Memories of Madras: From Sholavaram to Irungattukottai

S. Muthukrishnan on how an air strip became a race track, Doordarshan helped bring crowds to Sholavaram and corporates enabled the move to a better racing circuit at Irungattukottai

October 11, 2011 04:59 pm | Updated August 01, 2016 05:53 am IST

sholavaram races

sholavaram races

Around the world, motor racing circuits have been carved out of abandoned air strips. The one at Sholavaram, on the outskirts of Madras, was turned into a track that supported the sport from the 1960s to the 1980s. The T-shaped layout of this WWII air strip did not lend itself readily to motor sports and it was worked on, in bits and pieces, over a period of time. Members of the Madras Motor Sports Club (MMSC) who travelled abroad, visited circuits there and gave their inputs. Suggestions of experts from Britain and Germany were also taken into account, while preparing the track.

It was not long before the Sholavaram track started attracting racers — especially motorcyclists — from far and wide. In the 1960s and 1970s, motorcyclists from Sri Lanka were a regular feature at these races, always scheduled for February. As Ceylon practised a liberal policy on the import of vehicles, its contingent brought a captivating array of Western bikes.

Given such an interest in Sholavaram, MMSC was looking to raise its standards and was also keen on building up a team of volunteers who could run the show on any day. We spotted young race enthusiasts and groomed them into marshals. Considering that at least ten people came to cheer every racer, this task was far from difficult.

Until the advent of Doordarshan, races at Sholavaram were advertised only by word of mouth. The television channel, which enjoyed monopoly over the Indian airwaves, would carry a string of pre-event announcements. Celebrities flocked to the races. The then Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran came thrice. He would bring his stop-watch and time the vehicles. During one visit, he declined an offer to flag off the racers. He explained, ‘They are concentrating hard and my presence at the start line can be a distraction.' Watching the races amidst the excitement in the galleries — made with planks and poles of casuarinas — was a great excitement.

Chidambaram came up with a dilly of an idea that enhanced the viewing experience. On his suggestion, MMSC introduced special boxes: these were lapped up by corporate houses that also sponsored the races. Tyre companies have worked as allies with MMSC to promote motor sports in Madras. — the arches installed by MRF and JK Tyre at the present race track in Irungattukottai are an evidence of this. During the Sholavaram years, Dunlop's contribution was immense. It always generously let its employees serve as support staff at the races. Not just tyre companies, others such as McDowell's and TVS have also pitched in generously. As corporate involvement began to grow big in the 1980s, there was a yearning for a better track. MMSC decided to go to Irungattukottai where it owned 200 acres of land. Sholavaram had its last season in 1988, the year the Formula Maruti was introduced.

On June 3, 1988, the foundation stone for the new track was laid by Margaret Alva, then Minister for Sports, Youth Affairs, Women and Child Development. This track at Irungattukottai was built with the help of the Federation of Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) at Paris. Based on the layout sent by us, they drew up a sketch of the track. Gopal Madhavan was given the responsibility of building the new track. What appeared to be a daunting task was made easy by the unity among MMSC members. Two years later, Irungattukottai was ready for the races.

MMSC functions in a unique way. When it is time for the top man to step down, he serves as the successor's deputy. This arrangement authored by Indu Chandhok, has helped keep egos in check. A popular joke in the club illustrates how cohesive the unit was: J.N. Patel, Anil Bhatia, Gopal Madhavan, Indu Chandhok and C. Prabakhar were called the Pancha Pandavas of MMSC and I was supposed to be Lord Krishna to them.

I REMEMBER

Based on a suspicion that young motorcyclists were taking alcohol before their races, I got breath analysers from the police. Following this scrutiny, 50 per cent of the motorcyclists were disqualified from the race. When we repeated the test for the next race, not one was found to have had liquor.

BIO

S. MUTHUKRISHNAN Born in 1938, he has been involved in the efforts to promote motor sports in Madras for over four decades. In 1964, he got into his family's automobile ancillary business and four years later, he became a card-carrying member of the Madras Motor Sports Club (MMSC). From 1975 to 1981, he was the chairman of MMSC's race committee. He was president of the Club from 1986 to 1999. At present, he is the honorary chairman of MMSC.

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