In January 1998, Gautam Sen, currently Editor of India's latest automobile magazine, Auto and Motor Sport, confided in the Chairman of the CMSC that F1 were looking at India as a possible destination for a round of the Formula One World Championship. At that time, things were at a preliminary stage and nothing more was known about the project. The CMSC later learned that behind the scenes, the promoters were visiting all the major cities in India in search of a suitable place for an F1 track and facilities.

On a rainy Sunday in mid-September 1998, the CMSC Chairman was invited to a closed door meeting with the Sports Secretary of the Government of West Bengal to discuss the possibility of holding an F1 event in Calcutta. A progressive and productive meeting ensued during which the Chairman explained some of the demanding requirements for successfully attracting the F1 investment to Calcutta. Soon thereafter, in November 1998, the Government Of West Bengal signed the MOU with the promoters, Grand Prix India plc, to hold the event in Calcutta and attract the investments that come with it. It was time for the CMSC Chairman to stake the CMSC's claim to be the host club in Calcutta and to meet the promoters.

The CMSC's claim to be the host club was sent to the President of the FIA, the world body governing motor sport, which was duly acknowledged. Meeting the promoters had to wait till their next visit to the city, but there was no one to make the necessary introductions. Undeterred, the club's Chairman seized the initiative and introduced the club to the promoters at the first available opportunity. Soon thereafter, the CMSC's Chairman was included in many of the promoters meetings and shown the location of the track in Rajarhat. He was introduced to the Scottish firm Morrisons who will be taking the engineering contract for building the track. There has been no looking back since then. Encouraged by many well-wishers, the club began promoting the concept of F1 in Calcutta.

In September 1999, the CMSC hosted a party to welcome the Promoters, Michael Taub and Anwer Saleem, and the architects Peter Wahl and Ulrich Merres from Tilke Engineering, to Calcutta. Tilke have done the engineering and architectural design of the track for Calcutta as they had for the race track and facilities in Malaysia at Sepang. During that visit, the CMSC Chairman attended many meetings held in connection with the F1 project, some of which were held at the location of the track in Rajarhat. 

In October 1999, Tilke hosted the CMSC Chairman and his wife at the 1st Formula One Grand Prix of Malaysia. In the meantime, a meeting of the West Bengal Motor Sports Council (WBMSC) was held in Calcutta and was attended by the CMSC's Vice President, Kapil Kaul. At the meeting, the Vice President was invited by the Chief Secretary, Government of West Bengal, to clarify some doubts raised by members of the WBMSC about holding the event in Calcutta. The CMSC VP's presentation covered the project from many aspects but especially from the point of view of the immense economic benefits to Calcutta, West Bengal and India.

On the 10th of March 2000, a seminar on Tourism in the Eastern Region was held by the Indo American Chamber of Commerce at The Taj Bengal. The seminar was inaugurated by the Minister for Tourism, Govt. of West Bengal, the hon'ble Manabendra Mukherjee. In his speech, he stated that Formula One was the State Government's "Golden Project" with an important role in the future of the State's tourism plans. The main presentation was made by the CMSC's Vice President, Kapil Kaul, on the benefits of the Formula One Grand Prix to tourism in the Eastern Region. The Secretary of Sports, Govt.of West Bengal, Mr. Sumantra Chowdhury, spoke at length on the occasion and gave an account of how the project had been attracted to Calcutta instead of any other major Indian city. 

A major constraint to hosting the event in Calcutta was the acute shortage of hotel rooms in the city. The solution for this was provided by the CMSC to both the State Government and the promoters, Grand Prix India plc, and the solution was found acceptable by both parties. It had been recommended by the CMSC that cruise ships be sailed up the Hooghly river to the port facilities in Calcutta and be used as hotels during the duration of the events. It is a tried and tested solution implemented in other countries of the world, and the CMSC is the only organisation to have independently come up with the same solution for Calcutta. 

A gala Formula 1 promotion was hosted by the CMSC and the Taj Bengal at the Taj's Incognito nightclub on the 26th of March 2000. The F1 GP of Brazil was shown live on the big screens to a discerning audience, many of whom were being introduced to F1 racing for the first time. The success of the event indicated that there was significant interest in the F1 GP in Calcutta and it was resolved to hold more Grand Prix nights in the future.

Consequently, three F1 GP nights were held at The Anticlock nightclub at the Hotel Hindustan International in August and September 2000 when the Formula 1 GPs of Belgium, Italy and the USA were shown live on the big screen The Anticlock enjoyed record attendance on these Sundays and both sponsors and the hotel were satisfied with the results. A Champagne brunch was planned at The Anticlock for the Malaysian GP if the world championship was not decided by that time, but the GP in Japan was where the new world champion was crowned and so all plans for F1 parties were carried over to the 2001 season.

These events are now on the cards beginning with the F1 GP on 29th April. The get-togethers are being held at The Tantra nightclub, Calcutta's premier nightspot at The Park Hotel. 13 parties are planned, one for each event beginning with the Spanish GP, and promises an exciting time for all. The club plans to dramatically improve upon last year's happenings and help spread the word far and wide about the visionary plans for an F1 GP in Calcutta. To this end, the CMSC had recently acquired a summary of the research findings of the University of Malaysia on the Economic Impact of the Formula One Grand Prix in Malaysia. A copy of this has been forwarded to the Government of West Bengal to facilitate their efforts to bring the F1 GP to Calcutta.