30,000 tickets sold for Indian Grand Prix

Greater Noida: With just over a month left for the second edition of the F1 Indian Grand Prix, the organisers have sold 30,000 tickets, with the maximum sale coming from the corporate bookings.

"We have touched the figure of 30,000. We are hoping that the ticket sale will now pick up. The BIC has a capacity to accommodate 95,000 fans," Askari Zaidi, vice-president of corporate communication at Jaypee Group, said here on Monday. "The promotions have just started. We are all geared up for the second edition. The corporate houses have booked the tickets. Even if we don`t manage to sell the tickets like last year, some 20,000 tickets are reserved for our employees. So, the stands will be full," he added. The organisers of the F1 race, have introduced a special stand for the high-end ticket buyers -- Jaypee Paddock Club. "This year, for those who can afford high-end tickets, we have launched Jaypee Paddock Club. It has about 1,700 seats right on top of the pit lane. Many corporate houses have taken those seats already. The price ranges from Rs 1.5 lakh to 2 lakh," he said. The organisers have also planned some entertainment programmes for the October 28 race. "For all three days, you will have some high dose of Bollywood. We have also approached local and international bands." The ticket prices for the Oct 26-28 race have also been slashed by the organisers. "We don`t want to leave the tickets there till the last moment. We would like to finish it off as soon as possible. We are offering some 15-20 per cent discounts on some categories of tickets," he said. To make the race hassle-free, Zaidi said, "In certain stands, we have added more toilets, catering facility has been increased. We have added more parking facility. More shuttle service from various points like Noida city centre and knowledge park metro stations till the circuit. We are looking into all these arrangements." PTI