History
The franchise was founded initially as Godspeed Kochi in 2022, headed up by Thiruvananthapuram-based businessman and former rally driver Joseph Thomas Pottamkulam, as a last-minute entry into the Indian Racing League. [2] [3] Local drivers Ruhaan Alva and Nikhil Bohra were set to be joined by British GT4 driver Jordan Albert and Brazilian F4 driver Aurelia Nobels, however Nobels was unable to obtain a visa and was replaced with W Series driver Fabienne Wohlwend. Albert left the series after the first round in Hyderabad was cancelled, with Pottamkulam claiming he "ran away", and was replaced with Alister Yoong. [4] At least one of the teams' cars scored a podium finish in all but one of the races that season, including the Yoong/Bohra combination winning all three races in the final weekend of the season, on their way to the teams' championship whilst all four drivers finished inside the top six in the championship. [5]
The four drivers who completed the 2022 IRL season were retained for 2023, whilst the franchise expanded into the new F4 Indian Championship for its inaugural season. [6] The IRL championship format changed to place emphasis on the results of driver combinations over individual achievements, but despite claiming half of the available race wins Kochi were relegated to 3rd behind franchises representing Bangalore and Goa. Bohra's younger brother Akshay was joined by Salva Marjan for the F4 program, however Marjan failed to qualify for the opening round and his replacement Veer Rajwade withdrew from the second, leading to Singaporean Nooris Gafoor moving across from Bangalore for the final two rounds – with all events held at Madras International Circuit, Bohra finished third in the drivers' championship having won the first race of the season. [7]
The franchise was bought by cricketer Sourav Ganguly and the Shrachi Group prior to the 2024 season, initially renaming it Kolkata Royal Tigers before later changing it to Rarh Bengal Tigers – referencing the historical region of Rarh. [8] [9] As well as running two cars for the existing drivers in IRL, the franchise expanded to four cars for Indian F4; keeping two under the old Kochi title. Yoong scored the teams' only race win in the 2024 IRL at the first round, however consistency kept Alva and Wohlwend in the championship fight up to the last race – Car #5 ultimately finished third in the entrants' standings after colliding with Akash Gowda, whilst the franchise finished runner-up to Goa in the teams' championship. [10] Alva completed double-duty having also campaigned in F4, finishing runner-up in the standings to South African Aqil Alibhai – Hugh Barter had set the pace early in the season under the Kochi banner with three race wins, but withdrew after the second round. [11] [12]
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Ruhaan Alva
Nikhil Bohra 
Fabienne Wohlwend 
Alister Yoong
Giancarlo Artho [a] 
