Mark Hughes, the chief organiser of the Indian Grand Prix, has resigned from his position as vice president of JPSK Sport. Hughes has said that the move is for personal reasons and although he has left his role, he will still be providing consultancy services.
“Mark Hughes is no longer working with us. He left due to his own personal reasons,” a Jaypee Group spokesperson told AFP.
“I’ve left India but I’m still associated with the project,” Hughes told ESPN. “I’ve actually moved back to the Middle East but I’m still a consultant and advisor to the Jaypee organisation to help them get ready for the first grand prix.”
“I’ve left India but I’m still associated with the project,” he said. “I’ve actually moved back to the Middle East, but I’m still a consultant and advisor to the Jaypee organisation to help them get ready for the first grand prix.”
Hughes was then asked if the move was because he had fallen out with the organisers. “No, not at all,” Hughes replied. “My family are in the Middle East, I’ve come back here.
“I’m doing work with the Yas Marina circuit, but a condition of doing work at Yas Marina was that I could continue to help the Indians. In fact the Indians were here last week looking at Yas Marina and we were helping them get an understanding of the setup for F1 with customs clearance, freight handling and everything associated with hosting a grand prix.
“The plan is to have the track and the track infrastructure ready by July, which is the deadline for FIA homologation. My counterpart on the construction side is confident he will have it ready by May, but actually July is our deadline. The first asphalt is ready to go down this month and the sub-base is ready, all the earthworks have been finished. The first layer of asphalt is due to go down at the end of January.”
