Laura Camps returns to Indian Racing League

Laura Camps Torras will return to the Indian Racing League for the 2024 season with Black Birds Hyderabad, after a promising debut last year where she achieved a top-five finish in her first single-seater race.

Photo credits: Hoogram

Laura Camps Torras is set to make her return to the Indian Racing League, as the Spaniard is part of the first team line up to be announced for the 2024 season.

The former Ferrari Driver Academy racer will in fact team up again with Black Birds Hyderabad aboard the fast Wolf single seater employed in the Indian series.

The 19-year-old had made her racing debut last year in the Indian championship, stepping up from karting and following testing experience in F4 machinery as part of her one season with the FDA. She has continued to compete in national and international karting competitions and, with a last minute call, Camps jumped onboard the Wolf GB08 Thunder, powered by a 215 bhp engine, with no prior testing.

On her first ever race in single seaters, and with no knowledge of the car as well as the Madras International Circuit – where all three rounds of the 2023 season were hosted – Camps impressed with a top five finish on debut: she was fifth in her solo race, as the Indian Racing League format sees four drivers per team sharing two cars in the two sprint races.

While she eventually missed out on another strong result in the second round, when she retired with a clutch issue, Laura returned to the top ten in the third and final round of her debut season, with another positive finish in ninth place.

Together with Anindith Reddy, the duo secured 38 points and were fifth in the team's championship with Hyderabad Blackbirds.

Camps is now set to return to India for her sophomore campaign, again teaming up with the same squad of Anindith Reddy, Akhil Rabindra and sportscar legend Neel Jani.

The championship has established itself as the top national series and is promoted by RPPL, which also runs the Indian Formula 4 championship for the second consecutive year.

The calendar has moved from November to the end of August and is set to include new circuits such as the Chennai Formula Racing Circuit and Kari Motor Speedway.

Despite a few changes through the years, the Indian Racing League format has always proved to be a great opportunity for female racing drivers, as each team has traditionally lined up one international racer, one female racer and two local drivers.

With pre-season testing scheduled for 21-22 August, a few days ahead of the first official round, more team announcements are expected shortly.