Hyderabad: Godspeed Kochi was crowned as the team champions in the inaugural Indian Racing League (IRL) after beating the favourites Black Birds Hyderabad at the street circuit on the banks of Hussain Sagar here on Sunday.

Hyderabad’s Akhil Rabindra, an ace Indian driver, was adjudged as Driver champion, followed by teammate Neel Jani in Second. Kochi team’s Alister Yoong of Malaysia came third.

All four drivers of Kochi, Ruhaan Alva and Fabienne in Car 1 and Alister Yoong and Nikhil Bora in Car 2, pulled off an excellent performance on the final day to close the championship with a bang.

"In Hyderabad, the organisers prepared the first street circuit of India. The championship was held as a preliminary test ahead of the Formula E world championship scheduled for next February after the homologation of the track," says Jose Pottamkulam Ootta, owner of M&N Racing and the team manager of the Godspeed Kochi.  

Despite the early hiccups, the historic Racing League, the first city-based motorsports league in the country gave India its first Street Circuit, thanks to the support from the Telangana government.

Jose Pottamkulam Ootta told mathrubhumi.com that the motorsport has a huge potential and will soon receive a platform in the country to reach the public. He expects Kerala Government and other private players to come forward to create a favourable ecosystem in the state for motorsports.

Godspeed Kochi’s Alister Yoong and Nikhil Bora finished the final day of the League season and Round 4 on a high note, posting thumping victories in both the Sprint Races and the Feature Race. Meanwhile, their second car, piloted by Ruhaan Alva and Fabienne Wohlwend, chipped in with a sixth place, despite technical issues with the car, after finishing fourth on the track and logging a penalty. Thus, Godspeed Kochi (313.5), who went into the final race trailing by 23.5 points to Black Birds Hyderabad (337), garnered enough points to turn the tables and overthrow the Championship leaders and were crowned the inaugural Team Champions of IRL promoted by Racing Promotions Private Limited. Kochi ended up with 417.5 points to Hyderabad’s 385.

In the Feature Race, both the Blue cars of Kochi started on the front row, but there was much drama with a Red flag at the very beginning following Hyderabad’s Akhil Rabindra’s car stalling on the grid. Later, after three formation laps, the race began with most of the cars on wet tyres on a drying track.

In car 2, Nikhil Bora started on the pole and took the lead in the race, and after a driver swap, Alister Yoong surprisingly found himself in third place and finished second on the track. But later, he was credited with a victory in the Feature Race, thus making a clean sweep for the Kochi team.