As with all countries, motorsport history in India too began shortly after Independence with a handful of wealthy auto enthusiasts getting together to organise events for it. Early events were held in maidans in the city and on smaller airfields during weekends when air traffic was light. Eventually, these clubs grew and shifted to tracks on the outskirts of the city. Today, the Madras motorsports club remains the only one which owns a race track. In 1971, four of the oldest motorclubs in India, including Coimbatore, joined together to form the Federation of Motorsport Clubs of India (FMSCI), an autonomous body that conducts and regulates motorsport events in India. But the clubs still retain their regional popularity and conduct their own sporting events in addition to the FMSCI.
Founded way back in 1952, the Madras Motor Sports club is one of the oldest clubs in the country. Located in the village of Irungattukottai near Sriperumbudur, Chennai, the club also owns the Madras Motor Race Track. Even though the club was created in 1952, its first motor sports event was held on 25 October 1953. Since then, every motor sports event was conducted on the Sholavaram Airstrip till the MMRT was built. The many motor sport events conducted by MMSC on the Sholavaram airstrip included Moped, Scooter and Superbike racing. MMSC also conducted Indian saloon car racing for the car enthusiasts. As the popularity of the club started growing, MMSC also started conducting Formula events like Formula 2, Formula 5000 and Formula Atlantic.
First MMSC Motorcycle Endurance Race, 2019
Another old motor sports clubs in India, the Calcutta Motor Sports Club was formed in May 1952. Unlike the Madras Motor Sports Club, the CMSC comprised of wealthy members owning exotic cars. The CMSC was also well known for flaunting many rare imported cars with modifications. The first event of the club was conducted at Red road in Central Maidan Area in Calcutta. As the club started growing and the motor sports demanded private area, the club arranged permissions for conducting their events in Alipore Mint airfield. Soon when the club members started owning faster cars, the road conditions of the Alipore airfield became unsafe. Moreover, due to the increasing number of constructions in the airfield, the available area for motorsports also started reducing. This was when the meetings shifted first to Kanchrapara and then to Barrackpore dirt track in the 1970s.
Barrackpore race, 1976
The Karnataka Motor Sports Club, earlier known as the Bangalore Motor Sports Club, was formed in the year 1954 by Fred Webb with his son, John Webb. Fred Webb had almost retired from his career in the field of automobiles when the club was formed. During the foundation days, all the events of KMSC/BMSC were hosted at the Bangalore-Yelehanka airstrip and Jakkur aerodrome. KMSC has been successfully conducting many motorsport events under their own club banner as well as for the FMSCI.
Photo Credit: http://kmsc.co.in
IMG 40th K1000 Rally, 2014
