the dues they owe to the YEIDA. The YEIDA had also cancelled the lease deed of the 1000 acres of land to Jaypee Group.
“A team of officials sealed multiple gates of the motor racing circuit as the developer has failed to clear financial dues. We have sealed the Formula One circuit so that the Jaypee Group does not use the property for commercial gains. All the projects located inside the Formula One circuit remains sealed now. However, the security guards and others living inside the Formula One campus will continue to carry out their duties to safeguard the property,” said KK Singh general manager (projects), YEIDA.
For all the Indian motorsport lovers, it is very disheartening to see the condition that the BIC is in right now for it had brought India suddenly upon the world motor racing map when it hosted the prestigious F1 race from 2011 to 2013. The F1 race didn't make it back to India after 2013 as the promoters and the race organizers had some serious issues with the government over the taxes the government planned to levy on the F1 circus.
Then, there were also talks of bringing the prestigious WSBK to BIC in India in 2013, but that plan also didn't materialize for similar reasons.
We at xBhp have also had many memorable moments at Buddh International Circuit, the most prominent of them being when the Team #xBhpRacing won multiple podiums during the 2018 and 2019 JK Tyre National Racing Championship Superbike Cup. We were also there last year when we flagged off our #TracingTheRoots campaign from the BIC. It was a 4000 kms ride on 2 TVS Apache RR 310s from Delhi to Chennai where we visited all the racing tracks in India that are open for public use. In addition to organizing many track days only for the friends of xBhp, we had also made it the ground zero for many of our activities including the unveiling of Freedom Bike after the Great India Collectors' Ride and also the launch of United Motorcycle of India.
We hope that the parties involved resolve this matter soon and get the Buddh International Circuit back to the glory days it has seen and it deserves in the future as well because no matter what, BIC has the infrastructure and capacity in place to catapult Indian motorsports to another level only if these organizational and financial matters are resolved more efficiently. We hope that the authorities in our country would someday understand the importance of motorsports and also the potential it has to attract countless foreign tourists every year, which would inevitably bring the precious dollars and create new employment opportunities. Even countries like Indonesia and Vietnam have understood the importance of motorsports in boosting their economy with the help of world motorsport and they are well on their way to host F1 races very soon. We hope that we will have a motorhead politician soon at the helm of affairs who would go out and unveil a crazy motorcycle chopper like the Malaysian PM and also who will invite the top-most racers from the country and ask them to beat a world record like the Turkish President who invited Kenan Sofuoglu, the WSBK racer from Turkey, to break the 400 kmph barrier while inaugurating a bridge.
Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/india-s-first-formula-one-track-buddh-international-circuit-sealed-over-pending-land-dues/story-VEJaUcmfKklih8zr7VuFEL.html
Edit: As per a report on NDTV, as per their sources, the track will remain open for events and only the VIP gates have been sealed. We at xBhp also confirmed the same report with our sources, people who have been doing regular track days there, and we were also told that as of now the track days are going unhindered.
“A team of officials sealed multiple gates of the motor racing circuit as the developer has failed to clear financial dues. We have sealed the Formula One circuit so that the Jaypee Group does not use the property for commercial gains. All the projects located inside the Formula One circuit remains sealed now. However, the security guards and others living inside the Formula One campus will continue to carry out their duties to safeguard the property,” said KK Singh general manager (projects), YEIDA.
For all the Indian motorsport lovers, it is very disheartening to see the condition that the BIC is in right now for it had brought India suddenly upon the world motor racing map when it hosted the prestigious F1 race from 2011 to 2013. The F1 race didn't make it back to India after 2013 as the promoters and the race organizers had some serious issues with the government over the taxes the government planned to levy on the F1 circus.
Then, there were also talks of bringing the prestigious WSBK to BIC in India in 2013, but that plan also didn't materialize for similar reasons.
We at xBhp have also had many memorable moments at Buddh International Circuit, the most prominent of them being when the Team #xBhpRacing won multiple podiums during the 2018 and 2019 JK Tyre National Racing Championship Superbike Cup. We were also there last year when we flagged off our #TracingTheRoots campaign from the BIC. It was a 4000 kms ride on 2 TVS Apache RR 310s from Delhi to Chennai where we visited all the racing tracks in India that are open for public use. In addition to organizing many track days only for the friends of xBhp, we had also made it the ground zero for many of our activities including the unveiling of Freedom Bike after the Great India Collectors' Ride and also the launch of United Motorcycle of India.
We hope that the parties involved resolve this matter soon and get the Buddh International Circuit back to the glory days it has seen and it deserves in the future as well because no matter what, BIC has the infrastructure and capacity in place to catapult Indian motorsports to another level only if these organizational and financial matters are resolved more efficiently. We hope that the authorities in our country would someday understand the importance of motorsports and also the potential it has to attract countless foreign tourists every year, which would inevitably bring the precious dollars and create new employment opportunities. Even countries like Indonesia and Vietnam have understood the importance of motorsports in boosting their economy with the help of world motorsport and they are well on their way to host F1 races very soon. We hope that we will have a motorhead politician soon at the helm of affairs who would go out and unveil a crazy motorcycle chopper like the Malaysian PM and also who will invite the top-most racers from the country and ask them to beat a world record like the Turkish President who invited Kenan Sofuoglu, the WSBK racer from Turkey, to break the 400 kmph barrier while inaugurating a bridge.
Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/india-s-first-formula-one-track-buddh-international-circuit-sealed-over-pending-land-dues/story-VEJaUcmfKklih8zr7VuFEL.html
Edit: As per a report on NDTV, as per their sources, the track will remain open for events and only the VIP gates have been sealed. We at xBhp also confirmed the same report with our sources, people who have been doing regular track days there, and we were also told that as of now the track days are going unhindered.
