IRL: Gabriela Jílková secures podium at Madras, top-5 for Fabienne Wohlwend

The Indian Racing League's third season began with impressive performances from its six female drivers, highlighted by Gabriela Jílková's podium - who was also named Driver of the Day - and a top five finish for Fabienne Wohlwend, whose Rarh Bengal Tigers squad proved to be the one to beat across the weekend.

Photo credits: Indian Racing League

The Indian Racing League kicked off its third season at Madras International Circuit in spectacular fashion, with the six female drivers on the grid showcasing impressive form and battling for front-running positions. Among the weekend's highlights were a remarkable podium finish for Gabriela Jílková and a top-five result for Fabienne Wohlwend, both returning drivers who made up for an unlucky 2023 campaign.

The series, which has been running since 2022, features a unique format that promotes local talent, teaming up with one international driver and one female racer per team. Each of the six teams represents an Indian city and runs two cars, shared between a pair of drivers, with points accumulated for a genuine team effort that rewards the best squad.

This format has delivered great racing in past seasons, and the 2024 edition boasts an even bigger calendar on a variety of circuits. What remains unchanged is the high-quality competition that has established the Indian Racing League as India’s premier racing series, increasingly attracting international stars.

Among the six female drivers, three are returnees: Gabriela Jílková (Goa Aces JA Racing) and Fabienne Wohlwend (Rarh Bengal Tigers) enter their third Indian season, while Laura Camps Torras (Hyderabad Blackbirds) tackles her second year of competition after making her race car debut in IRL last year. Camps was previously part of the Ferrari Driver Academy in an F4 testing role.

Making their Indian Racing League debuts are former W Series racer and current Porsche Sprint Challenge Great Britain podium finisher Caitlin Wood (Bangalore Speedsters), fellow Australian Emily Duggan (Chennai Turbo Riders), who returns to racing after last competing in 2019, and Belgian Angelique Detavernier (Speed Demons Delhi).

All teams employ the Wolf GB08 Thunder car, powered by a 215hp Aprilia engine, resulting in a fast and agile single-seater. During pre-season testing at Madras International Circuit, drivers had the chance to familiarize themselves with the car and the circuit, while teams prepared their machines for the upcoming event.

Once the weekend commenced, it was a blistering start for the new team Rarh Bengal Tigers who topped all sessions, with the stellar duo of Ruhaan Alva and Fabienne Wohlwend eager to make up for an unlucky 2023 season marred by technical issues, despite having shown great pace.

On Saturday, one driver from each team contested practice, qualifying, and Race 1, while the second driver took over on Sunday, following an identical schedule. Laura Camps was the only female driver to tackle Saturday’s track action, while Wohlwend, Jílková, Duggan, Detavernier, and Wood got behind the wheel on Sunday.

Rarh Bengal Tigers continued their dominance after the first qualifying session, as Wohlwend’s teammate Alva put the #5 machine on pole position with a 1:34.508 time, three-tenths clear of Le Mans winner and Porsche factory driver Neel Jani. Jon Lancaster and Alvaro Parente followed, setting the stage for an exciting race.

Laura Camps had a solid session, recording a 1:36.900 that placed her tenth on the grid for the first race of the year, among some very experienced drivers.

Photo credits: Indian Racing League

Starting P10 on Saturday, Laura Camps was the only female driver on track.

The front row was shared by Alva and Jani: after a rolling start, Alva retained the lead, while Lancaster jumped ahead of Jani. Camps had a cautious yet smart start, dropping to P11 to avoid chaos at Turn 1, with Sandeep Kumar encountering early issues.

Alva showed strong early pace, gaining almost three seconds in the first three laps. Jani held onto third, keeping Alvaro Parente behind.

Camps, meanwhile, closed in on Shahan Ali Mohsin and Nikhil Bohra, gaining a few tenths by lap 3.

However, Alva made a mistake and went off, dropping to fifth place and opening the door for Lancaster and Jani. Alva began a determined recovery, putting heavy pressure on Kyle Kumaran. Bangalore Speedsters' teammate Rajeev spun, allowing Camps to move into the top ten with 16 minutes to go.

Alva and Kumaran made contact in their heated battle, allowing Raoul Hyman to join the fight for fourth place, which eventually returned to Alva. When Hyman hit trouble, Camps seized the opportunity to gain another position, moving up to ninth.

Further drama unfolded when Lancaster dropped a wheel off track, allowing Neel Jani to snatch the lead with 12 minutes left. Camps maintained her pace, keeping Rajeev at bay. Despite Rajeev sneaking past with 5 minutes to go, Camps stayed close and remained in contention for the top ten.

Ahead, Jani pulled away while Lancaster and Parente battled hard for second place, opening a gap to the recovering Alva. But Jani faced an issue, pulling to the side of the track, allowing Lancaster and Parente to take the lead, with Camps up to P9.

Jon Lancaster held off the attacks to take the chequered flag, winning the first race of the IRL season, ahead of Alvaro Parente and Ruhaan Alva, who recovered to third place. Alva's pace caught up with the leaders, reinstating him in the battle for the win. Camps made a great move to overtake Shahan Ali Mohsin, finishing an impressive seventh, making up three positions from her starting spot and earning valuable points.

“A successful start in the Indian Racing League for me and my team Rarh Bengal Tigers,” Wohlwend stated. “After Ruhaan and I dominated all the training sessions on Friday, we started the first race weekend of the Indian Racing League here in Chennai on a positive note. Ruhaan secured pole position yesterday, and in the race, after a driving mistake while in the lead, he brought our car home in 3rd place.”

Rarh Bengal Tigers were in fact the team with the best placed female driver in the standings after the first race, courtesy of strong teamwork between the driver from Liechtenstein and Alva - who is also running double duties in Indian F4.

Photo credits: Indian Racing League

On Sunday, it was time for the teammates to jump into the driving seat. The sister Rarh Bengal Tiger of Nikhil Bohra and Alister Yoong—piloted by the Malaysian racer—scored pole position. Gabriela Jílková was fourth fastest, while Fabienne Wohlwend, not fully satisfied with her one-lap effort, lined up in sixth.

“Today it was my turn at the wheel,” Wohlwend said. “Our qualifying consists of only one lap, and unfortunately, I didn’t have a perfect lap, so I had to start the race from sixth place.”

Wood, in her first qualifying with this format, also didn’t quite put together her best lap but managed to secure eighth on the grid, showing enough speed to recover during the race.

"I qualified P8, which wasn't exactly where I wanted to be but for my first go at the one lap qualifying, I was happy to not make too many mistakes and still come away with a good time" - the Australian told us.

When the race went green, Yoong made a strong start, holding the lead while a pack of cars battled behind him - including Jílková and Wohlwend, who tried to move forward on the outside line.

Yoong led Hyderabad Blackbirds’ Akhil Rabindra, with Sohil Shah into third. However, Shah made a mistake, went deep and fell down the order, opening a gap for her teammate Gabriela Jílková, who quickly snatched third place.

Jílková was followed by Danish upcoming star Julius Dinesen and Fabienne Wohlwend, up into fifth place and aiming to continue the Rarh Bengal Tigers’ strong form. Caitlin Wood was running strong laps up to sixth, aiming to catch the group ahead, while Detavernier was in eighth, and Emily Duggan in eleventh.

Yoong had to fend off early attacks from Rabindra, but the latter eventually settled for second. Akash Gowda hit trouble and parked his Speed Demons Delhi car midway through the race, promoting Emily Duggan to eleventh. Shah was recovering positions, but Detavernier maintained a comfortable margin ahead.

Yoong and Rabindra opened a gap to Jilkova, who now had her mirrors full of Dinesen and Wohlwend. The Czech racer put on a show, with her defensive drive proving unmatched as she continuously fended off Dinesen’s Bangalore Speedster. Wohlwend, following closely, also created a gap from Mohammed Ryan and was eyeing an opportunity to capitalize on the fierce battle for third.

Despite Dinesen’s efforts, Jílková’s defensive masterclass left no openings.

Caitlin Wood’s promising debut unfortunately turned into a DNF when she lost drive 13 minutes into the race, bringing her race to a premature end. Despite the disappointment, she remained upbeat.

"My first round of IRL has been really good fun, something completely different to the racing I've done in the past so it's been cool to jump in and give it a go", Wood summarized.

"The race was good fun and I was getting into a rhythm holding my own but unfortunately we had a break down. Overall, it's been a really fun weekend and I'm looking forward to the next round on the street circuit here in Chennai in just a few days time!"

Photo credits: Indian Racing League

Wood’s retirement promoted Detavernier to seventh; the Belgian driver, albeit almost 30 seconds behind, maintained her pace and completed her race unchallenged by Shah and Reddy behind.

At the chequered flag, Alister Yoong took a lights-to-flag victory, his third in the Indian Racing League and his first since 2022, finishing 4.5 seconds ahead of Rabindra.

However, the star of the race was arguably Gabriela Jílková, who crossed the line in third, becoming the first female driver on the IRL podium since last year's win for Sarah Moore. It was Jílková's third podium in the series, following the two Hyderabad races in 2022. Jilkova was also named Driver of the Day for her outstanding drive to third.

Wohlwend drove a smart race and completed a move for fourth on the final lap, surprising Dinesen and crossing the finish line just behind Jílková and 0.8 seconds clear of Danish ace Dinesen.

"After a good start and intense battles, I managed to reach fourth place", Wohlwend said. "I am a little disappointed because I definitely had the potential for a podium finish, but it is very difficult to overtake on this track."

Detavernier finished seventh, Duggan was tenth, both completing solid debut races.

Laura Camps' teammate, Anindith Reddy, was eighth and added a couple more points to the team's tally.

"We leave the first round of the Indian Racing League with a bittersweet feeling", said the Spaniard. "On Saturday one of the cars got a DNF while leading and my car finished P7. However, we had a great recovery on Sunday as we scored P2 and P8! Great job from the team Hyderabad Blackbirds , the mechanics, and all the IRL staff."

The Indian Racing League returns in a few days for the second round of the championship at the brand-new Chennai Formula Racing Circuit, where the six female drivers will aim to build on their strong start to the season.

Photo credits: Indian Racing League