The group's 80-year-old founder, Jaiprakash Gaur, has a daring plan to leave a legacy and, in the process, dig out of a mountain of debt. But the ride may be long and tough
It is 3:30 in the afternoon in the last week of September and hot as hell in Greater Noida. Sameer Gaur is just back in office from the Buddh International Circuit where his company Jaypee Sports International is building India’s first Formula 1 (F1) race track. He orders a Diet Coke. On October 30, the F1 race will take place in India for the first time ever. The who’s who of corporate India, international celebrities and Delhi’s elite will be there. Sameer will have to look his best.
But for now, he sports a stubble, long hair and is dressed in denims. His father, founder of Jaypee Group Jaiprakash Gaur, doesn’t like it. He doesn’t want Sameer to venture out too much in the sun. “It is a big day. He wants me to look my best, but abhi time kahan hain [Where’s the time]? In the past one year, I have lost 10 kg,” he says.
But Sameer is currently dealing with a lot more than weight issues. Getting the race track ready for F1 is just one bit. More important is to fulfil his father’s vision. Sameer, the youngest of three brothers, claims it’s a huge responsibility. And earlier in the day he got a taste of it.
About 12:30 p.m., Gaur senior was on his inspection rounds of the race track — a weekly ritual that has been on for more than six months now, which the man prefers to carry out even at the age of 80 under the blistering sun. Amidst the flurry of construction activity, with an entourage of 10 people, Gaur expressed his displeasure. “Abhi pure ek ghante daant kha kar aye hai… ki yaahan dhul kaise, yeh cheez aise kyon hai [He has scolded us for the last one hour. He was asking us why the track is so dirty and why things are still incomplete],” says Sameer when asked what his father told him.
But Sameer doesn’t mind. The final stages of cleaning the 5.3 km-long track are underway. He claims his dad is obsessed with perfection, but believes the pressure is important to do the task well. It motivates him to work even harder to please his father. “We are on track but when Gaur sahib asks then bas poker face rehna padta hai tab to. All we say is sir, ho jayega, kar rahe hai, kar denge, bilkul [We answer his concern with a poker face and assure him that it will all be done],” says Sameer.
The Man, the Vision
Formula 1 is a heady mixture of speed and glamour that attracts the hip and the rich. “You’ve put it on the map. A Formula 1 track can create real estate value next to it. Lady Gaga comes and sings. You’ve created a buzz,” says Ellis. At the inaugural Singapore GP in 2008, 40,000 out of the 100,000 fans at the venue were foreigners. Indian visitors to Singapore were among the highest spenders averaging SG$ 1,250 for a five-and-a-half day trip.
This is the way things stand right now: The potential is there, so is the land; the advertisement in all probability will be a hit, but a huge hurdle for the Gaurs could be their debt. Manoj Gaur, the eldest son and chairman of Jaypee Associates, told CNBC-TV 18 a couple of months ago that the group wanted to reduce this debt by Rs. 15,000 crore.
(This story appears in the 04 November, 2011 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)