The highest form of racing in Indian Motorsport is back. Starting from August 24th at the Madras International Circuit, Indian F4 Championship and the Indian Racing League return as a celebration of Indian Motorsport. With new venues, exciting partnerships and a thrilling format, this is shaping up-to be the greatest Indian Racing Festival yet.
The Calendar
Both Indian F4 and the Indian Racing League (IRL) will race the same circuits at the same weekends. This year, there will be five rounds, with Indian F4 racing three, and IRL racing two times each round.
The season begins in the home of Indian Motorsport: the Madras International Circuit. The MIC has hosted both events before, and is also going to be the venue for the Pre Season testing starting August 22nd. The MIC will then host the first round starting August 24th.
The caravan will then make camp at the Chennai Formula Racing Circuit, a street circuit which will host the first ever night race in India. The historical second round starts August 31.
Following the night race, we will race for the first time at the Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore.
And while the venues of the next two rounds are unannounced, it is strongly implied that the Buddh International Circuit will host one of the rounds.
The Machinery
Both Categories are Spec Series, meaning that each car has the same chassis, engine and components to ensure parity amongst the competition.
The Indian F4 championship will use the standard Mygale M21-F4 chassis manufactured by Mygale for the junior F4 categories. The engine will be provided by Alpine power units. MP Motorsport will be acting as the technical support for the championship. The Dutch organization has had a lot of success in junior categories such as F2, F3 and regional formula championships.
The Indian Racing League will feature the Wolf GB08s. The car has an Aprilia RS-V4 engine that produces 220 bhp with double air intake. It also features FIA homologated components and has aerodynamics that allow for good chasing and closer racing.
The Format
The Indian F4 will feature three races per weekend with two qualifying sessions. The Fastest Laps in the first Qualifying session will decide the grid for Race 1. Race 2 will be reverse grid of the top 6 from Race 1’s final result. The Second Qualifying session will be considered for setting the grid for the final race. This format rewards not only pace, but consistent pace, with a single driver capable of securing both Poles on qualifying.
The Indian Racing League is divided into teams. Each team can run two cars, with two Indian Drivers and two international driver. At-least one of the four drivers must be female to promote equality. Each car gets two drivers, with each driving in one of two competition days. Each day features a practice session, a qualifying session and a 25 minute + 1 Lap race, without mandatory pitstops. Driver A will take the car on Saturday, and B on Sunday. The Pole and the Fastest Lap will provide a single point in both the Drivers’ and Team’s Championships.
Notable Drivers
The Indian Racing Festival has produced a handful of very talented drivers, and has also hosted some very prominent ones.
Akshay Bohra, who placed overall third in the Indian F4 standings last year, has been tearing it up internationally. He went on to win in the Le Castellet round of the Italian Formula 4 championship, while also taking pole position in Mugello.
The biggest draw for IRL will be Neel Jani. The sportscar legend, who has won Le Mans in both GT and Prototype categories, will race for Hyderabad Blackbirds. Partnering Jani in Hyderabad will be Akhil Rabindra, another driver who has proven himself internationally.
Sohail Shah and Raoul Hyman will also continue to race the same car, and defend their title.
Stories to look forward to
The Indian F4 championship introduced a shootout challenge, the winner of which will receive a fully sponsored seat for the season. The winner of the inaugral shootout challenge, Gaincarlo Artho will try to impress and perhaps gather some silverware.
Pressure will be on for the Indian drivers to deliver a championship at home as well. The stakes are high for everyone, because the champion earns a seat in the next season of FRIC free of cost.
In the IRL, focus will be on Bangalore Speedsters to defend their team’s title. Laura Camps (Hyderabad Blackbirds) will look to join Sarah Moore as a female race winner. Sohail Shah and Raoul Hyman of the Goa Aces will also try and defend their title. Neel Jani and Akhil Rabindra will contest their claim to the title as well.
New sponsors, partners and broadcasters
The IRF has joined with Kingfisher as a presenting partner. The Chief Marketing Officer, Vikram Bahl has been vocal about his support for the growth of Motorsport in India.
After streaming the races on youtube for the past seasons, Indian Racing Festival have also struck deals with Star Sports to broadcast on television, along with Fancode as their OTT broadcasters. Fancode already offers F1 broadcasts, along with F1TV in India. The races will be aired on the Star Sports Select 2 channel on televisions, and online on Fancode.
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