At the brand new Madras International Karting Arena, drive on the track that Mika Hakkinen, Narain Karthikeyan, and Karun Chandhok raced on

At the brand new Madras International Karting Arena, drive on the track that Mika Hakkinen, Narain Karthikeyan, and Karun Chandhok raced on

At Madras International Karting Arena (MIKA), you can hear the go-karts before you see them. Follow the sound of the engines and you will reach the spanking new 1.2 kilometre track. Seven-year-olds are whizzing past, manoeuvring their speeding karts with great control like they have been driving for decades. In comparison, I — with 20 years of experience of driving on the road — match the speed of a bullock cart, cautiously hitting the brake every time I turn a corner.

MIKA was launched last week amidst great fanfare as two-time Formula One champion Mika Hakkinen inaugurated the facility. He even did a couple of laps around the track with Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok, former F1 racers from India. “Mika drove the electric Rotax race kart. He was quite impressed with the circuit and said it is a good playground for young drivers. He’s looking to come back here more often,” says Rohan Shankar, head of operations - MIKA.

The track, developed by Madras Motor Sports Club (MMSC), has been involved in motorsports since the 1950s and instrumental is making Chennai a hub for this sport.

“It took a little over 12 months to build MIKA, while it took 12 years to build the Madras International Circuit back in the 1950s,” says Rohan, adding, “All F1 drivers come from a karting background. MMSC knows how important karting is to develop motorsports at the grass-roots level and so they built MIKA to bump up international racing and the skill of racers here,” he adds.

While there have been karting arenas in Chennai, what is special about MIKA is that it is India’s first karting circuit built to FIA-CIK (Commission Internationale de Karting) specifications. “This means we can get approved to hold world championship racing and this is important for the growth of the sport in India. If you see the track, it’s perfectly laid and not bumpy. The approval from CIK also depends on safety. We’ve got the right type of barriers comprising around 5,000 tyres stacked around the track with a belt wrapped around it. There are camera systems for each corner, and floodlights to light up the track that can also host night racing,” explains Rohan.

Competitions are already lined up, with the MECO FMSCI National Karting Championship Rotax Max Classes 2024 starting this weekend . The track is a delight for racers and novices. Narain Karthikeyan even called it challenging after a quick drive. “The track has a lot of tight corners and camber on a few turns; the elevation also changes. One requires skill to make the most of their time on the track,” says Rohan.

MIKA currently has 25 karts, including petrol and electric variants. There are karts for kids, adults and twin seaters as well, between seven to 15 horse power. The everyday karts can go up to 75kmph and the professional ones go up to 160 kmph.