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The Indian Racing Festival 2024 returns to the Madras International Circuit for the third round to be run this weekend which should see a continuation of exciting wheel-to-wheel racing that has been a feature thus far.
Headlining the weekend card is the franchise-based Indian Racing League contested by six teams among whom the Shirachi Rarh Bengal Tigers have been the most consistent and lead the points table aided by one win and three podium finishes. The two-day Indian Racing Festival also includes triple-headers in the FIA-certified Formula 4 Indian Championship and the FMSCI National Racing Championship (Formula LGB 4). The Madras International Circuit hosted Round 1 and, as such, the drivers would be very familiar with the layout and conditions at the track. Under the circumstances, the expectations are high of some high-octane action. The four IRL races over two rounds, including the historic night street race in the heart of Chennai a fortnight back, has seen as many different teams scoring outright wins - Chennai Turbo Riders, Shirachi Rarh Bengal Tigers, Goa Aces JA Racing and Speed Demons Delhi. These results are indicative of the fierce competition among the teams, each of which is made up of four drivers, including one female racer, who share two Aprilia-powered World Thunder GB08s with a top speed of 240 Kmh. The IRL features several leading Indian racers who have also performed at the international level, notably Akhil Rabindra and Ruhaan Alva besides Jaden Rahaman Pariat, Sai Sanjay and Sandep Kumar who have won National titles. There is also representation from Australia, Spain, Czech Republic, Denmark, Portugal, South Africa and Germany, injecting international flavour to the grid beside a competitive edge that has been the hallmark of the previous two editions. The Indian Racing Festival, to be held over five rounds, is sponsored by Kingfisher Soda, JK Tyres, Mobil 1 and Megha Engineering & Infrastructure Limited. All these races will be live on Start Sports and Fancode. Formula 4 Indian Championship A notable absentee in Round 3 of the Formula 4 Indian category is Australian youngster Hugh Barter who dominated the two rounds. That should open the field considerably with the likes of Bengaluru teenager Ruhaan Alva (Schirach Rarh Bengal Tigers) and South African Aqil Alibhai (Hyderabad Black Birds) being the top contenders. Yet, they will have in their mirrors a clutch of young guns who have shown impressive pace and contributed to the exciting races. FMSCI National Racing Championship The popular Formula LGB 4 category, which has always attracted a big grid, will be no different in Round 3 with 26 drivers in the fray. Leading the pack in the championship standings is Bengaluru's Tijil Rao followed by his Dark Don team-mate Diljith TS from Thrissur. Tijil, known for his daring drives, has two wins to Diljith's one. Their team-mate Bala Prasath took the honours in the very first race to herald the Dark Don team's domination. FMSCI Indian National Racing Championship Round 2 of the 29th JK Tyre-FMSCI Indian National Racing Championship happened at the Chennai Formula Racing Circuit, thus becoming the first domestic motor racing competition to run a night street circuit race. Spread over two races, with 24 competitors competing in the Formula LGB4 Class, the event witnessed Dark Don Racing continue their brilliant start to the season, courtesy of Diljith TS's victory in Race 1. Diljith retained a podium finish in Race 2, finishing P2 behind second-time winner Tijil Rao, who, with 31 points, leads the Drivers' Standings after two rounds. Meanwhile, Dark Don Racing extended their lead at the top of the Teams' Standings to 65 points, nearly twice as much as their closest challenger MSport. Furthermore, Neythan McPherson's twin P1s in the LGB4 Rookie segment saw him tie Abhay M at the summit of the leaderboard, both drivers accumulating 34 points until now. (ANI)
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