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Tag: Racing Promotions
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Godspeed Kochi crowned maiden IRL champions
Hyderabad, 11 Dec 2022: Scintillating performance winning all the three races on the final day saw dark horses Godspeed Kochi crowned as the team champions in the inaugural Indian Racing League (IRL) as strong favourites Black Birds Hyderabad fell by the way side in the fourth and final round which concluded at the street circuit on the banks of Hussain Sagar here on Sunday.
Akhil Rabindra, who won the Driver’s championship. Photo Shameem Fahath Black Birds Hyderabad’s Akhil Rabindra, ace Indian driver, was adjudged as Driver champion followed by teammate Neel Jani in Second. Kochi team’s Alister Yoong of Malaysia was third.
All the four drivers of Kochi, Ruhaan Alva and Fabienne in Car #1 and Alister Yoong and Nikhil Bora in Car #2 turned in excellent performance on the final day to close the championship with a bang.
Despite the early hiccups, the historic Racing League, the first city-based motorsports league in the country also gave India its first Street Circuit, thanks to the support from the Telangana government. The new Circuit is expected to host the Formula E world Championship next February after the homologation of the track.
Godspeed Kochi’s Alister Yoong and Nikhil Bora finished the final day of the League season and the Round 4 on a high note, posting thumping victories in both the Sprint Races and the Feature Race. Meanwhile, their second car piloted by Ruhaan Alva and Fabienne Wohlwend, chipped in with a sixth place, despite technical issues with the car, after finishing fourth on the track and logging a penalty. Thus, Godspeed Kochi (313.5), who went into the final race trailing by 23.5 points to Black Birds Hyderabad (337) garnered enough points to turn the tables and overthrow the Championship leaders and were crowned the inaugural Team Champions of IRL promoted by Racing Promotions Private Limited. Kochi ended up with 417.5 points to Hyderabad’s 385.
Alister Yoong, centre, and Nikhil Bohra, right, with Kochi team boss Jose Pottamkulam Ootta, a former Rally star. File photo by Karan Ravi. In the Feature Race, both the Blue cars of Kochi started on the front row but there was much drama with a Red flag at the very beginning following Hyderabad’s Akhil Rabindra’s car stalling on the grid. Later, after three formation laps the race began with most of the cars on wet tyres on a drying track.
In car #2, Nikhil Bora started on pole and lead the race and after driver swap, Alister Yoong, surprisingly found himself in third place and finished second on the track. But later, he was credited with a victory in the Feature Race, thus making a clean sweep for Kochi team.
File photo of Ruhaan Alva, left, and Fabienne Wohlwend of Godspeed Kochi team. Photo by Akhil (IRL/Shameem’s team) Behind Alister, Kevin of Goa Aces, who began in P3 overtook Ruhaan and soon Jon Lancaster of Chennai followed suit. But with some skilful driving Ruhaan, the 17-year Bengalurean, gained back a place and jumped into the pits quite early and there was confusion if he missed the pit-window. However, Fabienne took over after the driver swap and retained the third place till the final lap before finishing the race in fourth place on the track. But later, a penalty saw them end up in sixth place. But that classification was enough to garner valuable 32 points for the team which counted in their snatching the Team Championship.
Earlier, Alister, the son of Malaysia’s first F1 racer Alex Yoong, won the first Sprint Race followed by Gabriela Jilkova and Sohil Shah (Both Goa Aces).
In the second Sprint Race, Nikhil Bora and Ruhaan Alva posted a 1-2 victory for Kochi to gain full points and Kevin Mirocha of Goa Aces finished third. With today’s exploits Goa Aces finished the championship in third with 282 points.
Godspeed Kochi team file photo from Round 2 by Shameem Fahath. Final Results – Feature Race:
1. Nikhil Bora/ Alister Yoong (Godspeed Kochi);
2. Kevin Mirocha / Gabriela Jilkova (Goa Aces);
3. Anindith Reddy/ Lola* (Black Birds Hyderabad);
4. Jon Lancaster / Sandeep Kumar (Chennai Turbo Riders);
5. Nicole Hvarda / Parth Ghorpade (Chennai Turbo Riders);
6. Ruhaan Alva /Fabienne Wohlwend (Godspeed Kochi);
*(Unwell Lola did not take part on Sunday and Anindith drove the race alone with a 3-min pitstop)
Not Classified:
7. Amir Sayed/ Sohil Shah (Goa Aces);
8. Rishon Rajeev / Bianca Bustamante (Bangalore Speedsters);
9. Mitchell Gilbert / Celia Martin (Speed Demons Delhi);
10. Akash Gowda/ Shahan Ali Mohsin (Speed Riders Delhi);
11. Oliver Webb /Anshul Gandhi (Bangalore Speedsters);
12. Akhil Rabindra /Thomas Canning (Black Birds Hyderabad);
Sprint Race 1:
1. Alister Yoong (Godspeed Kochi);
2. Gabriela Jilkova (Goa Aces)
3. Shohil Shah (Goa Aces)
4. Thomas Canning (Black Birds Hyderabad);
5. Akash Gowda (Speed Demons Delhi);
6. Nicole Havrda (Chennai Turbo Riders);
7. Sandeep Kumar (Chennai Turbo Riders);
8. Celia Martin (Speed Demons Delhi);
9. Fabienne Wohlwend (Godspeed Kochi);
10. Rishon Rajeev (Bangalore Speedsters);
11. Oliver Webb (Bangalore Speedsters);
12. Anindith Reddy (Black Birds Hyderabad).
Sprint Race 2:
1. Nikhil Bohra (Godspeed Kochi);
2. Ruhaan Alva (Godspeed Kochi);
3. Kevin Mirocha (Goa Aces);
4. Jon Lancaster (Chennai Turbo Riders);
5. Akhil Rabindra (Black Birds Hyderabad);
6. Amir Sayed (Goa Aces);
7. Parth Ghorpade (Chennai Turbo Riders);
8. Shahan Ali Mohsin (Speed Demons Delhi);
9. Mitchell Gilbert (Speed Demons Delhi);
10. Bianca Bustamante (Bangalore Speedsters);
11. Anshul Gandhi (Bangalore Speedsters);
12 Anindith Reddy (Black Birds Hyderabad).
Final Championship Points table
1. Godspeed Kochi 445.5;
2. Black Birds Hyderabad: 397;
3. Goa Aces: 294;
4. Chennai Turbo Riders 226.
5. Bangalore Speedsters 147.5;
6. Speed Demons Delhi 141;
Drivers title:
1. Akhil Rabindra (Black Birds Hyderabad);
2. Neel Jani (Black Birds Hyderabad);
3. Alister Yoong (Godspeed Kochi).
eom/david/7.42pm
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Shahan Ali, Akash shine for Speed Demons Delhi; Neel, Akhil salvage win for Hyd: IRL
Chennai (Tamil Nadu), 4 Dec 2022: Neel Jani and Akhil Rabindra chalked out an opportunistic victory in the Feature Race to help Black Birds Hyderabad maintain their grip at the top after young racing talent Shahan Ali Mohsin took a brilliant win in the Sprint Race 2 for Speed Demons Delhi in the third and penultimate round of the Indian Racing League promoted by Racing Promotions Pvt. Limited (RPPL) at the Madras International Circuit at Irungattukottai, about 40 kms from here, on Sunday.
Going into the third round, Speed Demons Delhi were lying at the bottom of the points table but with a strategic win in the qualifying session 2, Akash Gowda put his teammate Shahan Ali Mohsin in pole position and the 18-year Agra driver did a brilliant job with a mature drive as he kept experienced Jon Lancaster of Chennai Turbo Riders behind him with excellent defensive tactics despite a Safety Car period and brought home full points. Despite having issues with the gear box, the Speed Demons Delhi, took a gamble and preferred to start on pole, opting not to change the gear box which would have invited a 5-place gird penalty. Lancaster finished second ahead of Nikhil Bohra (Godspeed Kochi) in third, after Bianca Bustamante was hit by a mechanical failure.
“We did not have it easy in the race, nor earlier in the warm-up as we had gear-box issues. But we had the pace and I kept my focus despite the pressure from Jon (Lancaster). The team did a great job and the strategy worked,” said Shahan Ali.
Later, Shahan Ali combined well with Akash Gowda and were well on course for a victory but two Safety Car periods spoiled their party. Shahan who started the Feature race, defended well and slowly increased the lead with two fastest laps and handed over the car with a 5-second lead to Akash. Surprisingly, despite being in the lead when the second Safety Car period started, Delhi’s second driver Akash Gowda found himself in third. Sandeep Kumar of Chennai, who was in second place at that point with just a lap to go, stalled his car and the race finished behind the Safety Car. Akash finished behind Jani and Rishon took final place on the podium.
However, it was an opportunistic victory for Neel Jani, who salvaged full points along with Akhil Rabindra for Black Birds Hyderabad as the championship leaders failed to get on to the podium in both the sprint races in Round 3. Akash Gowda (Shahan Ali) finished second and a lucky Rishon Rajeev (Bianca Bustamante) of Bengaluru finished third, thanks to the Safety Car. During the Safety Car period, the lapped cars were allowed to un-lap themselves and with the mechanical failure for the Chennai car, Rishon suddenly found himself on the podium.
“I was a bit confused. Suddenly I was behind the Safety Car and I was wondering if I was in P1, then the Safety Car allowed us to pass and I came back into P4 and then the podium,” said a happy Rishon Rajeev of Bangalore Speedsters, whose teammate Bianca did well with some fine defensive driving but was unlucky to miss the podium in the Sprint.
The Fourth and the final leg of the Indian Racing League will return to the Street Circuit of Hyderabad December 10 and 11.
Results – Day 2, Round 3:
Feature Race:
1. Neel Jani / Akhil Rabindra (Black Birds Hyderabad) 41:20.818;
2. Shahan Ali Mohsin / Akash Gowda (Speed Demons Delhi) 41:21.384;
3. Rishon Rajeev /Bianca Bustamanta (Bangalore Speedsters) 41:22.633.
Sprint Race 2:
1. Shahan Ali Mohsin (Speed Demons Delhi) 23:04.788;
2. Jon Lancaster (Chennai Turbo Riders) 23:06.750;
3. Nikhil Bohra (Godspeed Kochi) 23:13.585.
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Godspeed Kochi, new team for Indian Racing League
Bengaluru, 12 Nov 2022: Godspeed Kochi team, completes the line-up for the high-profile Indian Racing League, and the team will showcase another talented Indian teenager Ruhaan Alva from Bengaluru in the first motorsports league in India for six city-based franchise teams. Other talented Indian teenagers already announced with five other teams are Shahan Ali Mohsin (Delhi team), Sohil Shah, Amir Syed (both Goa), Anshul Gandhi and Rishon Rajeev (both Bangalore).
The Kochi team was announced as the sixth team by RPPL on Thursday through their social media handles. The Kochi team will also have 26-year Jordan Albert, a British GT4 driver, along with Singaporean with Indian roots, Nikhil Bohra, who took part in F4 races in Germany and UAE, and talented lady driver from Belgium Aurelia Nobels, who finished in the top-4 of the FIA Girls on Track – Rising Stars programme, on Friday. Ruhaan Alva, 16, the only Indian in the Kochi team, was invited to the Ferrari Driver Academy Asia Pacific selection program in September and also represented India in the F4 category of the World Motorsport Games, in October.
Twentyfour drivers, including six lady racers, as part of six teams will vie for honours in the inaugural Indian Racing League that begins with pre-testing at the Madras International Circuit in Sriperumbudur, about 30-km from Chennai, on November 14. The first round of the Formula-3-level single-seater racing series will begin on the street-circuit in Hyderabad on Nov 19, and the next four consecutive week-ends will witness four back-to-back rounds with three races in each round.
Originally planned to be five rounds to be held from Feb 2022, the series will now have four rounds and 12 races. The series is also a revised format of the X1 Racing League which was initially planned to run along with Indian F4 races, which along with Formula Regional Indian Championship were put-off and are likely to begin only in 2023.
Top Indian racers Akhil Rabindra and Anindith Reddy will star in the home team Hyderabad Blackbirds as the league features some of the best Indian racing talent and will also host India’s first-ever street circuit races on the banks of Hussain Sagar Lake in Hyderabad during the four consecutive weekends starting Nov 19. Promoted by Racing Promotions Pvt Ltd (RPPL), the League,will feature 12 prominent foreign drivers, including six lady stars.
The six city-based teams are Hyderabad Blackbirds,Speed Demons Delhi, Bangalore Speedsters, Chennai Turbo Riders, Goa Aces and Godspeed Kochi with two foreign drivers in each team including a lady driver each, will enthrall the motorsports fans and spectators. The Indian Racing League will be one-of-its-kind Racing League, where male and female drivers will compete against each other on a level playing field with the same ecosystem and machinery. Originally, Mumbai Falcons were supposed to be the leading lights but Kochi fills their gap this year and Falcons are expected to be back in the line-up from 2023.
The Hyderabad Blackbirds includes the city’s very own driver Anindith Reddy, besides renowned drivers like Neel Jani, a Swiss Indian professional Porsche factory driver who won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2016. Akhil Rabindra, selected as the Aston Martin Racing Academy Driver and female F4 racing driver Lola Lovinsfosse will be the other two.
Vishnu Prasad, a multiple National karting champion, including the 2013 senior title and a winner of the Formula BMW championship will spearhead the Chennai Turbo Riders team, along with another experienced racer, Kolhapur-based talent Parth Ghorpade, a five-time Indian National karting champion. Jon Lancaster, a British Auto Racing driver and a former World Karting vice-champion, who also won the Euro Le Mans Series LMP2, will be the foreign driver in the Chennai team along with lady driver, Nicole Havrda, a young Canadian who competes in Formula 3 in the USA.
Jodhpur-born Indian racing driver Anshul Gandhi, who is racing in the Spanish F4 for the last two years, and talented young Bengaluru racer, Rishon Rajeev, both in their teens will star in the Bangalore Speedsters team. While 17-year Gandhi, who polished his racing skills as a professional karter in UAE, has good international exposure and will have Oliver James Webb, 31, another British driver, who also won the Euro Le Mans Series to lead the team with his vast experience in Europe. The lady driver of the team will be Bianca Bustamante, 17-year old rising star from the Philippines, who recently concluded her debut W Series as the top-placed rookie after the final race in Singapore. “I am super excited to be racing in the Indian Racing League. Besides having a new kind of car and new tracks, I am looking forward to getting behind the wheel once again before 2023 kicks off,” said Bustamante, ahead of the testing in Chennai.
Akhilesh Reddy, Director MEIL and Chairman, RPPL says: “The Indian Racing league is the ultimate push to bring the Indian motorsports segment to a global stage and provide young racers a platform to compete with international motorsports drivers. Hyderabad plays a crucial role in Indian motorsports from talent to infrastructure and we hope the Hyderabad motorsports enthusiasts and citizens will enjoy the pulsating weekends in the city.”
The Wolf Racing team will be technical partner, operating all the competing cars with Aprillia 1100cc, 220HP engines. Both men and women will compete on a equal terms and the Indian Racing League aims to establish a better racing infrastructure in India and aims to cultivate top talent.
Auto enthusiasts can book their passes from BookMyShow India website to witness the exciting races at the event. The passes are available at Rs.749 onwards (Regular Pass) and Rs.1249 onwards (Weekend Pass) on BookMyShow here.
Indian Racing League (2022): Teams & Drivers
Hyderbad Blackbirds:
1. Neel Jani, 2. Akhil Rabindra, 3. Anindith Reddy and 4. Lola Lovinsfosse;
Goa Aces:
1. Raoul Hyman, 2. Sohil Shah, 3. Amir Syed and 4. Gabriela Jilkova;
Chennai Turbo Riders:
1. Jon Lancaster, 2. Parth Ghorpade, 3. Vishnu Prasad and 4. Nicole Havrda;
Bangalore Speedsters:
1. Oliver Webb, 2. Anshul Gandhi, 3. Rishon Rajeev and 4. Bianca Bustamante;
Speed Demons Delhi:
1. Mitch Gilbert, 2. Akash Gowda, 3. Shahaan Ali Mohsin and 4. Celia Martin.
Godspeed Kochi:
1. Jordan Albert, 2. Nikhil Bohra, 3. Ruhaan Alva and 4. Aurelia Nobels.
Calendar 2022:
Nov 14: Pre-season testing – Madras International Circuit – MIC (formerly MMRT), Chennai.
Nov 19 – 20: Inaugural round, Street Circuit around Hussain Sagar lake, Hyderabad.
Nov 25 – 27: Round 2, MIC, Chennai.
Dec 2 – 4: Round 3, MIC, Chennai.
Dec 10 – 11: Final round, Street Circuit around Hussain Sagar lake, Hyderabad.
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Racing Promotions takes India to GoodWood festival of Speed
Mumbai, 22 June 2022: Racing Promotions (RPPL), organisers of the revolutionary India Racing Festival announced recently will be present at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the world’s greatest celebration of motorsport and car culture at West Sussex, UK from June 23.
With the Indian motorsports scene coming into the limelight, RPPL has taken the baton to bring India on the global playing field through various racing events this year.
The Festival at the stunning parkland around Goodwood House, West Sussex, starting tomorrow is motorsport’s ultimate summer garden party, an exhilarating celebration of the world’s most spectacular sport. It brings forth an assembly of auto experts, racers and veterans from the industry experts from all around the world.
Akhilesh Reddy, Director MEIL and Chairman, RPPL (Racing Promotions Pvt Ltd) said, “Goodwood Festival is a huge opportunity for us to represent the Indian Racing Festival on a global scale. It will help in attracting more spotlight and exposure for the Indian racing scene, and will play an important role in spreading awareness amongst motorsports enthusiasts for the races happening this winter.”
Indian Racing Festival will set up stall to represent at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, showcasing the legendary Wolf Racing’s GB08 Thunder, a roaring racing machine, at its tent.
Giovanni Bellarosa, General Manager, Wolf Racing Car said, “It is really a great satisfaction to see our Wolf GB08 Thunder at the start in the Indian Racing League, we strongly believe in the organizational skills of our Indian partners, and we were immediately very impressed by the work. made by the top management of IRL, we are convinced the Championship will have great visibility and will bring many spectators to the racetracks for the 5 events and we also expect to see some very young drivers succeed in making a name for themselves in Motorsport thanks to this series. Presenting the program and the car at Goodwood is something truly perfect and in line with the ambitions of the project.”
RPPL recently announced the dates for its biggest formula racing event in India – ‘Indian Racing league’featuring FIA-certified ‘Formula 4 and Formula Regional Indian Championship in Nov-Dec 2022’, and looks forward towards exhibitions and interactions on an international level, garnering the global attention to the possibilities of how India can become a leading motorsports destination in the world.
About RPPL
Racing Promotions Pvt Ltd (RPPL) is owned by two multi-billion-dollar businesses MEIL and Gadhoke Group. In 2021, Indian racers Aditya and Armaan, along with their partners at RPPL- with Akhil Reddy as the Chairman, launched the Formula Regional Indian Championship as well as the F4 Indian Championship that will run along with the all new Indian Festival League in 2022 across 4 cities over 5 weekends.
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Racing Promotions to promote F4 and Indian Racing Festival
Mumbai, 17 June 2022: Powered by a vision to revive motor-sports in India, Indian motorsports company, Racing Promotions Pvt Ltd (RPPL)today announced the debut of the Indian Racing Festival. The festival which will bring in multiple franchise into the format will enthrall the audience on weekends in multiple cities including all kinds of exciting racing tracks and even a street circuit. The festival will begin from the weekend of November 11th and run every weekend until the weekend of December 10th across 5 weekends across multi-city locations including the former F1 track at BIC Greater Noida, the debut of the India’s first street track at Hyderabad, Coimbatore and MMRT Chennai.
The Indian Racing Festival RPPL will host 3 race events – Formula Regional Indian championship, Formula 4 Indian Championship and the Indian Racing League. Formula Regional Indian championship and the F4 Indian championships will be certified by the FIA; championship winners will be awarded FIA Super License points. However, these three championships are not the only ones on the horizon. RPPL has great intentions to establish racing infrastructure and begin developing talent from the ground up!
Details for the racing events are mentioned below –Races/Events Date Venue Formula Regional + F4 Indian + IRL (pre-season testing) 8 – 10 November BIC Greater Noida Formula Regional + F4 Indian + Indian Racing League 11 – 13 November BIC Greater Noida Formula Regional + F4 Indian + Indian Racing League 19 – 20 November Hyderabad Formula Regional + F4 Indian + Indian Racing League 25 – 27 November Coimbatore Formula Regional + F4 Indian + Indian Racing League 2- 4 December MMRT – Chennai Formula Regional + F4 Indian + Indian Racing League 10 – 11 December Hyderabad Akhilesh Reddy, Director MEIL and Chairman, RPPL (Racing Promotions Pvt Ltd) says, “Our ambition for the Indian Racing Festival is to put India back on the map of motorsports and to provide opportunities for young Indian racing drivers to take up the sport more seriously by providing them with a platform to advance to the top right in their own hometown. We are pleased to have drivers like Aditya Patel and Armaan Ebrahim in our team to guide us, we are also planning to reach out to various colleges as well to promote the sport. Indian Racing Festival featuring Formula Regional Indian championship, Formula 4 Indian Championship and the Indian Racing League, will attract the international racing fraternity to India, and subsequently, suppliers to the global auto-racing industry. Racing Promotions’ vision and initiatives in Formula Regional and F4 are steppingstones towards taking an all-Indian team to F1 in the next 5-7 years and an all-Indian women’s team to F2 in the next 10-12 years.”
The representatives of Indian Racing Festival attended the UK based GB3, GB4 and the British F4 championship and there are further plans to promote the Indian Racing Festival at prominent motorsports events around the world including becoming the first Indian registered company to exhibit at the mecca of motorsport -Goodwood Festival of Speed event in the UK. The team will also be in attendance at European events such as the Spanish F4, Formula Regional Europe championship by Alpine, Italian F4, French F4, German F4, FIA CIK event and ACCR F4.
The distinction of Indian racing will rise in the global rankings by holding not one, but two FIA sanctioned championships, which will attract spectators and contribute to economic success over the following 4-5 years.
About RPPL
Racing Promotions Pvt Ltd (RPPL) is owned by two multi-billion-dollar businesses MEIL and Gadhoke Group. In 2021, Indian racers Aditya and Armaan, along with their partners at RPPL- with Akhil Reddy as the Chairman, launched the Formula Regional Indian Championship as well as the F4 Indian Championship that will run along with the all new Indian Festival League in 2022 across 4 cities over 5 weekends.
