Brake issue resolved, IRL's Chennai leg to go ahead: Organisers

A brake overheat issue had marred the inaugural round of the Indian Racing League (IRL) but it has been resolved, the organisers said on Thursday, assuring that the Chennai leg will be held as scheduled and with better management.

In a major embarrassment for the organisers, the opening round had to be called off as a ''precautionary measure'' in Hyderabad on Sunday after a driver crashed due to overheating in the brakes of his car.

Since all teams were running the same Wolf GB08 Thunder cars, there were doubts over the next round, scheduled to take place in Chennai this weekend.

''Preliminary investigations just after the incident showed that the brakes on the car had overheated,'' IRL co-founder Aditya Patel told PTI. ''So as organisers, as a precaution, we decided not to take a chance and cancelled the remaining sessions immediately until we investigate the matter further.'' All the Wolf GB08 Thunder cars were tested by professionals from the Wolf team, which submitted a report on the incident on Thursday. The team has successfully resolved the issue, giving the go ahead for the Chennai leg. ''We as organisers and the car manufactures, take 100 per cent precaution in making sure that everything is safe. It's not something that we take lightly and let it pass. This car has been used around the world for last 8-10 years. ''Over the years, it's been developed and this has never happened on their record. A team in Italy has investigated the incident and handed us the report. ''They have fixed the problem and the remaining rounds will go ahead as planned.'' The IRL was being held at the Hyderabad Street Circuit, the venue for India’s first-ever Formula E race in February. The Hyderabad event also witnessed some mismanagement. A tree branch had fallen on to the circuit mid-session apart from a security breach by some fans. One of the spectators had also suffered an injury.

''All these issue are being addressed and it'll definitely not happen again. We had the police assisting us. We had over a thousand officers manning the venue. But they obviously missed a few spots.

''But in terms of the injured spectator, everyone is supposed to be at a certain distance from the track. And there was somebody who trespassed and came closer to where she should not have been. ''They (fans) are not aware, they want to get a view from close. From the next round onwards officers will be better prepared after being briefed.'' Patel said there is a need to educate Indian audience so that such incidents don't take place again.

''We need to make them understand that they are watching a dangerous sport.'' While the remaining rounds will go ahead as per schedule, including the fourth round in Hyderabad on December 10, the incident-marred opening round has been postponed indefinitely. ''We are working on how we can get that into our schedule. It won't be possible to arrange a third event in Hyderabad at such a short notice.'' 

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