There will be six teams in the IRL, each fielding two cars, and each team will have four drivers.
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The Indian Racing League is designed to do the same for motorsport as the Indian Premier League did for cricket, which delighted fans with an action-packed schedule and the idea of city-based teams. The Indian Racing League, or IRL, which was formerly known as the X1 Racing League, will be held at both the Formula E street circuit in Hyderabad and the Madras International Circuit in Chennai. There will be six teams in the IRL, each fielding two cars, and each team will have four drivers. Here is all the information you need to be aware of in advance of the IRL’s inaugural race, which will take place in Hyderabad on November 19–20.
The X1 Racing league served as the inspiration for the creation of the Indian Racing League. Racers Armaan Ebrahim and Aditya Patel created the league-style racing series, which used a city-based franchise model and a mixture of Indian and foreign racers. With six city-based teams, the Indian Racing League is only expanding on that idea. Each team will have four racers: two international drivers, an Indian driver, and a female driver. The IRL will pit male and female racers against one another in the same environment.
The Madras International Circuit outside of Chennai will host IRL, and the Hyderabad street circuit will host the Formula E race in 2023. The season will begin with races on November 19–20 at the Hyderabad street circuit, then continue with events on November 25–27 and December 2-4 at the Madras International Circuit. On December 10 and 11, the Hyderabad street circuit will host the IRL’s season finale.
The Driven International-designed Hyderabad street circuit is now 2.83km long for the IRL, an increase from its previous 2.37km length. Additionally, the circuit now has more corners than before, which should make for more thrilling on-track action.
The Aprilia RSV4 engine powers the Thunder race cars. One-liter and 1.1-liter versions of the engine are available, with each producing 198 and 216 horsepower, respectively. The IRL cars’ state of tune has not been officially confirmed, but given their lightweight carbon fibre monocoque—only 378 kg—they should perform well on the racetrack.
Ruhaan Alva, who recently represented India in Formula 4 at the 2022 Formula Motorsport Games and will be racing for the team GodSpeed Kochi, told us during the pre-season testing of the IRL race cars at the MMRT in Chennai that the power offered by the IRL race car was quite a step up from what Indian racing drivers are used to. However, Ruhaan appeared to relish the challenge, and it will be fascinating to watch the cars perform at their best over the course of the race weekend.
The Indian Racing League promises to fan the flames of enthusiasm amongst motorsport aficionados in the country with a format that promises to be more exciting and one that will further bolster the racing scene in India. And while you may liken the Indian Racing League to that of an IPL for race cars, there’s no doubt that it will help attract newer enthusiasts towards motorsport.
