2025 Indian Racing League driver line-up revealed

Indian Racing League (IRL) has announced the driver line-up for its 2025 season, with the driver draft featuring 24 drivers across the six franchises. The driver line-up includes both international as well as Indian racing talent and women racers. The 2025 season of the IRL will kick off on August 15, and it will feature races across multiple cities, including permanent circuits and street tracks.

24 drivers have been selected across the six city-based franchises for the upcoming IRL season, and each team picked four drivers, with the driver line-up for each team including an experienced international driver, an emerging international or Indian-origin talent, an Indian driver as well as a female driver. The grid includes names like former F1 test driver and Le Mans winner Neel Jani, Jon Lancaster who has a background in GP2 and endurance racing, and Raoul Hyman, a two-time IRL champion of Indian origin.

Also present are Indian drivers such as Ruhaan Alva, Sohil Shah, Sai Sanjay and Akshay Bohra, along with female racers such as Fabienne Wohlwend, Gabriela Jilkova and Caitlin Wood. The driver draft was followed by a press conference with all six team owners, which include public figures such as actors John Abraham and Arjun Kapoor, along with former Indian cricketer Sourav Ganguly. Here’s a look at the teams and their driver line-ups.

Speed Demons Delhi

The Speed Demons Delhi team is owned by actor Arjun Kapoor and its driver line-up consists of two Indian drivers, former F4 SEA champion Shahan Ali Mohsin and Sai Sanjay. They are joined by Alister Yoong, a regular in Asian single-seater racing, and Caitlin Wood from Australia.

Hyderabad Blackbirds

Owned by actor Naga Chaitanya, the Hyderabad Blackbirds team has former GP2 winner and Le Mans podium finisher Jon Lancaster leading the charge, along with Akshay Bohra and Mohamed Ryan, both of whom have F4 racing experience. The line-up is completed by Gabriela Jilkova from Czech Republic, who is a sim and GT racing expert.

Goa Aces

Indian racers Chetan Surineni and Akash Gowda are part of the Goa Aces team owned by actor John Abraham, and they are joined by two-time IRL champion Raoul Hyman as well as Fabienne Wohlwend, the latter having competed in the W Series and the Ferrari Challenge.

Kolkata Royal Tigers

British GT champion Tom Canning and F4 India podium finisher Sohil Shah are a part of the Kolkata Royal Tigers team, joined by Sandeep Kumar from India and Alexandra Hervé from France. The team is owned by former Indian cricketer Sourav Ganguly.

Kichcha’s Kings Bengaluru

Leading the charge for Kichcha’s Kings Bengaluru, owned by actor Sudeep Kichcha, is Neel Jaani from Switzerland and Ruhaan Alva from India. The duo is joined by British endurance and GT racing driver Jem Hepworth, along with Kyle Kumaran from India.

Chennai Turbo Riders

The driver line-up for Chennai Turbo Riders consists of Indian racing drivers Tijil Rao and Shibin Yousaf, the latter being a consistent performer in Indian circuit racing, along with Formula 4 UAE race winner Aqil Alibhai from Kenya. Laura Camps Torras from Spain, a Ferrari Driver Academy alumna, completes the driver line-up for the Keerthivasan-owned team.

2025 Indian Racing League calendar

The 2025 season of Indian Racing League consists of 5 rounds, with Round 1 taking place at Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore from August 15-17. Round 2 will take place at the Madras International Circuit in Chennai from September 22-24, followed by the third round taking place from October 3-5 at Kari Motor Speedway. Round 4 and Round 5 of the IRL will take place from October 31-November 2 and November 29-30, respectively, with the venues for these two rounds yet to be announced.