CHENNAI: The Indian Racing Festival (IRF) is set to make history with its inaugural night race at the Chennai Formula Racing Circuit from August 30 to September 1. This groundbreaking event marks the first night race on a street circuit in India. Over three thrilling days, eight teams will light up the track with their high-speed machines in what promises to be the festival’s most exhilarating and ambitious season yet.
Promoted by Racing Promotions Pvt. Ltd, the IRF strives to tap into a rapidly burgeoning motorsports fanbase in India. To capture the imagination of these fans, the IRF offers two championships: the Indian Racing League (IRL) and the FIA Formula 4 Indian Championship (F4IC). For the petrolheads, this Chennai night race, supported by the Government of Tamil Nadu, promises an unparalleled thrill for the region.
RPPL and the Tamil Nadu government announced the night circuit race and the event was graced by IAS officers Dr Atulya Mishra, additional chief secretary and J Meghanatha Reddy, member secretary of the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu. Akhilesh Reddy, chairman & managing director of RPPL, former Formula 1 driver Narain Karthikeyan and FMSCI President Akbar Ebrahim were present at the launch. Chennai is the country’s motorsports hub with a race track on the outskirts of the city.
The upcoming night race will add additional glory to its rich motorsports heritage and excitement to its burgeoning reputation as the center of all the high-octane action. A 3.5-kilometre stretch, the Chennai Formula Racing Circuit was made by RPPL in collaboration with the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT).
The competing speedsters will zoom through the heart of India’s motorsports capital at breath-taking speed, within view of the iconic Marina Beach. The track commences at the Island Grounds and weaves past several key landmarks before rounding back to the starting point. Nineteen turns, multiple chicanes, and tricky elevations punctuate long stretches of the tarmac, keeping both drivers and fans on their toes.
Top honours for Rishon, Nikhilesh, Rivaan
Bengaluru’s Rishon Rajeev and Nikhilesh Raju, and Rivaan Dev Preetham, the 11-year-old from Chennai took the honours in their respective categories in the third round of the Meco Fmsci National Rotax Max Karting Championship 2024 at the brand new CoASTT circuit, built by India’s first F1 driver, Narain Karthikeyan at Coimbatore. Former champion and Indian F4 driver, Rishon Rajeev (Birel Art India), topped the pre-final and the final in the Senior Max class to underline his dominance.
Results (Provisional):
Senior Max (Final, 20 laps): 1. Rishon Rajeev (Bengaluru, Birel Art India) (14:36.817); 2. Krish Gupta (Mumbai, Rayo Racing) (14:44.230); 3. Ruhaan Alva (Bengaluru, MSPORT) (14:49.916). Pre-final (14 laps): 1. Rishon Rajeev (10:40.150); 2. Rohan Madesh (Bengaluru, Peregrine Racing) (10:40.914); 3. Krish Gupta (10:43.194). Junior Max (Final, 20 laps): 1. Nikhilesh Raju (Bengaluru, Peregrine Racing) (15:06.695); 2. Aarav Dewan (Gurugram, Leapfrog Racing) (15:09.069); 3. Eshanth Vengatesan (Chennai, MSPORT) (15:12.905). Pre-final (15 laps): 1. Nikhilesh Raju (11:19.432); 2. Eshanth Vengatesan (11:23.919); 3. Aarav Dewan (11:25.450). Micro Max (Final, 20 laps): 1. Rivaan Dev Preetham (Chennai, MSPORT) (16:07.601); 2. Rehan Khan R (Chennai, MSPORT) (16:09.439); 3. Danish Dalmiya (Pune, Rayo Racing) (16:14.864). Pre-final (15 laps): 1. Rivaan Dev Preetham (12:08.129); 2. Rehan Khan R (12:09.135); 3. Danish Dalmiya (12:14.191).
Rajaguhan scalps seven
G Rajaguhan’s 7/34 came in handy for Coimbatore to restrict Tiruvannamalai to 169 in 67 overs on the first day of the pre-quarterfinals of the TNCA inter-districts Under-16 tournament. In reply, Coimbatore were 86 for 3 in 30 overs.
Brief scores: Tirupur 105 in 50 ovs (I Junaid Mustaq 3/15, R Sabharinath 3/16) vs Thiruvallur 102/4 in 46 ovs; Dindigul 282 in 89.1 ovs (D Pirajan 41, K Deepan 54, G Nitheeshwaran 49) vs Thiruvarur 6/1 in 5 ovs; Kancheepuram 228/9 in 90 ovs (Sushruth M Srivatsan 36, S Shakthi Velan 92, V Jothishwaran 3/49, S Mohammed Rafan 4/71) vs Erode; Tiruvannamalai 169 in 67 ovs (Abishek 90 n.o, G. Rajaguhan 7/34) vs Coimbatore 86/3 in 30 ovs (K Rahul 39 batting).
Krishnagiri 229 in 82.1 ovs (B Keerthi Vasan Pandian 51, A Vikash 3/69) vs Namakkal 62/1 in 20 overs (MG Nithilan 32 batting); Kanyakumari 184/2 in 33.2 ovs (TS Immanuel Ester Josese 106 batting, S Balvin Monish Jino 45) vs Pudukottai; Kallakurichi 151 in 55.5 ovs (S Namachivayam 43, T Pakirthan 4/51, S Sujay Gregoney 3/31) vs Tiruchirapalli 145/4 in 46 overs (T Pakirthan 41, CS Mithun 35); Chengalpattu 313/9 in 90 ovs (Akshay Barath 77, Muhammad Shahid 72, Rohith Jayapandi 50, G Abinesh 5/100) vs Salem 14 for no loss in 4 ovs.
Archana breaks records
Archana Sankara Narayanan, hailing from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, has achieved two national records for India in Freediving at the AIDA Depth Games competition held in Panglao, Philippines on July 15-16, 2024.
Archana made history by reaching a depth of 35 meters in the Free Immersion discipline during the competition. She also holds a personal record of diving to 42m, the deepest level an Indian female freediver has ever achieved. Apart from being a renowned freediver, Archana is a lawyer by profession. Her journey into the diving world began during a visit to the Andaman Islands, where she became a dive master in scuba diving and a rescue diver.
Good start for Indians
Three Indians — S Harshad and VS Nandish of Coimbatore and two foreigners IM Alexander Slizhevsky of Russia and GM Manik Mikulas of Slovakia recorded wins in the first round of the 22nd Tamil Nadu IM norm closed circuit chess tournament, organised by Tamil Nadu State Chess Association at Chennai.
The tournament has four foreign players from Russia, Slovakia, Mongolia and Turkmenistan, three from Tamil Nadu and one each from Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad.