Chennai F4 night street race HIGHLIGHTS | Australia's Hugh Barter and South Africa's Aqil Alibhai share honours
Barter, who last weekend had won a race starting last on the grid, was unstoppable while winning the first race that was marred by two Safety Car periods and then a red flag with little over three minutes and a lap left.
Formula 4 (F4) night street race winners Hugh Barter (C), Ruhaan Alva (L), and Abhay Mohan (R) strike a pose with their trophies. (Photo | Manivasagan)
CHENNAI: Australian Hugh Barter of Godspeed Kochi and South African Aqil Alibhai of Hyderabad Blackbirds shared the day’s honours in the FIA-Formula 4 Indian Championship in the country's first-ever night racing event, in Chennai on Sunday night.
Legal issues, track certification delay, change of corners, traffic diversion - the inaugural night street race in Chennai had hurdle after hurdle hurling at it. But they all fell by the wayside, a challenge so distant that it was not even visible on the rearview mirror when the action finally began on Sunday night.
By the time spectators made their way to the stands in the afternoon, the excitement around the event reached its peak with whooshing cars burning the rubber and setting the road-turned-track on fire in the qualifying rounds.
At the golden hours of the evening, the F4 cars buzzing around the track made it a visual treat for the large crowd that assembled here.
The atmosphere was further electrified when celebrity team owners like John Abraham, Naga Chaitanya, Arjun Kapoor, and Sourav Ganguly made their way to the pitstop to greet their teams and crew members. Also present was Minister of Youth Welfare and Sports Udhayanidhi Stalin, who faced political flak for being keen on organising the event.
CHECK OUT HIGHLIGHTS OF DAY 2 HERE:
Live Updates
- 1 Sept 2024 5:27 PM IST
The Formula 4 cars are lined up on the track with Hugh Barter on pole position followed by Ruhaan Alva.
- 1 Sept 2024 4:25 PM IST
Its lights out and away we go!!!!!
The Formula LGB race 1 has officially begun
- 1 Sept 2024 4:20 PM IST
Formula LGB cars lined up on the grid for the inaugural race on the Chennai Formula Racing Circuit
- 1 Sept 2024 2:43 PM IST
Qualifying Updates
Indian Racing League (IRL)
Alvaro Parante takes pole position followed by Nikhil Bohra and Rishon Rajeev to complete the top three.
The IRL cars were three seconds quicker than the Formula 4 cars with Alvaro topping the charts with 1.40.430 in IRL qualifying
- 1 Sept 2024 2:03 PM IST
Update: Hugh Barter from Godspeed Kochi took pole position clocking a time of 1.43.158.
He dominated the qualifying session with an advantage of over 1.5 seconds from Ruhaan Alva (Bengal Tigers)
- 1 Sept 2024 2:00 PM IST
🏁Indian Racing League:
— DT Next (@dt_next) September 1, 2024
We're back with Day 2 updates! The cars zoomed at thunderous speed in broad daylight!#dtnext #Formula4CarRace #Formula4 #Formula4Chennai #chennaiformula4 #Chennai pic.twitter.com/OH924yXT24 - 1 Sept 2024 1:39 PM IST
DAY 2 SCHEDULE
All the drivers got their first taste of the circuit late at night yesterday with Formula LGB cars going out on track for their first practice session at around 9 pm. They were followed by the Indian Racing League (IRL) and Formula 4 cars.
Some drivers had expressed concerns over the dust on the track while going on fast laps but over the course of the session, the track got better and they were able to find grip.
Meanwhile, the final practice session began at 10:15 am today and went on till 11:35 am. The qualifying sessions are under way now.
Here's the full schedule for an action packed Day 2:
- 1 Sept 2024 1:36 PM IST
How twists on track almost turned F4 night street race in Chennai from spectacle to debacle
Delay in obtaining licence, poor organising, tired faces grace day one of South Asia's first night-street race
After traversing through tightly contested political and legal lanes, the Formula 4 night street race finally commenced in Chennai on Saturday night. However, what was promised to be a one-of-its-kind spectacle that was being organised for the first time in South Asia almost turned into a debacle, before the organisers finally managed to pull it together to get it going.
Read more:
FIA gives green light to conduct F4 street race after delay in acquiring licence
How twists on track almost turned F4 night street race in Chennai from spectacle to debacle
