Buddh circuit under capacity for first race

The inaugural Indian Grand Prix is set to receive a crowd of over 80,000 people, race organisers have confirmed ahead of Sunday's showpiece.

Although the capacity of the new Buddh circuit is 120,000, it is still hoped that more tickets will be sold at a discounted rate in order to further fill the circuit.

"We have sold close to 80,000 tickets which is pretty encouraging considering that its the first F1 race ever in the country," confirmed a spokesman for race promoter Jaypee. "Of course we would have been happier had we sold off 90 per cent tickets because ticket sales are the only source of revenue for us. But there are still a few days to go and we are keeping our fingers crossed."

Meanwhile, drivers and teams have offered mixed reaction after landing in preparation for the weekend's racing.

"I had a bit of a feeling that the Indians didn't really want to see us," Virgin driver Timo Glock told Germany'sT-Online. "I hope the fans take us closer to the heart than the local immigration authorities did."

It also emerged that fellow German Nico Rosberg was initially denied entry to India and Lotus driver Heikki Kovalainen added that the entry process was unnecessarily complicated.

"I had to fill in about 70 pages of paperwork. It's unreal how complicated it was," he said.

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