India's inaugural Formula 4 night race in Chennai postponed to next season

In a setback for racing enthusiasts, India's inaugural Formula 4 (F4) Championship race in Chennai has been postponed to the next racing season due to Cyclone Michaung and subsequent floods. The organiser, Racing Promotions (RPPL), has announced that the night race, initially planned for December 9–10 on the newly designed Chennai street circuit, has been rescheduled to the next racing season.

This racing circuit, spanning a 3.7-km route, is the longest street circuit in India and South Asia, stretching across Island Grounds, Victory War Memorial, Napier Bridge, Sivananda Salai, and Mount Road in the heart of the city.

Chennai witnessed an unprecedented amount of cyclonic rainfall due to Cyclone Michaung in the first week of December.


"Against this background of massive rainfall, the Tamil Nadu government has requested RPPL to reschedule the race. But unfortunately, the technical calendar precluded us from conducting the event in December or in January, apart from the originally scheduled December 9th and 10th, 2023. Hence, in consultation with the Tamil Nadu government, it has been decided to shift the event to the upcoming racing season," RRPL announced in a statement.

"We express our sincerest gratitude to the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu and all other departments of the Tamil Nadu government and other organisations who were involved in the planning and coordination of the event. We hope Chennai and the other affected areas completely recover soon and that we will be able to bring an exciting race to Chennai soon. We will be announcing the calendar in the coming days," it said in the statement.

The organisers and Tamil Nadu government had made big preparations for the Chennai Formula 4 Racing Circuit, marking the nation's inaugural night race. The ticket sales, which started on November 4, also received great enthusiasm from the race enthusiasts.