Indian Racing League returned to action at Madras International Circuit for the third round of the season – and it was another successful weekend for Gabriela Jílková, who secured her third podium in as many rounds.
Two weeks after the historic first night race in the country, the Indian Racing League returned to action at Madras International Circuit for the third round of the season – and it was another successful weekend for Gabriela Jílková, who secured her third podium in as many rounds.
Jílková, who was third at the season opener at Madras and went on to finish second at the Chennai Formula Racing street circuit one week later, was again battling at the top of the field and claimed another runner-up finish in a dramatic end to Race 1 on Saturday.
Entering the weekend in the championship lead, Rahr Bengal Tigers' Fabienne Wohlwend remains in title contention with yet another superbly consistent run at Madras, although an unfortunate qualifying session ultimately denied her the chance to fight for the podium in Race 1 – with her teammate Ruhaan Alva also enduring misfortune when a technical issue dropped him from the lead to third in Race 2.
After scoring her first top five of the season on the Chennai street circuit, Caitlin Wood added more important points to her tally, while a podium for her teammate Rishon Rajeev marked big progress for the Bangalore Speedsters' duo in the standings.
For the second consecutive time, however, young Spanish racer Laura Camps Torras had her weekend severely affected by technical issues – and she couldn’t even take the start of the race. It was a rough weekend for Angelique Detavernier as well, who struggled with technical problems throughout, before a mistake ended her race prematurely.
The Indian Racing League also welcomed a new female entry, as Mira Erda – who had raced in the Indian Formula 4 Championship in the previous weekends – was promoted to the IRL Wolf cars as part of the Chennai Turbo Riders squad, with several teams having their line-ups slightly altered in Round 3 due to clashes with other series overseas. Erda immediately showed good speed on her first outing in the series, securing a very promising top ten finish.
Most of the female drivers were drafted into Group A, which took to the track on Saturday.
In qualifying, Camps, Jílková, Wood, Detavernier, and new entry Mira Erda all made their single-lap runs in Group A. It was a strong lap for Jílková, who moved into third, while Wohlwend's teammate Ruhaan Alva secured pole. Yoong then put in a good lap in the closing stages to take P2, making it a 1-2 for the Shrachi Rahr Bengal Tigers team.
Jílková placed fourth with a strong lap of 1:35.634. Caitlin Wood, who had a positive practice session in the morning where she was fifth fastest, made a mistake in her qualifying lap and lined up in ninth, ahead of Laura Camps, Mira Erda, and Angelique Detavernier.
Later in the afternoon, there were good chances for a notable result for the many female drivers in Race 1. However, troubles began early for Laura Camps, who couldn't line up on the grid due to engine issues.
Shrachi Rahr Bengal Tigers teammates Alva and Yoong shared the front row, but Yoong had to defend hard from Jon Lancaster, who went side by side into Turn 1 as the lights went out.
Jílková seized the opportunity on the outside, passing Yoong and moving into third. Alva retained the lead, with Lancaster one second behind.
Caitlin Wood had a good start, holding onto P9, ahead of Erda and Detavernier, who had moved up one position.
Jílková hanged on to her position well against Yoong with her trademark defensive driving around Madras, while Alva, the only driver under the 1:35 mark, controlled the race out front.
Wood settled into her rhythm and gained three seconds on Erda, who had a strong first run in the IRL car, consistently lapping in the 1:37s.
Lancaster couldn’t maintain Alva’s pace, as the championship leader extended his margin. Jílková set personal best laps on Lap 7 and again on Lap 8, with a 1:34.855 making her the second fastest driver on track and allowing her to close in on Lancaster. By Lap 9, the Goa Aces driver was less than a second behind Lancaster, although Yoong continued to followe her closely.
Meanwhile, Wood went under the 1:37 barrier and continued to gain on Gowda ahead, who wasn’t far behind Tom Canning. Mira Erda, however, dropped to P11 midway through the race.
On Lap 12, Wood caught Gowda and began looking for a way past the Speed Demons Delhi car. On Lap 15, she passed Canning for eighth, as both Gowda and Wood overtook the British driver.
As the laps progressed, Jilkova maintained her pace and focus, avoiding mistakes despite Yoong’s pressure. On the final lap, Detavernier spun just ahead of the overall leaders, forcing Alva to take avoiding action and lose his momentum. In a dramatic development, a technical issue saw Alva struggling to get back up to speed - and Lancaster and Jílková capitalized, flying past Alva and taking P1 and P2 respectively.
Jon Lancaster took the victory, with Gabriela Jílková securing her third podium in three rounds with another runner-up finish. Alva still crossed the line in third, earning good points for himself and teammate Wohlwend in the standings.
Caitlin Wood finished eighth after a solid run with much-improved pace, while Mira Erda completed her first race with a commendable ninth place. Detavernier finished eleventh, while Camps was sidelined by technical issues at the start.
In Group B on Sunday, Fabienne Wohlwend was the only female racer. She started her race day brilliantly, by topping the timed in practice, clocking a 1:34.585 – three tenths clear of Jaden Pariat, marking a superb start to the weekend for the Liechtenstein driver and establishing herself as one of the drivers to beat.
However, in Q2, Wohlwend made a costly mistake during her single-lap qualifying run, finishing fourth fastest. Mohamed Ryan took pole, ahead of Pariat and Shah. Wohlwend would have to recover from fourth to score her first podium of the season and extend her championship lead.
In Race 2, the rolling start saw Mohamed Ryan get away cleanly while Wohlwend was boxed in, dropping to fifth as Shah and Rajeev moved up into second and third. Despite a hectic first lap, Wohlwend remained close but couldn’t find an opening to pass.
She set one of the fastest laps of the race at 1:35.147 and gradually closed in on Pariat, who was battling with Rajeev for third place. However, with Ryan and Shah comfortably ahead, the final 10 minutes of the race were focused on the battle for third, where Wohlwend couldn’t quite find a way through and had to settle for fifth.
Mohamed Ryan secured a lights-to-flag victory with the fastest lap, despite Shah closing in during the final laps. Rajeev, Wood’s teammate, took third place, helping the Bangalore Speedsters duo climb in the standings, while Pariat finished his first IRL race in fourth.
After the third round at Madras, the duo of Lancaster and Ryan made significant progress in the standings, having secured back-to-back wins, which promoted them to the top of the standings after six races. However, Fabienne Wohlwend and Ruhaan Alva remain just 9 points behind.
Gabriela Jílková, one of the stars of the series, made leaps forward in the points table and is now fifth with her teammate Shahan Ali Mohsin, nine points ahead of Wood and Rajeev.
In the teams’ standings, Rahr Bengal Tigers continued to score big points and lead thanks to their two extremely solid line-ups. Goa Aces, however, pushed forward by Jílková’s podiums, are now second.
The fourth round of the championship is scheduled for 19-20 October at Kari Motor Speedway, Coimbatore.
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