New Chennai street circuit: Hits and misses

Chennai’s new street circuit made its racing debut over the weekend of August 31-September 1, hosting Round 2 of the Indian Racing Festival. While the track impressed the drivers and delivered good action, there were also quite a few hiccups. We take a look at all the highlights:

Bumpy start with significant delays

The Chennai Formula Racing Circuit (as it is officially called) was supposed to make its debut last year, but the race was cancelled due to Cyclone Michaung. With the Tamil Nadu government involved and the hype of all the celebrity-backed teams, it is understandable why organisers didn’t want to push this year’s event. But this resulted in a rather chaotic start to proceedings.

Practice and qualifying were supposed to take place on Saturday, but just as all the crew, fans and media showed up, organisers announced that all activity would be delayed due to “technical difficulties”. Given the Indian F4 championship is FIA-certified, the track needed FIA certification as well. Following inspection on Friday, a few corners had to be modified due to safety concerns. The last Turn 19, exiting Swami Sivananda Salai, required quite a bit of work, and barriers had to be rearranged.

The track eventually received an FIA Grade 3 licence, but the cars only made it out on track after 9pm. By then, most of the fans had left the venue. As a result, all the qualifying sessions of the three categories, along with all six races, were pushed to Sunday. However, organisers allowed fans who had purchased single-day tickets for Saturday to get free entry on Sunday.

Close racing

Leaving aside the organisational hiccups, the 3.5km track that runs anti-clockwise was praised by several drivers and was a sight to behold under the floodlights at night. “It’s fast, it’s technical, it’ll punish you if you make a mistake. [But] it’s very good to race on as well,” said Chennai Turbo Riders’ Jon Lancaster, who has previously raced in the European GT4 and the McLaren Trophy series.

It’s important to remember that this track isn’t designed for F1; it’s meant for youngsters racing in F4. And given just how rare it is for young Indian racers to get track time on a street circuit, it was an invaluable learning opportunity for them. “It’s a good opportunity for us. We usually get practice on normal circuits, but it’s not easy to set up a street circuit. We don’t get much track time there. It’s all about adapting to it as soon as we get there,” explained Mohamed Ryan, also from Chennai Turbo Riders.

“If you’re an aspiring international racing driver, you’re going to race on street tracks at some point. So, it’s a really good learning step in any driver’s development. It really teaches you about precision as well. Even at normal tracks, you’re going to carry that with you,” added Lancaster.

The races saw plenty of overtaking action and a handful of Safety Car interruptions. But the latter was expected, given just how green the track surface was and the limited practice the drivers had.

Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers continue to lead

Goa Aces’ Raoul Hyman and Speed Demons Delhi’s Alvaro Parente won a race each in the Indian Racing League. But Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers lead the overall standings with 93 points, followed by Chennai Turbo Riders with 83 points and Speed Demons Delhi with 74 points.

In the Indian F4 championship, Godspeed Kochi’s Hugh Barter continued his victory run, taking home the top prize in Race 1 after starting from pole. However, he was unable to set a time in Qualifying 2 and had to start from the back of the grid. At one point, he had climbed up to P5 but dropped to P8 after tangling with Ruhaan Alva. Hyderabad Blackbirds’ Aqil Alibhai, who missed Race 1 due to car issues, made amends by winning Race 2 after starting from fourth on the grid.

Good potential

Pulling off a successful street race is no easy feat, let alone in a country as populated as India. Yes, there is a lot of work to be done should the Indian Racing Festival return to the venue next year. But you can’t deny that the event achieved what it set out to do – bring attention to the league.

“This is the first major step in making this [the Indian Racing League] huge,” said Lancaster. “If you compare it to, say, Indycar in America, they have their own series, and out there, it is huge because of the number of people and the size of the country. And here in India, you’ve got four times the people; the scale is undoubtedly huge. That’s what everyone can see; that’s why we’re here and want to support it and try and help it grow. This is the first major step.”

Indian Racing Festival Round 2 results

F4 India Race 1

1. Hugh Barter (Godspeed Kochi)

2. Ruhaan Alva (Rarh Bengal Tigers)

3. Abhay Mohan (Bangalore Speedsters)

F4 India Race 2

1. Aqil Alibhai (Hyderabad Blackbirds)

2. Divy Nandan (Ahmedabad Apex Racers)

3. Jaden Pariat (Bangalore Speedsters)

Indian Racing League Race 1

1. Raoul Hyman (Goa Aces)

2. Gabriela Jilkova (Goa Aces)

3. Alister Yoong (Rarh Bengal Tigers)

Indian Racing League Race 2

1. Alvaro Parente (Speed Demons Delhi)

2. Sohil Shah (Goa Aces)

3. Rishon Rajeev (Bangalore Speedsters)

LGB F4 Race 1

1. Diljith TS (Dark Don Racing)

2. Neythan McPherson (Momentum Motorsports)

3. Tijil Rao (Dark Don Racing)

LGB F4 Race 2

1. Tijil Rao (Dark Don Racing)

2. Diljith TS (Dark Don Racing)

3. Neythan McPherson (Momentum Motorsports)

Also see:

Indian Racing Festival 2024 guide: Tickets, Chennai street circuit and more