The 2025–26 Indian Racing League was a single seater motor racing championship held across India.[1] 2025–26 was the fourth season of the championship. It started on 15 August 2025 at Kari Motor Speedway and ran over four race weekends until February of 2026.[2]
After the cancellation of the fifth and final race weekend, Raoul Hyman and Fabienne Wohlwend won the Entrant Championship driving the No. 5 Goa Aces JA Racing car. Hyman and the Goa Aces defended their title for the third year running while Wohlwend claimed a maiden championship. The Goa Aces also defended their Teams' Championship title after first winning it in 2024.
Teams and drivers
editAll teams were Indian-registered. Drivers were selected via a draft held on 15 July 2025.[3] The three race weekends held in 2025 saw all drivers compete with single-seater Wolf GB08 Thunder cars, fitted with a 215 bhp (160 kW) Aprilia engine.[4] The final round saw the series switch to the Alpine-powered Mygale M21-F4 cars used in the F4 Indian Championship.
| Team | No. | Driver | Rounds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goa Aces JA Racing | 5 |  Raoul Hyman |
NC, All |
 Fabienne Wohlwend |
NC, All | ||
| 6 |  Akash Gowda |
NC, All | |
| Chetan Surineni |
NC, All | ||
| Speed Demons Delhi | 11 | Shahan Ali Mohsin |
NC, All |
| Sai Sanjay |
NC, 1–2 | ||
| Ishaan Madesh |
3 | ||
| 22 |  Caitlin Wood |
NC, All | |
 Alister Yoong |
NC, All | ||
| Chennai Turbo Riders | 14 | Aqil Alibhai |
NC, All |
| Tijil Rao |
NC, All | ||
| 25 |  Laura Camps Torras |
NC, All | |
| Shibin Yousaf |
NC, 1 | ||
| Viswas Vijayraj |
2–3 | ||
| Kolkata Royal Tigers | 18 |  Alexandra Hervé |
NC, 1–2 |
 Jemma Moore |
3 | ||
| Sandeep Kumar |
NC, All | ||
| 24 | Tom Canning |
NC, 1, 3 | |
 Julius Dinesen |
2 | ||
| Sohil Shah |
NC, All | ||
| Hyderabad Blackbirds | 23 | Jon Lancaster |
NC, All |
| Mohamed Ryan |
NC, All | ||
| 31 | Akshay Bohra |
NC, 1 | |
| Akhil Rabindra |
2 | ||
| Divy Nandan |
3 | ||
 Gabriela Jílková |
NC, All | ||
| Kichcha's Kings Bengaluru | 27 | Ruhaan Alva |
NC, 2–3 |
 Neel Jani |
NC, 2 | ||
| Dani Clos |
1 | ||
| Akhil Rabindra |
1 | ||
| Sachel Rotgé |
3 | ||
| 70 | Jem Hepworth |
NC, All | |
| Kyle Kumaran |
NC, All | ||
| Sources: [5][6][7][8][9] | |||
Team changes
editA new team joined the grid in Kichcha's Kings Bengaluru, led by actor Kiccha Sudeepa.[10] In turn, the Bangalore Speedsters left the championship after entering every season since 2022.[11] The Rarh Bengal Tigers meanwhile changed their name to Kolkata Royal Tigers, thereby returning to the guise under which the team was officially launched in 2024.[12]
Driver changes
editThe reigning champions, Goa Aces JA Racing, saw Gabriela Jílková join the Hyderabad Blackbirds, while Shahan Ali Mohsin moved over to the Speed Demons Delhi and Sohil Shah was drafted by the Kolkata Royal Tigers. To replace them, the team took on Akash Gowda, who leaves the Delhi-branded team after three seasons, as well as Fabienne Wohlwend, who previously competed for the departing Rarh Bengal Tigers, and Indian F4 graduate Chetan Surineni.
The renamed Kolkata Royal Tigers entered the 2025 season with an all-new lineup after Nikhil Bohra left the championship, Alister Yoong moved to the Speed Demons Delhi, Ruhaan Alva joined the new Kichcha's Kings Bengaluru outfit and Fabienne Wohlwend was signed by the Goa Aces. The team drafted in reining champion Sohil Shah, Chennai Turbo Riders driver Sandeep Kumar, Hyderabad's 2024 substitute driver Tom Canning and debutant Alexandra Hervé, who last competed in the TTE Formula Renault series in 2022.
The Chennai Turbo Riders also have four new drivers after neither Mira Erda nor Emily Duggan returned to the series, Sandeep Kumar moved to the Kolkata Royal Tigers and both Jon Lancaster and Mohamed Ryan joined the Hyderabad Blackbirds. Ex-Hyderabad driver Laura Camps Torras will be the team's only entrant with previous championship experience, as it took on three debutants: reigning Indian Formula 4 champion Aqil Alibhai, radical driver Shibin Yousaf and Formula LGB competitor Tijil Rao.
Two of the departing Bangalore Speedsters' drivers found new berths: Caitlin Wood joined the Speed Demons Delhi and Kyle Kumaran moved to Kichcha's Kings Bengaluru. Both Rishon Rajeev and Julius Dinesen did not return to the championship.
The Speed Demons Delhi drafted three returning drivers to its team after both Álvaro Parente and Angélique Detavernier left the series and Akash Gowda joined the Goa Aces. Alister Yoong moved over from the Kolkata Royal Tigers, Shahan Ali Mohsin left the Goa Aces to join Delhi and Caitlin Wood joined from the departing Bangalore Speedsters.
The Hyderabad Blackbirds also renewed their whole roster as series mainstays Anindith Reddy and Akhil Rabindra both left after entering every season since 2022, Neel Jani joined Bengaluru and Laura Camps Torras moved to the Chennai Turbo Riders. The team took on a debutant in Formula Regional driver Akshay Bohra, as well as three returnees: Jon Lancaster and Mohamed Ryan moved over from the Chennai Turbo Riders, while Gabriela Jílková left the Goa Aces to join the team.
Debuting team Kichcha's Kings Bengaluru also drafted in three returning drivers and a debutant: Neel Jani, Ruhaan Alva and Kyle Kumaran joined the team after previously competing for the Hyderabad Blackbirds, the Kolkata Royal Tigers and the Bangalore Speedsters, respectively, while sportscar driver Jem Hepworth completed the team's lineup.
Mid-season
editKichcha's Kings Bengaluru changed both drivers of their No. 27 entry after the non-championship opener, with Jani and Alva being replaced by former Formula One test driver Dani Clos and 2022 drivers' champion Akhil Rabindra.[6][7]
Alva and Jani returned for round two, and Rabindra moved over to the Hyderabad Blackbirds, where he replaced Akshay Bohra. The Chennai Turbo Riders meanwhile replaced Shibin Yousaf with series debutant Viswas Vijayraj, and at the Kolkata Royal Tigers, Tom Canning was absent and replaced by series returnee Julius Dinesen.[8]
Round three saw several driver changes after its postponement by multiple months. Sai Sanjay was replaced by reigning MRF F2000 champion Ishaan Madesh at the Speed Demons Delhi, while Kolkata Royal Tigers' Alexandra Hervé and Julius Dinesen were replaced by GT driver Jemma Moore and returnee Tom Canning. GB3 driver Divy Nandan replaced Akhil Rabindra at the Hyderabad Blackbirds, while Neel Jani's seat at the Kichcha's Kings Bengaluru was filled by Indian F4 runner-up Sachel Rotgé.[9]
Race calendar
editThe provisional calendar, comprising five race weekends, was announced in July of 2025, with the venues of the final two rounds yet to be confirmed.[2] In February 2025, the series confirmed plans to host a street race in the state of Goa as part of the 2025 season – this was later added as the third round of the series.[13][14][15] In September 2025, the championship announced plans for another new venue, the Mumbai Street Circuit, for the season finale.[16] The final two rounds were pushed back multiple times before the penultimate round was held in February of 2026, using an overhauled weekend format that added a third race featuring a mid-race driver swap.[17][18][19][20] The season final at Mumbai was later announced to instead be part of the planned 2026 season, thereby making the Goa round the season final.[21]
| No. | Circuit | Date | Map of circuit locations | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | ||||
| NC | R1 | Kari Motor Speedway, Chettipalayam | 16 August | |
| R2 | 17 August | |||
| 1 | R1 | Madras International Circuit, Irungattukottai | 23 August | |
| R2 | 24 August | |||
| 2 | R1 | Kari Motor Speedway, Chettipalayam | 4 October | |
| R2 | 5 October | |||
| 2026 | ||||
| 3 | R1 | Goa Street Circuit, Mopa | 14 February | |
| R2 | ||||
| R3 | 15 February | |||
Race results
edit| No. | Circuit | Pole position | Fastest lap | Winning driver | Winning team | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NC | R1 | Kari Motor Speedway | Raoul Hyman |
Raoul Hyman |
Raoul Hyman |
Goa Aces JA Racing |
| R2 | Akshay Bohra |
Sai Sanjay |
Sai Sanjay |
Speed Demons Delhi | ||
| 1 | R1 | Madras International Circuit | Shahan Ali Mohsin |
Shahan Ali Mohsin |
Shahan Ali Mohsin |
Speed Demons Delhi |
| R2 | Sohil Shah |
Sohil Shah |
Sohil Shah |
Kolkata Royal Tigers | ||
| 2 | R1 | Kari Motor Speedway | Kyle Kumaran |
Kyle Kumaran |
Kyle Kumaran |
Kichcha's Kings Bengaluru |
| R2 | Raoul Hyman |
Raoul Hyman |
Raoul Hyman |
Goa Aces JA Racing | ||
| 3 | R1 | Goa Street Circuit | Aqil Alibhai |
Raoul Hyman |
Raoul Hyman |
Goa Aces JA Racing |
| R2 | Gabriela Jílková |
Sohil Shah |
Alister Yoong |
Speed Demons Delhi | ||
| R3 | No. 24 Kolkata Royal Tigers | Raoul Hyman |
No. 5 Goa Aces JA Racing | Goa Aces JA Racing | ||
| Tom Canning Sohil Shah |
Raoul Hyman Fabienne Wohlwend | |||||
Season report
editThe 2025–26 Indian Racing League began at Kari Motor Speedway with Raoul Hyman taking pole position for Goa Aces JA Racing after Kichcha's Kings Bengaluru driver Kyle Kumaran had his fastest qualifying laptimes deleted. He led lights-to-flag, fending off Hyderabad Blackbirds driver Jon Lancaster before the latter suffered a technical issue. Kumaran took second, ahead of Goa's Chetan Surineni.[22] Pole position for the second race went to Hyderabad's Akshay Bohra, but car issues saw him retire. That handed the lead to Delhi's Sai Sanjay. He held on to win as Goa's Fabienne Wohlwend beat Bengaluru's Neel Jani to second.[23] This first round would later be changed to a non-scoring round.
The first points-scoring round was held at Madras International Circuit, where Delhi's Shahan Ali Mohsin dominated the opening day of competition. He took pole position by nearly half a second before gapping the field to take victory. Behind him, teammate Alister Yoong looked set to take second place before Chennai's Aqil Alibhai overtook him in the final corner.[24] Kolkata Royal Tigers' Sohil Shah claimed the second pole position of the weekend. He led Bohra throughout a disrupted race that was punctured by multiple interruptions. Shah remained faultless despite pressure from Bohra to secure victory and the championship lead, with Bohra taking second and Lancaster finishing third.[25]
The series returned to Kari Motor Speedway for its third weekend, and Kumaran went fastest in qualifying once again. This time, his laptime would stand, and he converted his grid spot into a lead that he would not relinquish until the race ended. Hyderabad's Akhil Rabindra came second as Jani rose from seventh on the grid to take the final podium spot.[26] Day two brought a similarly dominant performance, this time for Hyman, who returned to the top step of the podium after taking pole position in qualifying and leading every lap of the race. Mohsin finished second and Bengaluru's Ruhaan Alva took third. Gabriela Jílková finished fourth to place her No. 31 Hyderabad machine atop the points standings.[27]
The season final brought a new track in the Goa Street Circuit, as well as new Formula 4 machinery and a new weekend format with a third race that included a mid-race driver swap. First came the two normal races, however, and Alibhai took pole position for the first one. He was overtaken by Hyman early on, who led the rest of the race to take victory as series debutant Ishaan Madesh took third for Delhi. Jílková started race two on pole position, but ran off track to hand the lead to Yoong, who won ahead of Shah and Alva.[28] Qualifying for the third race saw Shah and his teammate Tom Canning claim pole position, but Hyman once again claimed the lead immediately before Canning retired. Hyman built a gap and handed the car to Wohlwend, who endured multiple safety cars to take a home victory for Goa and clinch both the Entrant and the Teams' Championship title.[29]
Championship standings
editScoring system
editPoints were awarded to the top ten classified finishers as follows:
| Race Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | Pole | FL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 25 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Drivers sharing a car added the points they earned in their respective races to a shared total.
Entrant championship
edit
|
Italics – Fastest Lap | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Teams' championship
edit| Pos | Team | KAR1 | CHE | KAR2 | GOA | Pts | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R3 | |||||
| 1 | Goa Aces JA Racing | 1 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 147 | ||
| 3 | 4 | 8 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 7 | 5 | 5 | |||||
| 2 | Speed Demons Delhi | Ret | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 147 | ||
| Ret | Ret | 3 | Ret | Ret | 8 | 5 | DNS | Ret | |||||
| 3 | Kichcha's Kings Bengaluru | 2 | 3 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 3 | Ret | 3 | 2 | 117 | ||
| Ret | Ret | 10 | Ret | 3 | 7 | DNS | 8 | 6 | |||||
| 4 | Kolkata Royal Tigers | 5 | 6 | 4 | 1 | DNS | 5 | 4 | 2 | Ret | 106 | ||
| Ret | Ret | Ret | 5 | DNS | DNS | 6 | 6 | Ret | |||||
| 5 | Hyderabad Blackbirds | Ret | 7 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 | Ret | Ret | 85 | ||
| Ret | Ret | 6 | 3 | DNS | DNS | Ret | Ret | Ret | |||||
| 6 | Chennai Turbo Riders | 4 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 81 | ||
| 6 | Ret | Ret | Ret | DNS | DNS | 9 | DNS | Ret | |||||
| Pos | Team | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R1 | R2 | R3 | Pts | ||
| KAR1 | CHE | KAR2 | GOA | ||||||||||
| Source: [30] | |||||||||||||
References
edit- ↑ "Indian Racing League". RPPL Motorsports. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
- 1 2 "Indian Racing League on Instagram: 'The IRL 2025 Race Calendar is officially here. 🗓️'". Instagram. 9 July 2025. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
- ↑ "Indian Racing League on Instagram: '6 Teams. 24 Drivers. New Line-ups. 🏎️🔥 The Indian Racing League Driver Draft is set to take place in Mumbai on July 15th, where all six teams will pick their drivers for the 2025 season 🏁'". Instagram. 14 July 2025. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ "Indian Racing League on Instagram: '24 Drivers. 6 Teams. One Ultimate Championship. 🏁 The grid is set. The lineups are locked in. Presenting the official driver lineup for the 2025 season.'". Instagram. 15 July 2025. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
- 1 2 "Indian Racing Festival 2025 - R2 IRL DRIVER A RACE -1". www.race-monitor.com. 23 August 2025. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
- 1 2 "Indian Racing Festival - R2 Day 2 IRL -DRIVER B OFFICIAL PRACTICE". www.race-monitor.com. 24 August 2025. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
- 1 2 "Indian Racing League on Instagram: 'The stage is set for Round 3!'". Instagram. 1 October 2025. Retrieved 3 October 2025.
- 1 2 "Indian Racing League on Instagram: 'The streets are calling, and the grid is locked.🚦Our star drivers are ready. Here is the official Round 4 roster.'". Instagram. 5 February 2026. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
- ↑ "Indian Racing League on Instagram: 'Designed to turn heads. Built to own every lane. Kichcha's King Bengaluru, led by @kichchasudeepa , is all about the details.'". Instagram. 7 July 2025. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
- ↑ "Indian Racing League on Instagram: '24 drivers. 6 teams. The stage is set. The lineup reveal is on its way. 🏎️'". Instagram. 12 July 2025. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
- ↑ "Indian Racing League Official on X: "Kolkata, start your engines! Catch a new powerhouse burning rubber in Season 3 of the Indian Racing Festival in 2024."". X. 8 July 2024. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
- ↑ Gidithuri, Unnatee (11 February 2025). "Goa street circuit in the works for Indian Racing Festival". Autocar India.
- ↑ Adusumilli, Aman (9 February 2025). "Goa Street Circuit Set to Become India's Newest Motorsport Destination". Desi Racing Co.
- ↑ ""🚨🏎️ HUGE NEWS ALERT! 🏎️🚨 The Indian Racing Festival is coming to GOA for the epic..."". @indianracingleagueofficial on Instagram. 10 September 2025.
- ↑ "Indian Racing League on Instagram: 'India's second ever night street race is locked in 🌃'". Instagram. 20 September 2025. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
- ↑ "Indian Racing League on Instagram: '⚠️ OFFICIAL UPDATE FROM RPPL ⚠️'". Instagram. 26 October 2025. Retrieved 26 October 2025.
- ↑ "Indian Racing League on Instagram: '📢 Official Update 📢'". Instagram. 11 November 2025. Retrieved 11 November 2025.
- ↑ "Indian Racing League on Instagram: 'Make it a date with speed this Valentine's weekend! 🏁'". Instagram. 17 January 2026. Retrieved 17 January 2026.
- ↑ "Indian Racing League on Instagram: 'Schedule for the weekend of Round 4 is LOCKED.'". Instagram. 14 February 2026. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
- ↑ "Indian Racing League on Instagram: 'An incredible season comes to a close.'". Instagram. 20 April 2026. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
- ↑ Modi, Drumil (17 August 2025). "Indian Racing Festival 2025 Opens with Thrilling Battles". www.topgearmag.in. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
- ↑ "IRL: Fabienne Wohlwend scores podium at season opener in Kari Motor Speedway". Racers. 18 August 2025. Retrieved 27 April 2026.
- ↑ Chauhan, Arvind (24 August 2025). "Agra's Shahan Ali Mohsin clinches Indian Racing League (IRL) round 2 victory, powers team Delhi to top". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 28 April 2026.
- ↑ Gidithuri, Unnatee (25 August 2025). "Indian Racing Festival: Madesh, Rotge win at F4 India Round 2". Autocar India. Retrieved 28 April 2026.
- ↑ Nalawade, Rohit (4 October 2025). "2025 Indian Racing Festival Round 3: Kyle Kumaran dominates in the IRL". www.evoindia.com. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
- ↑ Nalawade, Rohit (6 October 2025). "2025 Indian Racing Festival Round 3 update: Raoul Hyman bags his second win of the season". www.evoindia.com. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
- ↑ Nalawade, Rohit (14 February 2026). "Indian Racing Festival Round 4 Day 1: IRF goes to Goa!". www.evoindia.com. Retrieved 30 April 2026.
- ↑ RACERS (16 February 2026). "Fabienne Wohlwend takes historic win in IRL Goa feature race, Caitlin Wood secures podium". Racers. Retrieved 30 April 2026.
- 1 2 "Provisional IRL Standings 2025/26 after Goa Street Race". motorsporttelevision.de. RPPL. 15 February 2026. Archived from the original (pdf) on 27 May 2026. Retrieved 27 May 2026.