Round 2 of the 2024 Indian Racing Festival (IRF) concluded on the weekend of August 31-September 1, and to say that it was a big hit would be a huge understatement. After a slow start on qualifying day (Saturday), due to a few safety concerns on the track, the round witnessed incredible racing action on the main race day with over 9000 spectators. But before we tell you how everything unfolded, a little overview on the track first.
Organised by Racing Promotions Private Limited and the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu, Round 2 of the 2024 IRF was held at the 3.5-kilometre Chennai Formula Racing Circuit – a street track nestled right in the heart of the city. It has 19 turns and a few fast straights where IRL race cars can top out at over 200kmph. It runs along multiple landmarks including the age-old St. George fort, over the Napier Bridge and even by the War Memorial on the Marina Beach.
After practice and qualifying, the race day kicked off with the JK Formula LGB F4 races. Race 1 saw Pune-based Neythan McPherson of Momentum Motorsports start on pole with Dark Don Racing's Diljith T.S. in second followed by N. Datta of MSport in third. After the safety car was deployed by the end of the very first lap, the more experienced Diljith overtook Neythan and crossed the finish line in P1. Naythan followed him just 0.442 seconds behind. P3 was bagged by Tijil Rao, who showed impressive pace after starting the race in P8 and making his way up the ladder.
Later in the day, in race 2, Tijil showed utter dominance after trading P1 with Diljith throughout the race, and then finally taking the win. Eventually, he won the race after a decisive overtake, with Diljith following him in P2 just 0.311 second behind. Naythan McPherson rounded off the podium a second behind his rivals.
Next up, it was time for the Formula 4 class, in their Mygale F4 Gen 2 cars, to go out on the track. Aussie racer Hugh Barter of Godspeed Kochi claimed pole position with Ruhaan Alva of the Bengal Tigers Team in second and South African Aqil Alibhai from Black Birds Hyderabad in third place. After the lights went out, Barter quickly garnered a big lead in the 10-lap race and ended 7.299 seconds ahead of everyone else in P1. He was followed by Ruhaan Alva in P2 and Abhay Mohan of Bangalore Speedsters, who claimed the final podium spot.
The second Formula 4 race was won by Barter’s teammate, South African racer Aqil Alibhai who had to retire in Race 1 due to issues with his car. Aqil started the second race in P4, but made good progress and a few interesting overtakes to cross the chequered flag ahead of Ahmedabad Apex racer Divy Nandan and team Bangalore Speedsters’ Jaden Pariat.
Finally, the Indian Racing League race cars were unleashed on the track. The IRL includes six city-based franchise teams – Chennai TurboRiders, Goa Aces JA Racing, Speed Demons Delhi, Bangalore Speedsters, Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers, and Hyderabad Blackbirds. The competition runs Wolf Thunder GB08 race cars which are powered by an Aprilia RSV4 1-litre engine that is paired to a turbocharger to produce over 180bhp. In the IRL, one car is shared by a pair of drivers.
In the IRL qualifying for Race 1, it was team Goa Aces’ Czech driver Gabriela Jilkova who came out on top, followed by her teammate Raoul Hyman and Chennai TurboRiders driver John Lancaster in P2 and P3 respectively. Race 1 started with the leaders giving each other a hard time, but it was red-flagged after a dog decided to go frolicking on the track. In the meantime, Raoul moved to P1 and stayed there till the end ahead of Gabriela and Bengaluru Tigers racer Alister Yoong in P3.
Race 2 of the IRL and the final race of the night saw team Speed Demons Delhi driver Alvaro Parente putting on a good show for the audience one last time. Defending team Goa Aces JA Racing driver Sohil Shah throughout the race, he bagged P1 0.947 seconds ahead of him. Sohil was followed by Bangalore Speedsters driver Rishon Rajeev who finished the race in P3, six seconds behind.
With 34 total points, Tijil Rao leads the drivers roster, followed by Rahul Rangasamy and Diljith T.S. with 22 and 18 points respectively, in the JK FLGB4 class after Round 2 of the IRF. In the Formula 4 Indian Driver's Championship class, team GodSpeed Kochi leads the points table with 83 points, with Bangalore Speedsters following closely behind with 80 points and Ahmedabad Apex in P3 with 78 points. In the Indian Racing League, Saurav Ganguly’s team Shrachi Rarh Bengaluru Tigers are the points table leaders with 93 points, followed by Chennai TurboRiders (83 points) and Speed Demons Delhi (74 points).
Round three of the 2024 Indian Racing Festival is scheduled for the weekend of September 13-15, at the Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore.