The Madras International Circuit is where Indian single-seater racing has its deepest roots, and where the F4 Indian Championship ran its entire first season in 2023.
It's also the most capable permanent circuit in the country by FIA grading, which is worth knowing before anyone tells you India has nowhere to race.
The essentials
| Location | Irungattukottai, near Chennai, Tamil Nadu |
|---|---|
| Main circuit | 3.717 km, 12 turns |
| Club circuit | 2.067 km, 7 turns |
| Direction | Clockwise |
| Width | 11 m average, 12 m at the start line |
| FIA grade | 2, granted in 2014 |
That Grade 2 licence is the significant number. Grade 1 is the Formula 1 requirement; Grade 2 covers essentially everything below it, which means MIC is certified for categories well beyond anything currently racing in India.
At 3.717 km across 12 turns, MIC is a more conventional permanent circuit than Kari. Longer lap, fewer corners per kilometre, more space between incidents. The consistent 11 m width gives genuine room to race side by side, which a narrower circuit doesn't.
The club configuration at 2.067 km and 7 turns handles smaller meetings and a lot of the track-day and training activity that fills the calendar between national rounds.
The F4 Indian Championship ran its entire debut 2023 season at MIC and the circuit has stayed on the calendar since. Shane Chandaria sealed the 2025 title here.
In 2026 the venue opens the Indian Racing League season on 24 and 25 October. Full calendar for both championships is here.
The circuit also carries a broad domestic programme across cars and motorcycles and has hosted international motorcycle championship rounds.
Driving it yourself
This is what people actually search for, and MIC is one of the few Indian circuits where the answer is straightforward. There's karting, there are track days, and there are arrive-and-drive arrangements.
If you're weighing up a racing career, a session here is the cheapest possible reality check and a more useful afternoon than any amount of reading. What that career costs from there is laid out in how to become a racing driver in India.
Check current pricing and availability with the circuit directly. Rates vary by activity and change season to season.
MIC against Kari
The two venues carry most of the Indian Racing Festival between them and they ask different things of a driver.
Kari Motor Speedway is 2.100 km, 15 turns, FIA Grade 4. Short, busy, unforgiving of untidiness, and excellent for learning. Guide here.
MIC is 3.717 km, 12 turns, FIA Grade 2. Longer, faster, more conventional, and the better test of whether a driver can sustain a lap rather than survive one.
A season visiting both is a more complete education than one visiting either, which is an argument for the current calendar structure before you even add the new street circuit.
December 2026 brings the Navi Mumbai Street Circuit, hosting both the F4 and Indian Racing League finales. Different proposition again, and what's known so far is collected here.
The championship those venues serve is explained in the complete guide.
