Indian Racing League lines up exciting fare lead by WEC Champion Driver Neel Jaani

CHENNAI: The Madras International Circuit will reverberate with the sound of screaming engines of powerful single seater cars as the Round-1 of Indian Racing Festival 2024, promoted by Racing Promotions Pvt Ltd (RPPL), and first of its kind in the country, gets under way here on Saturday with a card of nine races.

The two-day event offers a bouquet of franchise-based Indian Racing League and the FIA-certified Formula 4 Indian Championship, besides the FMSCI National Racing Championship comprising the JK Formula LGB 4 which is in its 27th consecutive year and the Royal Enfield Continental GT Cup, with a total of nine races apart from official practice and qualifying sessions.

The IRL that will showcase the Aprilia-powered World Thunder GB08s machines with a top speed of 240Kmph, and F4 Indian Championship boast of leading Indian and foreign drivers, headlined by the vastly experienced Bengaluru-born 2022 champion Akhil Rabindra, Swiss ace Neel Jani, winner of the iconic 24 Hours Le Mans race in 2016, and Julius Dinesen, the 2022 Danish F4 champion.

There is also representation from Australia, Spain, Czech Republic, Denmark, Portugal, South Africa and Germany, giving the grid a truly international flavour, besides a competitive edge that has been the hallmark of previous two editions. The race will also witness 6 women drivers participating and competing alongside the men drivers, creating a unique and one of a kind inclusive race.

Each of the six IRL teams – Kolkata Royal Tigers (Kolkata), Speed Demons Delhi (Delhi), Goa Aces JA Racing (Goa), Hyderabad Blackbirds (Hyderabad), Chennai Turbo Riders (Chennai) and Bangalore Speedsters (Bengaluru) – comprises two Indian and two foreign drivers, including a female driver, sharing two cars across two races.

The Formula 4 Indian will be a triple-header with a highly competitive grid made up of several promising teenagers like Jaden Rahman Pariat, Abhay Mohan and Ruhaan Alva to name a few, with proven track record of winning National titles, besides several foreign drivers from Australia, Denmark and South Africa.