IRL: Caitlin Wood and Gabriela Jílková return to top five with strong runs at Coimbatore
- RACERS
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
Gabriela Jílková claimed a strong fourth-place finish in Race 2, while Caitlin Wood secured her first top five of the season after her best qualifying in Kari’s third Indian Racing League round marked by a mixed weekend for female drivers.
The third round of the Indian Racing League returned to Kari Motor Speedway and brought positive performances for several of the female drivers, while others saw their weekends hampered by misfortune and technical issues.
The best results came from series veteran Gabriela Jílková, who finished fourth in Race 2, and from Caitlin Wood, who delivered one of her strongest outings in the series. The Australian driver impressed with a commendable qualifying effort in fourth, followed by a top-five finish in Race 1.
Fabienne Wohlwend was solidly running in the top five in Race 1 before a gearbox issue on the final lap dropped her to seventh. Nevertheless, her weekend still yielded positive points, as her teammate Raoul Hyman secured victory on Sunday to keep the duo in championship contention. Similarly, Jem Hepworth also enjoyed a productive round, with her teammate Kyle Kumaran taking a dominant win on Saturday to strengthen their campaign, followed by a seventh place by Hepworth herself.
It was a far more unfortunate weekend for Laura Camps Torras, who was sidelined from all sessions due to persistent technical issues, and for Alexandra Hervé, whose brake issues caused a heavy crash. Thankfully, the young French driver was not serioulsy injured after precautionary checks.
The on-track action at Kari Motor Speedway — which also hosted the season opener — resumed for Round 3 with official practice for the Driver A group, featuring Wohlwend, Wood, and Hervé.
Sai Sanjay set the fastest time with a 1:03.527, the only lap under the 1:04 mark, ahead of Neel Jani and Fabienne Wohlwend, who showed promising pace in third with a 1:04.296. Caitlin Wood was seventh for Speed Demons Delhi, while Alexandra Hervé completed several consistent laps just a few tenths off the midfield before her accident at the fastest section of the track ended her weekend.
In qualifying, Sai Sanjay was initially fastest before being beaten by Kyle Kumaran, who took pole position and the bonus point for Kichcha’s Kings Bengaluru — the team he shares with Jem Hepworth. Wood impressed again, clocking a 1:04.796 to secure fourth on the grid, in her best qualifying in the series. Fabienne Wohlwend was sixth fastest with a 1:04.861, outqualifying Neel Jani.
From pole, Kumaran led the field ahead of Sanjay and Rabindra, with Wood lining up fourth and Wohlwend sixth. Four cars were unable to start due to technical issues, including the entry of Laura Camps Torras and her teammate Viswas Vijayraj.
Drama struck on the formation lap when Sai Sanjay slowed down and was forced to start from the back before ultimately retiring. At the rolling start, Kumaran got away cleanly, while Wood made an excellent getaway to move into third before Aqil Alibhai reclaimed the position later in the lap.
Wohlwend climbed to fifth and defended hard from Neel Jani, who eventually passed her into Turn 1, while Akash Gowda, her Goa Aces teammate, followed closely behind.
Kumaran led from Rabindra and Alibhai as the race settled, with Wood showing strong pace in the 1:05.9s. A safety car was deployed at the end of Lap 2 to recover Sanjay’s stranded car.
When racing resumed with 15 minutes remaining, Kumaran managed the restart perfectly. Wood came under pressure from Jani and Wohlwend, and Jani got past at the first chicane. Both female drivers ran strongly, with Wohlwend lapping in 1:05.453 and Wood responding with her personal best, the two separated by just 0.004s on Lap 10.
Wohlwend’s pace continued to improve, dipping into the 1:04.8s and closing in on Wood before having to defend from Gowda.
At the front, Kumaran extended his lead to over two seconds ahead of Rabindra; Jani passed Alibhai for third with three minutes to go after both ran deep into the chicane. After 19 laps of close pressure, Fabienne Wohlwend overtook Caitlin Wood for fifth — but heartbreak struck a lap later when a gearbox issue forced her to pit, dropping her two laps down.
Kyle Kumaran survived the pressure to take a commanding victory for Kichcha's Kings Bengaluru, also setting the fastest lap. Akhil Rabindra, sharing the car with Gabriela Jílková, narrowly held off Neel Jani for second, while Caitlin Wood claimed a strong fifth place.
Sunday’s action featured the B drivers, whose results are combined with their teammates’ for championship points. Three female drivers were scheduled to compete: Gabriela Jílková (#31 Hyderabad Blackbirds), Jem Hepworth (#70 Kichcha’s Kings Bengaluru), and Laura Camps Torras (#25 Chennai Turbo Riders). However, due to ongoing technical problems, Camps was unable to participate in the entire round.
In the sole practice session, Shahan Ali Mohsin topped the timesheets with a 1:03.793, just ahead of Raoul Hyman in the Goa Aces entry. Julius Dinesen — substituting for Tom Canning — was third, followed by Ruhaan Alva and Wood's teammate Alister Yoong. Jílková completed ten laps in eighth, just ahead of Hepworth in ninth.
In Sunday’s qualifying, Raoul Hyman secured pole position for Goa Aces, earning a crucial point for himself and teammate Wohlwend in their title chase. Ali Mohsin was second, and Gabriela Jílková delivered another strong performance to qualify fourth with a 1:04.806 — later promoted to third after Dinesen had his lap deleted for track limits. Jem Hepworth was eighth with a 1:05.690.
Under clear skies, Hyman made a perfect start from pole and immediately began to pull away from Ali Mohsin, while Jílková launched strongly and attempted a bold move for second into Turn 1. She however ran wide but skillfully avoided spinning, rejoining however in seventh.
Ruhaan Alva made an excellent start to climb to third, while Hepworth settled into ninth, just behind Yoong. On lap 2, Jílková began her recovery drive, catching Surineni and overtaking him into the first chicane. Surineni attempted to fight back under braking but went deep and dropped to the back, allowing Hepworth to move up to eighth.
Setting consistently fast laps, Jílková quickly closed in on Tijil Rao, engaging in a prolonged battle before making the pass for fifth position. Her pace continued to improve, clocking laps within a few tenths of the frontrunners.
At the front, Hyman controlled the pace, trading fastest laps with Ali Mohsin, while Alva in third came under increasing pressure from Dinesen. Jílková, now in clean air, steadily closed the gap on the pair ahead, reducing a 2.5-second deficit to under one second by lap 13.
Meanwhile, Hepworth was embroiled in a tight mid-pack fight with Yoong. The British racer showed strong consistency, managing her tyres well and eventually overtaking Yoong for seventh, then pulling away at around two tenths per lap, as the latter encountered issues.
With six minutes remaining, Jílková was right on the tail of Dinesen, searching for an opening. Despite repeated attempts through the first chicane and the final hairpin, Dinesen defended strongly, but it was the Czech driver to ultimately to secure fourth after a strong recovery from the start.
In the final minutes, Hyman extended his lead to over eight seconds, though a brief technical scare on the final lap saw his car lose power after crossing the line. He nevertheless claimed a dominant victory for Goa Aces, ahead of Ali Mohsin in second and Ruhaan Alva in third.
Jílková’s fourth place marked another strong points haul for Hyderabad Blackbirds, while Hepworth finished seventh after a clean and well-managed race, helping the Bengaluru squad maintain momentum.
Overall, it was a productive weekend for Fabienne Wohlwend and Raoul Hyman, who continue their push in the title fight, while Jílková, Wood, and Hepworth all delivered strong, points-scoring performances. Camps Torras and Hervé, on the other hand, were sidelined by technical misfortunes.
The Indian Racing League will now approach its final two rounds on new street circuits, starting with the inaugural Goa Street Circuit on 1–2 November, followed by the season finale later in the year.