After a thrilling weekend in Coimbatore, the Indian Racing Festival is set to continue in Chennai for round 2 this weekend. The event will take place at the Madras International Circuit on the 23rd and 24th of August 2025 and will feature two racing series: the Indian Racing League and the Formula 4 Indian Championship.
Indian Racing League (IRL)
Heading into the 2nd round of the 2025 IRL season, Raoul Hyman (Goa Aces JA Racing) has emerged as the man to beat. We saw him completely dominate race 1 of the first round. The only question is who can stop him? One of the names that instantly comes to mind is Jon Lancaster (Hyderabad Black Birds), also from the UK, who challenged Hyman early on, but could not seal the overtake. Another driver who could dethrone Raoul is the Indian driver, Kyle Kumaran. The Kichcha’s Kings Bengaluru driver climbed from 11th to 3rd in race 1. He is somebody Roul Hyman will keep an eye out for in Chennai.
Sai Sanjay (Speed Demons Delhi), from India, also has the momentum going to Chennai. He won in Coimbatore with the support of the home crowd, which will carry over to Round 2. He will be one to look out for in Chennai. Swiss driver Neel Jani is one of the most experienced drivers in the league. He is also a F1 test driver for Audi Motorsport. With lineups not finalized, match-ups remain open. So we could see any of them could take the top step of the podium at the Madras International Circuit.
Formula 4 Indian Championship (F4 Indian)
In the Formula 4 Indian Championship, Vasilis Apostolidis (Black Birds Hyderabad) from Greece and Ishaan Madesh (Kolkata Royal Tigers) from India are the ones to beat. These two drivers showed some impressive performances during the first weekend of the series in Coimbatore. Each of them has one victory and one third-place finish from the 1st round. They will be looking to build on this momentum heading to Chennai for Round 2.
But there are a few other drivers out there who have shown impressive form in the last two races. F4 Indian Shootout winner Sachel Rotge (Kichcha’s Kings Bengaluru) took second place in race two and will be looking to find more momentum in Chennai. Shane Chandaria, from Kenya, will also be looking to make a statement in the second round of the Formula 4 Indian Championship.
Every one of the Formula 4 races is integral for the drivers as it provides the opportunity to score FIA Super License points, an integral stepping stone to reaching the FIA Formula 1 Championship.
Chennai to deliver exciting racing in mixed weather conditions
Chennai is a city that usually runs hot and humid. However, for this weekend, rain is scheduled from Saturday afternoon. This could provide some wet racing action, much like we saw on Sunday in Coimbatore. There is also no rain predicted for Sunday, which could give the drivers a different kind of challenge, as it would become very hot in the cars’ cockpits. It will be interesting to see how the teams and drivers cope with these challenges in Chennai.
One thing to note about the Madras International Circuit is that the track is much longer than the Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore. This also means more complex corners and high temperatures, which will make the circuit a hard challenge for the drivers.
These conditions could give the more experienced drivers on the grid an advantage. Either way, we are set for a very exciting weekend at the Madras International Circuit.
You can catch all the exciting action from the Indian Racing Festival live on Jio Hotstar and Star Sports Select 2.
The Indian Racing Festival 2025 is powered by JK Tyres, fuel partner – Nayara Energy, Performance by Mobil 1, and hydrated by Bisleri.
