Chennai to host India’s first night street races: All you need to know about F4, IRL events

For this event, the Tamil Nadu government is spending Rs 42 crore and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) and Racing Promotions Private Limited (RPPL), the promoters of the race, was signed in August.

The races will be held on a new 3.7-kilometre circuit, the longest street circuit in India, around the iconic Island Grounds, Tamil Nadu Youth Welfare and Sports Development Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin said.

“The Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu is thrilled to announce India’s first-ever Formula Night Street Race, right here in Chennai. Spanning a 3.7 km Circuit around the iconic Island Grounds, this racing track will pave the way for the Chennai Formula Racing Circuit,” Udhayanidhi said.

The night street races in Chennai will showcase the Formula 4 Indian Championship, featuring 12 skilled drivers (6 teams) from around the globe, alongside the Indian Racing League having 24 drivers and 12 cars, including six talented women racers distributed across six teams.

Chennai Formula Racing Circuit street races will be the fourth rounds of Formula 4 and IRL. The Chennai night street race will be the final round for IRL while F4 will end on December 17 at Madras International Circuit (MIC) in the city.

What is Formula 4 racing?

Launched in 2014, FIA Formula 4 has been created to offer young racing drivers around the world an opportunity to the first step from karting into the world of single-seater racing. Designed to be a globally recognised yet affordable step between karting and the FIA Formula Regional Championship certified by FIA (Federation Internationale de l'Automobile) the governing body of motor sport, according to RPPL.

“Formula 4 certified by FIA allows drivers to compare themselves to the best young talent, not only in their own country, but across other championships around the world,” it added.

What is IRL?

The Indian Racing League (IRL) is India's first franchise-based motorsports league. The league consists of 6 city-based teams competing on an FIA graded street circuit for the first time in India.

Participating teams

There are 6 teams and each team has 2 Indian racing cars and 2 F4 cars.

1. Hyderabad Blackbirds

2. Chennai Turboriders

3. Bangalore Speedsters

4. Goa Aces

5. Speed Demons Delhi

6. God Speed Kochi (Season 1 Team champions)

Total races in Chennai

IRL will have 2 races, one on each day (December 9 and 10) while F4 will have 3 races, 1 on Saturday (December 9) and 2 on Sunday (December 10).

Chennai night street race circuit (Chennai Formula Racing Circuit)

The 3.5-kilometre race circuit goes across Flag Staff Road, Anna Salai, Sivananda Salai and Kamarajar Salai (Napier Bridge).

The Chennai Formula Racing Circuit will feature 19 corners with multiple chicanes (A tight sequence of corners in alternate directions. Usually inserted into a circuit to slow the cars, often just before what had been a high-speed corner) and follows an anti-clockwise layout.