Indian Racing League: Final race thrills Hyderabad fans

The inaugural event concludes with final round in Hyderabad as Godspeed Kochi take top honours

Hyderabad: The intermittent rains failed to dampen the spirit of the racing fans as the fourth round of the inaugural Indian Racing League thrilled the fans that thronged the picturesque Hyderabad Street Race at the NTR Marg on Sunday.

With the first round of the Indian Racing League being cancelled on safety grounds at the very venue, there were apprehensions about the final round scheduled for Sunday. The races qualifying and sprint races scheduled on Saturday were too abandoned after just one free practice owing to the visibility issues, pushing the organisers in quandary.

---

However, the race day went ahead as scheduled on Sunday despite periodic rains. The Sunday crowd returned to India’s first street circuit to witness the adrenaline rush in numbers and they got their money’s worth. After two qualifying sessions, they witnessed two sprint races and feature races. The crowd was excited to see the racing cars hit the full throttle on the city’s very own streets.

Actors Ram Charan and Naga Chaitanya too made their presence felt with the former waving the chequered flag at the end of the race. “I can’t believe this is Hyderabad city. I am feeling so proud. Hyderabad is the first Street Circuit which is fantastic,” said Ram Charan.

Meanwhile, Naga Chaitanya said the event elevated the city’s stature. “This is quite a spectacular moment for me. We used to ride on these very streets in our college days and to see the racing cars on these roads is thrilling. The league has been great, they have put up something amazing. Street races are much more exciting, you feel much more close to the cars and the race,” said Naga Chaitanya.

Godspeed Kochi emerge overall champions

The Godspeed Kochi team emerged champions of the inaugural edition clinching the initiative from title favourites and leaders from the last race in Chennai Hyderabad Black Birds. The home team was leading with 301.5 points ahead of Godspeed Kochi’s 242.5 coming into the final round at Hyderabad.

But their driver Lola Lovinfosse not taking part, they fell apart. Earlier in Qualifier 1, Kochi’s Nikhil Bohra and Ruhaan Alva took pole and second positions respectively with best lap time of 1:26.902 & 1:27.726.

In Qualifying 2, Kochi’s Alister Yoong and Fabienne Wohlwend secured the first and second places. Sprint Race 1 saw Kochi’s Alister Yoong win the top honours while the Sprint Race 2 too went to the Kochi outfit with Nikhil Bohra and Ruhaan Alva taking top two spots.

In the feature race, Alister Yoong and Nikhil Bohra finished first after a time penalty saw the Chennai Turbo Riders duo of Jon Lancaster and Sandeep Kumar go down by three positions.

In second were the Goa Aces duo of Kevin Mirocha and Gabriela Jilkova. The three straight victories helped Kochi take the top honours with 417.5 points while Hyderabad team finished second with 385.