Malaysian Alister Yoong showcased his racing pedigree with a lights-to-flag win for Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers in Round 1 of the Indian Racing League while Australia’s Hugh Barter of Godspeed Kochi made up for his disastrous outing on Saturday with a grand double in the Formula 4 Indian Championship.
The first round of Indian Racing Festival, presented by Kingfisher Soda, concluded at the Madras International Circuit on Sunday.
Starting from pole position, Yoong, the 21-year-old son of former Formula 1 driver, Alex, enjoyed an untroubled run after seeing off an early challenge from Hyderabad Blackbirds’ Akhil Rabindra who eventually settled for P2.
Czech Republic’s Gabriela Jilkova, representing Goa Aces JA Racing, finished third after an impressive drive in a race that turned out to be processional with track positions at the front remaining unchanged throughout the 25 minutes + 1 lap outing.
“I had a beautiful car today. Absolutely no issues. So, yeah, I had a good start, and it is nice to win,” said Yoong.
Meanwhile, in the F4 India Championships, 19-year-old Barter virtually destroyed the competition while winning Race-2 by over 18 seconds and then going on to take Race-3 as convincingly despite a Safety Car period which bunched up the grid, negating his big lead.
Barter was at his aggressive best in the second race which he started from P15 and made it to P1 in a matter of just seven laps. Thereafter, his scorching pace took him well clear of the pack. Following him home were fellow-Aussie Isaac Demellweek of Chennai Turbo Riders and India’s Divy Nandan of Ahmedabad Apex Racers.
In the next race, Barter was yet again off to a great start and went on to enjoy a lead of over 10 seconds before the Safety Car was deployed following an on-track incident. On resumption, Barter pulled away for a comfortable win.
Behind the Aussie, South African Aqil Alibhai of Hyderabad Blackbirds settled into P2 ahead of Ruhaan Alva Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers to finish in that order. Three Indians – Jaden Rahaman Pariat, the Race-1 winner yesterday, Divy Nandan and Abhay Mohan took the fourth, fifth and sixth spots, respectively, to provide more cheer to their countrymen.
The 2024 Indian Racing Festival promoted by Racing Promotions Private Limited (RPPL) to be held over five rounds, including the historic night street race in the heart of Chennai next weekend, is sponsored by Kingfisher Soda, JK Tyres, Mobil 1.
