IRL: Wohlwend and Jílková score solid points in Chennai, Hervé faces more misfortune
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In the second round of the Indian Racing League, Gabriela Jílková and Fabienne Wohlwend scored a solid haul of points in the first race of the weekend at Chennai, with Jílková completing her first race in the points despite continuing to battle technical issues, and Wohlwend recovering from an unfortunate qualifying to move up the order and add important points to the tally.
In the second round of the Indian Racing League, Gabriela Jílková and Fabienne Wohlwend scored a solid haul of points in the first race of the weekend at Chennai, with Jílková completing her first race in the points despite continuing to battle technical issues, and Wohlwend recovering from an unfortunate qualifying to move up the order and add important points to the tally, as she and Goa Aces teammate Raoul Hyman continue their title hunt.
Rookie Alexandra Hervé, after a remarkable debut with a top-five finish at Kari Motor Speedway, was unlucky with recurring technical issues throughout the weekend.
Since its inaugural season, the Indian Racing League’s format – where six teams each feature two local talents, an international driver, and a female driver – has resulted in one of the most gender-equal championships in motorsport. It has seen many exciting performances from female drivers, including pole positions, race wins, and championship battles over the years.
The driver lineups, selected via a draft for the first time this year, feature six female drivers – a mix of returnees and new entries: 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 at Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore, the series headed to Madras International Circuit in Chennai, where it has hosted some of its most iconic rounds in the past.
Fabienne Wohlwend, leading the points after the first weekend, moved to Group A and would therefore contest Saturday’s race day. The other female drivers on Saturday were Alexandra Hervé and Gabriela Jílková.
The free practice session got underway on Saturday morning, with a few changes in the line ups, such as Dani Clos in the #27 machine in place of Neel Jani. Wohlwend’s first timed laps put her in P6, with times dropping quickly. Jílková’s 1:38.453 placed her sixth, just two tenths ahead of Wohlwend, who also improved. Hervé ran P10 in the opening minutes, turning her first laps at Madras among far more experienced colleagues.
Jílková ended P7, Wohlwend P8 with a 1:38.690, and Hervé P12 with a 1:42.776, showing good improvements over the session. Kyle Kumaran led the session in the #70 Kichcha’s Kings Bengaluru machine, but on the final run both Aqil Alibhai and Shahan Ali Mohsin improved, with the former the only driver under the 1:35 mark.
Qualifying for the first group followed, with the usual one-timed-lap format. Hervé put in a 1:39.993 to temporarily top the timesheets, but times quickly dropped; Jílková took second with a 1:36.531 in a great qualifying effort.
Hervé was unfortunate to suffer an engine failure and went off at the final corner with two minutes to go, bringing out a red flag. That was also bad news for Wohlwend, who hadn’t yet set a timed lap.
The session resumed with only a few minutes remaining: Alibhai improved his provisional pole position with a 1:35.9. Wohlwend needed to put a lap in, and did so with a 1:37.391, but it was only good enough for eighth.
Jílková also improved to a 1:36.173 to stay second, but Ali Mohsin, Alibhai and Yoong all improved; Shahan Ali Mohsin secured pole for Speed Demons Delhi. Jílková would start from P4 on the second row. Fabienne Wohlwend, unlucky with the red flag, would have to charge from eighth. Alexandra Hervé lined up in P12, with mechanics hard at work to fix the technical gremlins.
The first race on Saturday went green with Ali Mohsin making a great getaway, Speed Demons Delhi's teammate Yoong taking second, Alibhai third, and Ryan fourth. Jílková had a tricky start and slotted into sixth, with Wohlwend passing Dani Clos for seventh. Hervé passed Kumaran and moved into P11.
Everyone soon settled into a rhythm: Ali Mohsin opened a gap on Yoong of three seconds by lap two, as Alibhai started to catch Yoong, with Mohammed Ryan and Thomas Canning right behind. Jílková and Wohlwend pulled away from the cars behind as well.
Hervé, however, suffered another issue and pitted, retiring with more technical problems. The Frenchwoman reported a stuck throttle pedal; she tried to continue but eventually had to retire.
Ali Mohsin was unchallenged out front, while Yoong defended hard from Alibhai. Jílková was lapping in 1:36.9 pace, going under the 1:37s, with Wohlwend essentially matching the Czech racer.
The huge battle for second then intensified: Alibhai went side by side into Turn 1 but Yoong closed the space, while Ryan looked to insert himself into the fight before Canning also joined and forced Ryan to defend.
This battle ahead helped Jílková and Wohlwend close back in, now less than two seconds behind. Clos then spun exiting the last corner and dropped to P10, triggering a Safety Car and bringing Jílková and Wohlwend back into contention for the top five.
The neutralization wiped out Ali Mohsin’s advantage in the lead. The safety car came in on lap 9, and Ali Mohsin safely retained the lead, with Yoong again going defensive against Alibhai.
Jílková had a great restart, right in the mix and attacking Canning and Ryan – and she got ahead of Ryan. Jílková then slightly lost momentum and lost touch with Ryan, with Wohlwend right back behind her.
Ahead, Ali Mohsin again pulled away; with two minutes to go, he enjoyed a four-second margin over his closest pursuers, led by Yoong – who dropped a wheel on the grass on lap 13 but just held on to second despite being under intense pressure.
Jílková was running solidly in 1:36.7 pace, matched by Wohlwend, as they held sixth and seventh respectively.
Shahan Ali Mohsin ultimately claimed a dominant win, while a photo finish for second saw Alibhai get a better exit from the final corner and beat Alister Yoong by 25 thousandths of a second. Thomas Canning took fourth ahead of Mohammed Ryan.
Gabriela Jílková finished sixth, securing her first points finish of the season after the technical misfortunes of the previous week; Fabienne Wohlwend took seventh, still valuable championship points as she looks at the bigger picture, gaining one place from her starting position.
The second day of the Indian Racing League weekend in Chennai saw the “driver B” representatives take to the sessions for each team. Fabienne Wohlwend’s teammate Raoul Hyman quickly established himself at the top of the timesheets in practice, setting a 1:34.8 lap early on to lead the field. He ended the session half a second clear of Sohil Shah and Akshay Bohra, teammate to Czech racer Gabriela Jílková. Sai Sanjay and Akhil Rabindra also showed good pace, but it was Hyman who set the benchmark.
Qualifying followed the usual IRL format, with only one flying lap available. Sohil Shah delivered under pressure, clocking a 1:34.605 to secure provisional pole ahead of Sai Sanjay, while Bohra slotted into second place, half a second off the leader. Hyman was unable to replicate his practice pace and settled for fifth, while Alexandra Hervé’s teammate Sandeep Kumar placed ninth with a 1:37.169 lap.
The second and final race of the Chennai weekend brought high drama. At lights out, Shah retained the lead ahead of Bohra, while Hyman made a decisive move on Lancaster at Turn 1 to grab third. Shah looked to pull away at the front, setting fastest lap, but an early Safety Car was deployed when Sai Sanjay – Wohlwend and Hyman’s closest championship contender – stopped on track.
The restart brought more chaos as Tijil Rao retired at Turn 1, and shortly after Hyman briefly took the lead before the order was reset under another neutralization. A red flag with eight minutes to go extended delays further.
When the race resumed, Shah managed the restart perfectly, holding off Bohra while Lancaster pressured Hyman for third. Lancaster eventually forced his way past on lap 10. Hervé’s teammate Kumar in fifth was meanwhile defending from Caitlin Wood. Up front, Shah controlled the pace and resisted Bohra’s challenge to win, also taking fastest lap.
Bohra secured second, while Lancaster completed the podium ahead of Hyman, who nevertheless scored valuable points to retake the championship lead. Kumar’s run to fifth ensured solid points for the Kolkata Royal Tigers duo alongside Alexandra Hervé.
After two back-to-back rounds in August, the series will now return in October, with Fabienne Wohlwend and Raoul Hyman scoring 63 points to top the standings.
Alexandra Hervé, despite the several issues which prevented her from showcasing her potential due to limited track time to learn the circuits and the car, and recurring race problems, still has the potential to collect valuable points with consistency.
Gabriela Jílková, very unlucky over the first two weekends, nevertheless provided a glimpse of her speed in Chennai, scoring her first points while still dealing with issues. She will aim to climb further up as the season resumes on 3–5 October at Kari Motor Speedway.