For the first season in 2019, the series operated decade-old Formula BMW machinery having originally planned to run Radicals. Just two events were held having scheduled four, and track-time at the second and final round was condensed due to travel constraints. A number of the cars suffered from mechanical problems, halving the field from 12 cars to 6 at the second and final event.[2] A number of drivers also abandoned the championship between the events on safety grounds – including Christina Nielsen and Mathias Lauda, who reported that their race-suits had been soaked by a fuel leak during a qualifying session.[3] The Bangalore Racing Stars team were crowned champions.[4]
After delays due to the coronavirus pandemic, the championship returned in late-2022 having been renamed the Indian Racing League. The series was scheduled to be held alongside the Formula Regional Indian Championship before moving to a standalone schedule, whilst organisers imported a fleet of Group CN-class Wolf GB08s to avoid the technical issues that beset the first season.[5] Despite this, all of the races at the first event in Hyderabad were cancelled after Vishnu Prasad broke his leg in a practice crash.[6] Two events were held at the Madras International Circuit before returning to Hyderabad, and whilst the Hyderabad Blackbirds team dominated the Irungattukottai rounds with the help of experienced driver Neel Jani, the new Godspeed Kochi franchise overhauled them with a dominant display at a wet-dry finale. The season however was an administrative nightmare; suffering from a lack of public communication regarding the opening round, confusion over whether or not a drivers' championship was to be awarded, the final points tally not aligning with the provided points system, and mechanical issues with the cars (wheels falling off at the first Irungattukottai event and engines flooding during the rolling starts at the finale).[7]
With an updated format, and a calendar including the Buddh International Circuit as well as a new street course around Chennai's Island Grounds, the championship appeared to be in better shape approaching their third season in 2023.[8] However, issues immediately arose as the first round was moved from Hyderabad to Irungattukottai less than a week out due to local elections, whilst Buddh disappeared off the calendar entirely.[9] Ultimately, the championship hosted all three of its events at Irungattukottai due to infrastructure damage caused by Cyclone Michaung, with bad weather from the system impacting several races as well. Two race wins for Raoul Hyman helped he and co-driver Sohil Shah to the drivers' championship, whilst Bangalore Speedsters claimed the teams' championship aided by Sarah Moore's victory in the first round – Moore becoming the first woman to win a race in the series.[10]
The 2024 season started in remarkably organised fashion, with the first two races at Irungattukottai going off without a hitch – Jon Lancaster scored his and the Chennai Turbo Riders' first race win in the season-opener after Neel Jani retired from the lead with a handful of laps remaining, whilst Alister Yoong won the second race for the rebranded Rarh Bengal Tigers; Sourav Ganguly and the Shrachi Group purchased the Godspeed Kochi franchise in the off-season.[11] The series hosted its first night event around the Island Grounds a week later, with the wins shared by Raoul Hyman and Álvaro Parente after track action was delayed due to issues with circuit homologation.[12][13]
Format
Teams are franchise-based and represent Indian cities. Each team has two cars and four drivers; two drivers must be Indian or of Indian descent, and the other two drivers – one male and one female – must come from outside of India. Two drivers compete in each car, with the line-ups determined by the teams.
In 2019, each event consisted of three 30mins + 1 lap races. The races were relays, with a mandatory pit-stop for a driver change in each.
In 2022, three races will again be held per round – but the first two of these will be 25min + 1 lap "sprint races" and the third is a 45min + 1 lap "feature race". As there are two drivers per car, for Race 1 Driver A will qualify and Driver B will start, for Race 2 Driver B will qualify and Driver A will start, and the feature race will see the grid determined by aggregate event points with both drivers competing by way of a mandatory driver change.[14]
In 2023, two qualifying sessions and two races were held per event – with the "feature race" including driver swaps discontinued. Two drivers were entered in each car, with each driver contesting one of the two event days – consisting of one 20-minute practice session, one 10-minute qualifying session and a 20-minute + 1 lap race per day.[15] This format was retained in 2024, with the race length increased by 5 minutes.[16]
