IRL: Caitlin Wood scores sixth in strong run at Chennai, heartbreak for Laura Camps after charging drive
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In the second round of the 2025 Indian Racing League season, Caitlin Wood delivered a strong run to sixth place on Sunday, just ahead of Jem Hepworth – while Laura Camps, after one of her best drives to date charging from ninth to fifth, had to settle for eighth following technical issues.
In the second round of the 2025 Indian Racing League season, Caitlin Wood delivered a strong run to sixth place on Sunday, just ahead of Jem Hepworth – while Laura Camps, after one of her best drives to date charging from ninth to fifth, had to settle for eighth following technical issues.
Since its inaugural season, the Indian Racing League’s format – where six teams each feature two local talents, one international driver, and one female driver – has created one of the most gender-equal championships in motorsport. Over the years, it has seen many exciting performances from female drivers, including pole positions, race wins, and championship battles.
The driver lineups, selected via a draft for the first time this year, feature six female drivers – a mix of returnees and newcomers: Fabienne Wohlwend, Gabriela Jílková, Caitlin Wood, Laura Camps Torras, and two rookies, Jem Hepworth and Alexandra Hervé.
Just a few days after the season opener, the action shifted to Madras International Circuit, a venue that has hosted some of the series’ most iconic rounds. The Chennai weekend began with Free Practice for the Group A drivers, where Kyle Kumaran set the early pace in the #70 Kichcha’s Kings Bengaluru entry he shares with Jem Hepworth.
In the final stages, however, Aqil Alibhai and Shahan Ali Mohsin improved, with Alibhai becoming the only driver to dip under the 1:35 barrier. Kumaran ended the session third, while Caitlin Wood’s teammate Alister Yoong struggled with issues and placed tenth, just ahead of Laura Camps Torras’ teammate Shibin Yousaf in eleventh.
Qualifying followed in the familiar Indian Racing League format of one timed lap per driver, but it was interrupted by a red flag after Alexandra Hervé suffered an engine failure that sent her off at the final corner. Once running resumed, the times improved rapidly, with Alibhai briefly on provisional pole before Ali Mohsin set the fastest lap at 1:35.9 to secure pole position for Speed Demons Delhi. Alister Yoong delivered a strong lap to secure second place on the grid, while Kumaran was seventh in a tightly contested session, and Yousaf would start from eleventh.
In Race 1, Shahan Ali Mohsin made a perfect getaway to lead into Turn 1, with Wood's teammate Yoong slotting into second. Alibhai ran third but soon closed in on Yoong, with Mohammed Ryan and Thomas Canning also joining the battle for the podium. Behind them, Kumaran ran in the midfield while Yousaf retired on lap 5, ending the race early for Camps’ team.
The race was then neutralized by a safety car when Clos spun exiting the final corner, wiping out Ali Mohsin’s growing advantage. At the restart, Ali Mohsin again controlled the pace and quickly rebuilt his gap, leaving Yoong to defend vigorously from Alibhai in a thrilling battle for second. Despite dropping a wheel on the grass, Yoong held on until the final corner of the final lap, where Alibhai got a stronger exit and edged ahead by just 0.025 seconds in a dramatic photo finish.
Ali Mohsin took a dominant and unchallenged victory with fastest lap, while Yoong claimed third to secure strong points for Wood’s Speed Demons Delhi duo. Kumaran salvaged a ninth-place finish for Hepworth’s team, while Yousaf’s retirement meant a non-score for Laura Camps Torras’ entry.
On Sunday, it was the turn of the Group B drivers.
In Free Practice, Raoul Hyman soon led the way with a 1:34.8 in the early minutes, ahead of Sai Sanjay and Akhil Rabindra. Hepworth quickly slotted into the top six, just ahead of Laura Camps by one tenth after their first laps. Caitlin Wood was three tenths quicker when she put in her first effort, as times continued to drop.
Hepworth dipped under the 1:37 mark, before Wood again improved by three tenths to climb to ninth. Laura Camps, after spending much of the session in the pits, returned to the track in the closing stages and improved to a 1:36.181 to secure seventh. Hyman topped the session, half a second clear of Sohil Shah and Akshay Bohra. Laura Camps ended seventh with a promising run, while Wood was tenth and Hepworth twelfth.
Qualifying followed, again with just one flying lap per driver. Sohil Shah set the early benchmark with a 1:44.605 to lead provisionally ahead of Sai Sanjay, with Caitlin Wood initially third. Bohra then moved up into second, half a second behind Shah. Raoul Hyman was fifth, while Wood delivered a strong effort of 1:37.034 to secure eighth on the grid. Laura Camps, with a 1:37.235, was just behind and would start tenth, with Jem Hepworth eleventh after setting a 1:37.709.
The second and final race of the Chennai weekend brought drama even before the start, as Akhil Rabindra was pushed into the pit lane with issues on the formation lap. At the front, Shah kept the lead from Bohra and Hyman, who surprised Lancaster with a great move into Turn 1.
Caitlin Wood climbed to seventh, while Laura Camps moved into ninth and Jem Hepworth took tenth. Both Camps and Hepworth then cleared Sai Sanjay, moving into eighth and ninth after the opening lap.
On lap two, Laura Camps continued her charge, passing Wood for seventh and running quicker than Sandeep Kumar ahead. At the front, Sohil Shah set the fastest lap and tried to pull away from Bohra and Hyman – but his attempt was halted by a safety car intervention on lap three, when Sanjay’s car stopped off track.
The race resumed on lap six with 12 minutes to go, but chaos followed immediately as Tijil Rao retired at Turn 1 with suspension damage. Laura Camps executed a spectacular move on Sandeep Kumar to take fifth. Moments later, chaotic battles at the front briefly saw Hyman grab the lead before positions were restored when the safety car was deployed again.
At the second neutralization, Caitlin Wood was up to seventh, followed by Jem Hepworth. The red flag was shown with eight minutes left on the clock.
After a delay, racing resumed – but heartbreak struck for Laura Camps as her car failed to restart. Shah retained the lead from Bohra, while Hyman came under pressure from Lancaster. Kumar and Wood climbed into fifth and sixth following Camps’ misfortune. Camps eventually managed to get back underway a lap down, immediately pushing and setting the fastest lap – before Shah later reclaimed it.
On lap 10, Lancaster passed Hyman for third and pulled clear, while Kumar defended from Wood, who was running strongly and pulling away from Hepworth. At the front, Shah kept a one-second cushion over Bohra, and the pair pulled away from the rest of the field. Shah ultimately secured the win and fastest lap, with Bohra second. Lancaster beat Raoul Hyman to third.
Kumar and caitlin Wood held stable gaps in the closing stages, with Wood finishing sixth after a strong drive. Hepworth was seventh - securing her first top ten finish of her IRL season - and Camps recovered to eighth.
“We had a few issues holding our performance back in the race, but overall it was a solid haul of points for our team this weekend – which is great,” recalled Caitlin Wood. “P6 today for me, I’m a little disappointed as there was potential for more if it all came together, but we’ll try again next time! It’s always lots of fun racing in the IRL and it’s been great to work with Alister and my new team this season.”
It was a disappointing end on the other hand for Laura Camps, who was in contention for a top five.
“I don’t really know what to say – honestly, I had never felt this strong – so going back home with a P8 is quite disappointing, since we had climbed from P10 up to P5 but a mechanical failure left us out of podium chances,” said the Catalan. “Still, a good weekend. Always grateful to Chennai Turbo Riders for their work, and to the whole team of mechanics. We’ll come back stronger!”
After two back-to-back weekends, the Indian Racing League now takes a short break before returning on 3–5 October at Kari Motor Speedway for the third round of the season.