Upgrades announced for the Pista Motor Raceway
The Pista Motor Raceway, one of the upcoming race tracks in India, has revealed that it has undertaken a number of upgrades in the recent past to make it a safer and more enjoyable race track. These upgrades are focused around the run off areas to meet safety regulations, while tweaks were made to the track itself to optimise the layout for better racing.
It is located at Dundigal in Telangana which is an hour drive from the Hyderabad airport. The total length of the track will be 3.708km along with 16 corners. The track will also house a drag strip and an off-road section for motor enthusiasts.
One of the officials working closely on the project revealed a few key things about the upgrades. The track layout of the Pista will remain the same, with changes made to some of the U-turns in the track. The official said, "The same skeleton structure is there, it's just that some turns were really harsh, especially the U-turns.” They have also extended the run-off areas in certain parts of the track. This was supplemented with gravel traps and also tarmac run-off areas to help slow a driver when off the track. The gravel traps and the tarmac run-off areas were used strategically in specified areas of the track where drivers had a risk of hitting the barriers or hitting other cars if they lost control. These upgrades were implemented post insights from external technical experts.
The official also mentioned that they are taking advice and insights from experienced drivers and experts to further refine their off-road section. The introduction of the off-road section and the dragstrip will add a variety of experience and opportunity to conduct multiple formats of motorsports. Once the track is complete, the Pista Motor Speedway is expected to receive a FIA Grade 3 Certificate.
It was also important for the investors of Pista to make the racetrack an all-weather track. This is what the official had to say, “ Most importantly, I wanted it to be safe and I also want it to have drains underneath the tracks.” The drain infrastructure will not allow the water to collect on the track and hence will allow racing in rainy conditions. This will cost the investors extra capital but they think it will be worth it. Finally, the tarmac layout is officially announced to be completed by January 2023.
The news of these upgrades are heartening to motorsport enthusiasts. Apart from being a racetrack that can be used all year round, the fact that safety is being given special attention is critical. We can't wait to get racing!
