Chennai, August 26: The Madras International Circuit will reverberate with the sound of screaming engines of powerful single seater cars as the Round-1 of Indian Racing Festival 2024, promoted by Racing Promotions Pvt Ltd (RPPL), and first of its kind in the country, gets underway here on Saturday with a card of nine races, presented by kingfisher .

The two-day event offers a bouquet of franchise-based Indian Racing League and the FIA-certified Formula 4 Indian Championship, besides the JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship comprising the JK Formula LGB 4 which is in its 27th consecutive year and the Royal Enfield Continental GT Cup, with a total of nine races apart from official practice and qualifying sessions. The entire grid of race cars and bikes at the Indian Racing Festival will run on JK Tyres.

The Indian Racing Festival (IRL), to be held over five rounds, including the historic night street race in the heart of Chennai next weekend, is sponsored by Kingfisher Soda (Presented By) , JK Tyre (Powered By), Mobil 1 (Performance Sponsor) and Megha Engineering & Infrastructure Limited.

The IRL that will showcase the Aprilia-powered World Thunder GB08s machines with a top speed of 240Kmph, and F4 Indian Championship boast of leading Indian and foreign drivers, headlined by the vastly experienced Bengaluru-born 2022 champion Akhil Rabindra, Swiss ace Neel Jani, winner of the iconic 24 Hours Le Mans race in 2016, and Julius Dinesen, the 2022 Danish F4 champion.

There is also representation from Australia, Spain, Czech Republic, Denmark, Portugal, South Africal and Germany, giving the grid a truly international flavor, besides a competitive edge that has been the hallmark

of previous two editions. The race will also witness 6 women drivers participating and competing alongside the men drivers, creating an unique and one of a kind inclusive race.

Each of the six IRL teams – Kolkata Royal Tigers (Kolkata), Speed Demons Delhi (Delhi), Goa Aces JA Racing (Goa), Hyderabad Blackbirds (Hyderabad), Chennai Turbo Riders (Chennai) and Bangalore Speedsters (Bengaluru) – comprises of two Indian and two foreign drivers, including a female driver, sharing two cars across two races.

The Formula 4 Indian will be a triple-header with a highly competitive grid made up of several promising teenagers like Jaden Rahman Pariat, Abhay Mohan and Ruhaan Alva to name a few, with proven track record of winning National titles, besides several foreign drivers from Australia, Denmark and South Africa.

Akhilesh Reddy, Chairman and Managing Director of RPPL “The 2024 season of the Indian Racing Festival is epoch-making in the sense that we will be hosting the country’s first-ever night race on a street circuit in the heart of Chennai. This is a huge step forward and the Racing Promotions Pvt Ltd is indebted to the Government of Tamil Nadu for its wholehearted support without which the event would not have been possible. RPPL also welcomes new franchise team owners in cricket icons like Sourav Ganguly, cine stars Arjun Kapoor,John Abraham and Naga. It augurs well for the IRF that we have full grids this season with top racers from India and abroad, and hopefully, we will expand the number of teams next year. We also extend our thanks to all our sponsors, competitors, officials, Media and the marshals for their support and involvement.”

JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship and RE GT Cup

With 25 entries for the JK Formula LGB 4 and 24 in fray for the Royal Enfield GT Cup, there is much to look forward, especially since both the grids contain familiar and well-known names. The Championship, in its 27th season is the longest running racing event by any single promoter across the globe, has unveiled an array of young talent including Narain Karthikeyan, Karun Chandhok, Armaan Ebrahim, Aditya Patel, Arjun Maini, Kush Maini are all proud prodigies of this Racing Championship.

The JK Formula LGB 4 cars are powered by a carburetted 1298cc Suzuki Swift engine, equipped with an Esteem 5-speed gearbox, and built with a chrome molybdenum tubing frame. This category will feature five teams (Dark Don Racing, Ahura Racing, MSPORT, Avalanche Racing and Momentum Motorsports) with 25 experienced drivers from cities such as Ooty, Nellore, Kolkata, Madgaon, Madurai, and Hyderabad. Notable drivers like Tijil Rao, Diljith TS, Vishwas Vijayraj, Chetan Surineni, and Saran Vikram will be vying for the LGB Formula 4 National title, promising intense competition for the podium in every lap. Also lining up is Ooty-based Priyanka Vijay, the only female competitor who will be giving the boys a tough competition on the grid.

The Royal Enfield Continental GT Cup featuring GT 650 bikes is entering its fourth season this year. After regional selections in Guwahati, Bangalore, Pune, and New Delhi, this year’s grid includes fresh faces like Johring Waris from Umrangso (Assam) and Johnson Saldanha from Mangalore, alongside seasoned riders such as Anish Shetty and Syed Muzzamil Ali from Bengaluru.

Mr Sanjay Sharma, Head-Corporate Communication & Motorsport, JK Tyre said: “The fact that the JK Tyre National Championship is in its 27th season reflects our commitment to the sport by providing a platform for youngsters to showcase their talent. Over the years, some of these boys and girls have moved up and performed at the international level. We will continue to support and invest in talent while helping them to realise their motorsport dreams.”

“We are incredibly proud that all the race machines including the international Formula cars are equipped with JK Tyres, which have been developed right here in India at our R&D centre,” he further added.