Published Nov 20, 2022 | 10:50 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 20, 2022 | 10:50 PM
Telangana minister KTR flagged off the race on 19 November at Indian Racing league in Hyderabad Formula E event. (Supplied)
The two-day Indian Racing League (IRL), which began on Saturday, 19 November, in Hyderabad, is the equivalent to Formula-3 and is a precursor to the main event — Formula E Grand Prix — scheduled on 11 February next year.
While the race was taking place, some minor accidents took place on Saturday as well as Sunday.
Formula E is the FIA motorsport championship for electric cars running on EV technology. The Generation 3 cars will be introduced in the Hyderabad Prix.
The IRL was flagged off by Telangana IT & Urban Affairs Minister KT Rama Rao at Hussain Sagar Lake.
At least 10 Formula E racing cars arrived in Hyderabad on Thursday for a trial and test run.
While the race was underway on Saturday, a branch of a tree fell on one of the cars. The incident occurred near Prasad Multiplex IMAX in Khairtabad.
In a video doing the rounds on Twitter, the branch could be seen falling on a speeding electric race car.
Just after it fell, the driver lost control with the car skidding into the boards on the side of the track.
The car did not collide with other cars and came to a rest without causing a major accident.
Big accident was averted during the #IndianRacingLeague , first time trails held for the #FormulaERace track, at Tank Bund.
A car was out of control and stopped, when a small tree branch was fell on one #Racing car in front of Prasad's IMAX. #Hyderabad #RacingHyderabad pic.twitter.com/bKDIxlS6SR— Surya Reddy (@jsuryareddy) November 19, 2022
It should be noted that the environmentalists in the city were protesting over the pruning and relocation of around 200 healthy trees to prepare the track.
Meanwhile, in another incident, a track worker named Noor Alam was reportedly hurt while on duty at NTR Marg.
As per reports, his arm was fractured and none of the ambulances, which were at the spot, were allotted to the worker.
Several workers have been roped in for laying track, stands, and other preparations.
When South First contacted the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA), B Ramulu, the PRO said that he is not aware of the incident.
In the third incident, the tire of a a Formula E car detached from the rim leaving the car damaged. However, the driver escaped unhurt.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, three cars collided with each other during the race. But the security teams acted promptly and nobody was reported injured.
