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| Category | Group CN |
|---|---|
| Country | India |
| Drivers | 30 |
| Official website | rpplind |
 Current season | |
The Indian Racing League (formerly known as the X1 Racing League) is an auto racing championship based in India.
It is unrelated to the proposed i1 Super Series that was based on a similar idea.
It is co-founded by Indian professional drivers, Aditya Patel and Armaan Ebrahim. [1]
For the first season in 2019, the series operated decade-old Formula BMW machinery having originally planned to run Radicals. Just two events were held having scheduled four, and track-time at the second and final round was condensed due to travel constraints. A number of the cars suffered from mechanical problems, halving the field from 12 cars to 6 at the second and final event. [2] A number of drivers also abandoned the championship between the events on safety grounds – including Christina Nielsen and Mathias Lauda, who reported that their race-suits had been soaked by a fuel leak during a qualifying session. [3] The Bangalore Racing Stars team were crowned champions. [4]
After delays due to the coronavirus pandemic, the championship returned in late-2022 having been renamed the Indian Racing League. The series was scheduled to be held alongside the Formula Regional Indian Championship before moving to a standalone schedule, whilst organisers imported a fleet of Group CN-class Wolf GB08s to avoid the technical issues that beset the first season. [5] Despite this, all of the races at the first event in Hyderabad were cancelled after Vishnu Prasad broke his leg in a practice crash. [6] Two events were held at the Madras International Circuit before returning to Hyderabad, and whilst the Hyderabad Blackbirds team dominated the Irungattukottai rounds with the help of experienced driver Neel Jani, the new Godspeed Kochi franchise overhauled them with a dominant display at a wet-dry finale. The season however was an administrative nightmare; suffering from a lack of public communication regarding the opening round, confusion over whether or not a drivers' championship was to be awarded, the final points tally not aligning with the provided points system, and mechanical issues with the cars (wheels falling off at the first Irungattukottai event and engines flooding during the rolling starts at the finale). [7]
With an updated format, and a calendar including the Buddh International Circuit as well as a new street course around Chennai's Island Grounds, the championship appeared to be in better shape approaching their third season in 2023. [8] However, issues immediately arose as the first round was moved from Hyderabad to Irungattukottai less than a week out due to local elections, whilst Buddh disappeared off the calendar entirely. [9] Ultimately, the championship hosted all three of its events at Irungattukottai due to infrastructure damage caused by Cyclone Michaung, with bad weather from the system impacting several races as well. Two race wins for Raoul Hyman helped he and co-driver Sohil Shah to the drivers' championship, whilst Bangalore Speedsters claimed the teams' championship aided by Sarah Moore's victory in the first round – Moore becoming the first woman to win a race in the series. [10]
The 2024 season started in remarkably organised fashion, with the first two races at Irungattukottai going off without a hitch – Jon Lancaster scored his and the Chennai Turbo Riders' first race win in the season-opener after Neel Jani retired from the lead with a handful of laps remaining, whilst Alister Yoong won the second race for the rebranded Rarh Bengal Tigers; Sourav Ganguly and the Shrachi Group purchased the Godspeed Kochi franchise in the off-season. [11] The series hosted its first night event around the Island Grounds a week later, with the wins shared by Raoul Hyman and Álvaro Parente after track action was delayed due to issues with circuit homologation. [12] [13]
Teams are franchise-based and represent Indian cities. Each team has two cars and four drivers; two drivers must be Indian or of Indian descent, and the other two drivers – one male and one female – must come from outside of India. Two drivers compete in each car, with the line-ups determined by the teams.
In 2019, each event consisted of three 30mins + 1 lap races. The races were relays, with a mandatory pit-stop for a driver change in each.
In 2022, three races will again be held per round – but the first two of these will be 25min + 1 lap "sprint races" and the third is a 45min + 1 lap "feature race". As there are two drivers per car, for Race 1 Driver A will qualify and Driver B will start, for Race 2 Driver B will qualify and Driver A will start, and the feature race will see the grid determined by aggregate event points with both drivers competing by way of a mandatory driver change. [14]
In 2023, two qualifying sessions and two races were held per event – with the "feature race" including driver swaps discontinued. Two drivers were entered in each car, with each driver contesting one of the two event days – consisting of one 20-minute practice session, one 10-minute qualifying session and a 20-minute + 1 lap race per day. [15] This format was retained in 2024, with the race length increased by 5 minutes. [16]
| Season | Driver | Team and contributing drivers | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | not awarded | Bangalore Racing Stars |  Nayan Chatterjee Michelle Gatting Arjun Maini Vishnu Prasad Oliver Webb |
| 2020 – 2021 | not held | ||
| 2022 | Akhil Rabindra Hyderabad Blackbirds | Godspeed Kochi | Jordan Albert [a] Ruhaan Alva Nikhil Bohra  Fabienne Wohlwend  Alister Yoong |
| 2023 |  Raoul Hyman Sohil ShahGoa Aces | Bangalore Speedsters | Ashwin Datta Kyle Kumaran Sarah Moore Oliver Webb |
| 2023 | Raoul Hyman Sohil Shah Goa Aces | Goa Aces | Raoul Hyman  Gabriela Jílková Shahan Ali Mohsin Sohil Shah |
Kumar Ram Narain Karthikeyan is an Indian former racing driver, who competed in Formula One between 2005 and 2012.
Armaan Ebrahim is a car racer from Chennai, India. He is the vice-president of MECO Motorsports.
The Indian Grand Prix was a Formula One race in the calendar of the FIA Formula One World Championship, which was held at the Buddh International Circuit in sector 25 along Yamuna Expressway in Gautam Buddh Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh from 2011 until 2013.
Cricket is the most popular sport in Chennai. The M. A. Chidambaram Stadium is one of the oldest cricket stadiums in India and has been the venue for many notable milestones in the history of Indian cricket. Tennis, field hockey, football and formula racing and squash are the other popular sports. The city hosts an ATP tennis event, the Chennai Open. Chennai has a rich legacy in chess and has produced many well-known chess players, the most notable of them being Viswanathan Anand, the former multiple World Chess Champion.
Stuart William Oliver is a British auto racing driver. He has won several titles in truck racing. He drives the Kelsa Truck Products Volvo Trucks RH13 in both the British Truck Racing Championship and the FIA European Truck Championship, for Team Oliver Racing.
Madras Motor Sports Club is an Indian auto racing club founded in 1952 and based in Chennai, India. Madras Motor Sports Club with its history of over 50 years is the reason that Chennai can be called the epicentre of motor racing in India.
The Madras International Circuit is a permanent motor racing circuit located in Irungattukottai, Chennai, India. It was built in the late 1980s and was inaugurated in 1990. It was the first permanent racing circuit in India and is owned by the Madras Motor Sports Club. In July 2022, the track was renamed as Madras International Circuit.
Shankar Sarath Kumar is a professional motorcycle road racer and a multiple Indian national champion. He became the first Indian to take part in the FIM Motorcycle World Championship competing in the 125cc class in the 2011 MotoGP at the Portugal Grand Prix. He took part in only three rounds. His efforts to re-enter Moto3 for the 2014 season failed due to lack of sponsors.
Motorsport is a popular form of sport in India for over 100 years.The Federation of Motor Sports Clubs in India (fmsci) is the National governing body for motorsports approved by FIA and FIM. FMSCI, usually written in small caps, is the National Federation that organises nearly a dozen Nationals in various disciplines of motorsport. Some of the popular Indian motorsports Nationals are: Indian National Rally Championship (INRC), Indian National Supercross Championship, Indian National Car Racing Championship, Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship and Indian National Rotax Max Karting Championship.
Arun Muthukrishnan. He started his career in motorcycle racing with a burning passion for the sport. He has finished 2nd in the 2012 SIDVIN MMSC-FMSCI Indian national motorcycle championship and 3rd in the Yamaha one make championship 2012. Arun Muthukrishnan has also represented India in the 2012 Yamaha ASEAN cup held in Philippines.
Aditya Patel is an Indian racing driver that represents Audi India Motorsport. Prior to this, he has competed in the Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup, Polo Cup, Formula BMW Pacific and the 24 Hours of Nürburgring.
Fabienne Wohlwend is a racing driver from Liechtenstein who competed in the W Series.
The 2023 F4 Indian Championship was the inaugural season of the F4 Indian Championship. It was a motor racing championship for open wheel, formula racing cars regulated according to FIA Formula 4 regulations. Initially, the series was planned to launch in 2022, before being postponed multiple times and then finally rescheduled to 2023. The season commenced on 4 November at the Madras International Circuit and concluded on 17 December at the same circuit.
The 2022 Indian Racing League was a single seater motor racing championship held across India. The series served as a revised reboot of the X1 Racing League and was originally planned to be run alongside the Formula Regional Indian Championship and F4 Indian Championship. These two championships were delayed to 2023, but the Indian Racing League still went ahead.
Hyderabad Street Circuit was a 2.835 km (1.762 mi) street circuit laid out on the streets of Hyderabad, Telangana, India. The track was set up in and around the Secretariat Complex and went through Lumbini Park, situated on the banks of Hussain Sagar Lake. The Hyderabad ePrix was staged on the circuit in 2023. It was held as part of the 2022–23 Formula E World Championship season and was the first Formula E race held in the country.
The 2023 Indian Racing League was a single seater motor racing championship held across India. The season was heavily disrupted by Cyclone Michaung making landfall at the Indian east coast.
Chennai Formula Racing Circuit, also known as the Chennai City Circuit, is a 3.839 km (2.385mi) street circuit in Island Grounds, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It hosted the second round of the F4 Indian Championship and the Indian Racing League 2024 on 31 August 2024.
The 2024 MRF Formula 2000 season was the tenth running of the Formula 2000-level single-seater championship in India previously known as the MRF Challenge. This was the third season of the championship restarted in 2022 without support of the FIA and simply called MRF Formula 2000, with the field consisting of domestic drivers rather than foreign racers competing over the European and Northern American off-season.
The 2024 F4 Indian Championship is the second season of the F4 Indian Championship. It is a motor racing championship for open wheel, formula racing cars regulated according to FIA Formula 4 regulations. The season commences on 24 August at Madras International Circuit and concludes on 17 November.
The 2024 Indian Racing League was a single seater motor racing championship held across India. 2024 was the third season of the championship. It started on August 24 at Madras International Circuit and ran over five race weekends.
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