2022 Indian Racing League

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.[1] These two championships were delayed to 2023, but the Indian Racing League still went ahead.[2]

Akhil Rabindra (Hyderabad Blackbirds) won the drivers' title, while Godspeed Kochi won the teams' championship.

Teams and drivers edit

All drivers competed with single-seater Wolf GB08 Thunder cars, fitted with a 215 bhp (160 kW) Aprilia engine.[1][3] The teams were based on Indian cities, like they were in the X1 Racing League.[4]

Team No. Driver Rounds
Godspeed Kochi 1   Ruhaan Alva All
  Fabienne Wohlwend All
2   Jordan Albert 1
  Alister Yoong 2–4
  Nikhil Bohra All
Bangalore Speedsters 3   Bianca Bustamante All
  Rishon Rajeev All
4   Anshul Gandhi All
  Oliver Webb 1, 3–4
  Yash Aradhya 2
Chennai Turbo Riders 5   Parth Ghorpade All
  Nicole Havrda All
6   Jon Lancaster All
  Vishnu Prasad 1
  Sandeep Kumar 2–4
Goa Aces 7   Raoul Hyman 1–2
  Kevin Mirocha 3–4
  Gabriela Jílková All
8   Amir Sayed All
  Sohil Shah All
Hyderabad Blackbirds 9   Neel Jani 1–3
  Tom Canning 4
  Akhil Rabindra All
10   Lola Lovinfosse All
  Anindith Reddy All
Speed Demons Delhi 11   Akash Gowda All
  Shahan Ali Mohsin All
12   Mitchell Gilbert All
  Célia Martin All
Source:[5][6][7][8][9][10]

Calendar and results edit

As the series was planned to be run alongside the two FIA-certified Indian junior series, its calendar followed the two series, so it was originally planned to consist of five rounds in February 2022, before being moved to November and December.[11] When the two other series were cancelled, the IRL calendar was revised and then included four rounds at two circuits, as well as a pre-season test to be held on November 14 at Madras Motor Race Track.[5]

Round Circuit Date Pole position Fastest lap Winning driver/s Winning team
1 R1   Hyderabad Street Circuit, Hyderabad 20 November Event cancelled after practice on safety grounds[12]
R2
R3
2 R1   Madras Motor Race Track, Chennai 26 November   Neel Jani
  Akhil Rabindra
  Neel Jani   Neel Jani Hyderabad Blackbirds
R2 27 November   Neel Jani
  Akhil Rabindra
  Akhil Rabindra   Akhil Rabindra Hyderabad Blackbirds
R3   Neel Jani   Neel Jani
  Akhil Rabindra
Hyderabad Blackbirds
3 R1   Madras Motor Race Track, Chennai 3 December   Nikhil Bohra
  Alister Yoong
  Rishon Rajeev   Alister Yoong Godspeed Kochi
R2 4 December   Akash Gowda
  Shahan Ali Mohsin
  Neel Jani   Shahan Ali Mohsin Speed Demons Delhi
R3   Rishon Rajeev   Neel Jani
  Akhil Rabindra
Hyderabad Blackbirds
4 R1   Hyderabad Street Circuit, Hyderabad 11 December   Nikhil Bohra
  Alister Yoong
  Sohil Shah   Alister Yoong Godspeed Kochi
R2   Nikhil Bohra
  Alister Yoong
  Nikhil Bohra   Nikhil Bohra Godspeed Kochi
R3   Jon Lancaster   Nikhil Bohra
  Alister Yoong
Godspeed Kochi

Season summary edit

The season was plagued by miscommunication, organisational challenges and extreme reliability issues for the cars. Running at the first round in Hyderabad was cancelled following the opening practice session after Vishnu Prasad broke his leg in a crash, but this was not communicated to patrons or the outside world until after the event was scheduled to conclude. The season-opener was also marred by a tree branch falling onto one of the cars and an injury for a marshal.

Action got underway in Round 2 at the Madras International Circuit. Wheel nut failures dominated the sprint races, as Akash Gowda stopped on circuit in the opening race and Raoul Hyman suffered a rollover in Race 2 induced by one whilst running second. Célia Martin also crashed heavily in the second race. Alister Yoong and Jon Lancaster crashed on the opening lap of the feature race, whilst Sohil Shah clashed with Lola Lovinfosse on the last lap in the battle for the last step of the podium. The event was swept by the Hyderabad Blackbirds partnership of Neel Jani and Akhil Rabindra, with Fabienne Wohlwend third in the standings after she and co-driver Ruhaan Alva drove from second-last to second in the feature race.

Round 3 was held in Chennai once again, and Race 1 was curtailed by a sudden storm. Yoong claimed the first win for Godspeed Kochi as Rabindra slid off at the final corner from second. As less than 75% of the race was completed, half-points were awarded. Qualifying for Race 2 was also heavily influenced by changeable weather conditions, with Akash Gowda taking a surprise pole for Speed Demons Delhi on behalf of co-driver Shahan Ali Mohsin. Mohsin took a lights-to-flag win as the bigger names were disadvantaged by the lower starting positions, as demonstrated by Jani who spun out Wohlwend. Bianca Bustamante was demoted from the podium for a jump-start penalty; said penalties also affected Alva and Gabriela Jílková in Race 1. The feature race was dominated by Safety Car mismanagement – Lovinfosse stopped on track in the middle of the pit-stop cycle, with only Rabindra, Mohsin and Lancaster left to complete their mandatory driver changes. Due to the minimum stop time, those three cars came out a lap up on the rest of the field, with no way to communicate this to the rest of the field. The Safety Car was deployed in the closing stages of the race to clean up the issues, but Sandeep Kumar stopped on track from second on the penultimate lap and the race finished under yellow. Bustamante and co-driver Rishon Rajeev took the last podium place, but were again penalised – this time for not meeting the minimum pit-stop time.

The championship concluded in a wet Hyderabad. With the departure of Jani and Lovinfosse falling ill, series leaders Hyderabad Blackbirds were on the back foot – and even more so after nearest rivals Godspeed Kochi completed a front-row lockout of all three races. Oliver Webb and Anshul Gandhi's car was withdrawn from the weekend after a hole was found in the tub, and the other Bangalore Speedsters entry was also withdrawn after Rajeev crashed on the opening lap of Race 1. Yoong dominated the opening race, but Wohlwend retired with mechanical dramas from a comfortable second-place. Martin also retired with gearbox problems, resulting in co-driver Mitchell Gilbert not starting Race 2. Despite a brief engine shutdown for Alva, he finished second to team-mate Nikhil Bohra in Race 2 after Hyderabad's Anindith Reddy was disqualified for receiving outside assistance.

Hyderabad needed to win the final race with Rabindra and Tom Canning (Jani's replacement) to stand a chance of taking the teams' championship but, after three aborted starts due to technical issues with the cars, they were spun at the opening corner by Lancaster. The Chennai Turbo Riders car of Lancaster and Kumar then jumped the Kochi cars in the stop cycle and won the race, but were later demoted to fourth for the opening-lap contact. Yoong and Bohra inherited the win, but despite Wohlwend and Alva receiving a penalty for making their pit-stop outside the designated window the Godspeed Kochi team comfortably claimed the title in the final race. The Blackbirds consolation prize was a 1–2 in the drivers' standings for Rabindra and Jani despite confirmation mid-season that a drivers' championship would not be awarded; This was not the only administrative issue, as the point-scoring system supplied by the series did not mathematically align with the final points tally.

Championship standings edit

Three races were held per round – two 20-minute sprint races and a 35-minute feature race. As there were two drivers per car, for Race 1 Driver A qualified and Driver B started and for Race 2 Driver B qualified and Driver A started. The feature race saw the grid determined by combined qualifying times, with both drivers competing by way of a mandatory driver change.[13]

Scoring system edit

Points were awarded to the top ten classified finishers as follows:

Race Position  1st   2nd   3rd   4th   5th   6th   7th   8th   9th   10th  Pole FL
Sprint races 25 18 15 12 10 8 6 4 2 1 1 1
Feature race 50 36 30 24 20 16 12 8 4 2 1 1

Drivers' standings edit

Pos. Driver HYD1
 
CHE1
 
CHE2[a]
 
HYD2
 
Points
1   Akhil Rabindra C C C P 1 1 5 1 5 Ret 143
2   Neel Jani C C C 1 P 1 6 1 137
3   Alister Yoong 2 Ret 1 4 1 P 1 131.5
4   Nikhil Bohra C C C Ret Ret P 3 4 P 1 1 118
5   Ruhaan Alva C C C 4 2 6 5 2 6 106
6   Fabienne Wohlwend C C C 2 2 9 5 Ret 6 92
7   Amir Sayed C C C 6 3 5 3 6 Ret 86
8   Sohil Shah C C C Ret 3 Ret 3 3 Ret 76
9   Jon Lancaster C C C 3 Ret 2 Ret 4 4 70
10   Gabriela Jílková C C C Ret DNS 7 7 2 2 69
11   Nicole Havrda C C C 6 5 9 8 6 5 65
12   Kevin Mirocha 11 7 3 2 63
13   Shahan Ali Mohsin C C C Ret Ret 1 2 Ret DNS 62
14   Parth Ghorpade C C C Ret 5 10 8 7 5 55
15   Akash Gowda C C C Ret Ret 4 P 2 5 DNS 54
16   Anindith Reddy C C C 4 Ret 7 Ret DNS[b] DSQ 3 48
17   Bianca Bustamante C C C 5 6 8 6 DNS Ret 46
18   Rishon Rajeev C C C Ret 6 2 6 Ret Ret 43
19   Sandeep Kumar 8 Ret 8 Ret 7 4 36
20   Anshul Gandhi C C C 5 4 10 Ret DNS DNS 34.5
21   Mitchell Gilbert C C C 3 DNS 4 Ret Ret DNS 27
22   Yash Aradhya Ret 4 24
23   Lola Lovinfosse C C C 7 Ret 3 Ret WD WD 13.5
24   Tom Canning 4 Ret 12
  Célia Martin C C C Ret DNS Ret Ret Ret DNS
  Oliver Webb C C C DNS Ret DNS DNS
  Raoul Hyman C C C Ret DNS
  Jordan Albert C C C
  Vishnu Prasad C C C
Pos. Driver HYD1
 
CHE1
 
CHE2
 
HYD2
 
Points

Teams' standings edit

In the feature race, points were awarded to both drivers and were therefore doubled for the entry (e.g. a winning entry will receive 50+50 points) in addition to any extra points for pole position or fastest lap, which were only awarded to one driver.

Pos. Team No. HYD1
 
CHE1
 
CHE2[c]
 
HYD2
 
Points
1 Godspeed Kochi 1 C C C 4 2 2 6 9 5 Ret 2 6 445.5
2 C C C 2 Ret Ret 1 3 4 1 1 1
2 Hyderabad Blackbirds 9 C C C 1 1 1 5 6 1 4 5 Ret 367
10 C C C 7 4 Ret 3 7 Ret DNS DSQ 3
3 Goa Aces 7 C C C Ret Ret DNS 7 11 7 2 3 2 294
8 C C C Ret 6 3 Ret 5 3 3 6 Ret
4 Chennai Turbo Riders 5 C C C 6 Ret 5 9 10 8 6 7 5 227
6 C C C 8 3 Ret 8 2 Ret 7 4 4
5 Bangalore Speedsters 3 C C C Ret 5 6 2 8 6 Ret DNS Ret 147.5
4 C C C 5 Ret 4 10 DNS Ret DNS DNS DNS
6 Speed Demons Delhi 11 C C C Ret Ret Ret 4 1 2 5 Ret DNS 141
12 C C C 3 Ret DNS Ret 4 Ret Ret Ret DNS
Pos. Team No. HYD1
 
CHE1
 
CHE2
 
HYD2
 
Points

† – Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified having completed 90% of the race distance.

Notes edit

  1. ^ Half-points were awarded in Race 1 as less than 75% of the race distance was completed.
  2. ^ As Lola Lovinfosse fell ill during the last round, her teammate Anindith Reddy was entered into both sprint races and drove the whole feature race.
  3. ^ Half-points were awarded in Race 1 as less than 75% of the race distance was completed.

References edit

  1. ^ a b Bhadra, Akaash. "Formula Regional Indian and Formula 4 are the first FIA-sanctioned championships in India to qualify for Formula 1 super license points". Evo India. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  2. ^ Wood, Ida (3 November 2022). "India's FRegional and F4 series called off, IRL and MRF Challenge return". Formula Scout. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  3. ^ "Indian Racing League: All you need to know ahead of race weekend". Evo India. 19 November 2022. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  4. ^ "Debut Indian Racing League calendar announced. Full details here". TimesNow. 3 November 2022. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  5. ^ a b "New Indian Racing League dates announced; Formula Regional, F4 India postponed". Autocar India. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  6. ^ "And now presenting Bangalore's own team- the Bangalore Speedsters!". Indian Racing League on Instagram. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  7. ^ "Presenting Godspeed Kochi!". Indian Racing League on Instagram. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  8. ^ "Kochi, say hello to the latest addition to your team, Introducing Fabienne wohlwend". Twitter. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  9. ^ "Kochi, say hello to the latest addition to your team, Introducing alisteryoong". Twitter. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  10. ^ Indian Racing League 2022 R3 - MIC Chennai, retrieved 3 December 2022
  11. ^ "2022 Formula Regional India updated calendar revealed". Autocar India. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  12. ^ Aravind, V. S. (20 November 2022). "Indian Racing League called off abruptly". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  13. ^ Reddy, Raghuvardhan (17 November 2022). "Indian Racing League - Hyderabad Weekend Ticket Price". Retrieved 9 April 2023.

External links edit