Indian Racing Festival Round 4 Day 1: IRF goes to Goa!
Goa hosted its first street race with Round 4 of Indian Racing Festival;
Round 4 of the Indian Racing Festival took place at the Manohar International Airport Street Circuit in Goa
The penultimate round of the Indian Racing Festival saw a new street circuit being added to the calendar – the Manohar International Airport Street Circuit in Goa – and the 2.064km long street circuit hosted its inaugural race of February 14, 2024. This IRF race weekend will host a total of three races, and it was Raoul Hyman of Goa Aces JA Racing who bagged the win in Driver A Race, while Alister Yoong of Speed Demons Delhi crossed the chequered flag in first place in Driver B Race.
Raoul Hyman of Goa Aces JA Racing (centre) won the Driver A race, followed by Aqil Alibhai of Chennai Turbo Riders (left) in second place Ishaan Madesh of Speed Demons Delhi (right) finishing in third place
Indian Racing Festival Round 4 Driver A race
Hyman had started the race behind Aqil Alibhai of Chennai Turbo Riders who was in pole position, but proceeded to seize the lead early on and continued to defend his position throughout the rest of the race. “It’s the home race for the team, and finally we could bring the win home for Goa Aces and Mr. John Abraham,” said Hyman. “Aqil pushed me the entire race; we were separated by tenths all weekend,” the British driver added. Alibhai would end up finishing the race in second place, with Ishaan Madesh of Speed Demons Delhi completing the podium.
Alister Yoong of Speed Demons Delhi (centre) won the Driver B race, with Sohil Shah of Kolkata Royal Tigers (left) finishing in second and Ruhaan Alva of Kichcha's Kings Bengaluru (right) completing the podium
Indian Racing Festival Round 4 Driver B race
The second race of the day was where Speed Demons Delhi seemed to find redemption, in the form of Alister Yoong, who crossed the chequered flag in first place for the team. Finishing behind Yoong in second place was Sohil Shah of Kolkata Royal Tigers, who secured his place on the podium after delivering a strong performance through the race and making his way past the remainder of the grid. Shah even managed to make a move past the pole-sitter Gabriela Jilkova who ran wide, thus prompting a reshuffling of position at the front, and even though the former was hot on the heels of Yoong, a late safety car neutralised the race, thus locking in the grid order. ““When I saw Sohil in my mirrors, I knew I had to find a few extra tenths,” said Yoong. “Luckily, it was just enough to hold on,” added the Speed Demons Delhi driver. Completing the podium for the Driver B race was Ruhaan Alva of Kichcha's Kings Bengaluru.
Apart from the racing action, Round 4 of the Indian Racing Festival was also a showcase of the Goa street circuit itself, a significant moment in Indian motorsport, and it sported an interesting layout with limited run-off areas and zones with heavy braking – all of which promised close racing and an action-packed beginning to the race weekend. Stay tuned to this space for more updates from Day 2 of the race weekend!