Sports Market
F4 Indian Championship To Open 2026 Indian Racing Festival In Coimbatore
RPPL’s 2026 season will feature six F4 rounds and four Indian Racing League rounds, ending with both championships at the new Navi Mumbai Street Circuit
The 2026 Indian Racing Festival brings together top national and international drivers across six action-packed rounds. (Photo credit: RPPL Motorsports)
The 2026 Indian Racing Festival will begin in Coimbatore this weekend as Racing Promotions Pvt. Ltd. (RPPL) takes its two-tier motorsport property into a new season, combining the FIA-certified F4 Indian Championship with the Indian Racing League.
The F4 Indian Championship will flag off at Kari Motor Speedway on September 12-13, beginning a six-round campaign that will conclude at the new Navi Mumbai Street Circuit in December. The Indian Racing League will follow in October, with four rounds scheduled across the season.
The structure gives RPPL two distinct products within the same festival: a development pathway through F4 and a franchise-based racing league through IRL. The model allows the promoter to build engagement around both emerging drivers and established city-based teams while taking races to multiple markets.
The F4 grid will feature 15 drivers across eight teams, representing eight nationalities. Indian drivers including Swarnav Das, Bhuvan Bonu and Krishay Gutte will line up alongside international competitors from countries including Singapore, South Africa, Norway, Australia, Kenya and the UK.
For the drivers, F4 provides a transition from karting into single-seater racing, while offering race experience and Super Licence points that can contribute towards progression through the international motorsport ladder.
Expanding the racing property
The Indian Racing League will bring six city-based franchises into its 2026 season, beginning at the Madras International Circuit in Chennai on October 24-25.
The teams are Kichcha’s Kings Bengaluru, Goa Aces JA Racing, Kolkata Royal Tigers, Hyderabad Blackbirds, Speed Demons Delhi and Chennai Turbo Riders.
The franchise structure gives the festival a second commercial layer, allowing ownership groups and city identities to become part of the product alongside the racing itself.
The biggest addition to the 2026 calendar will come in December, when the Navi Mumbai Street Circuit hosts the season finales of both championships. The move takes the festival beyond established permanent circuits and into a new urban event format.
The 2026 season will also be distributed across television, digital and social platforms. STAR Sports KHEL, STAR Sports 2 Kannada and STAR Sports 2 Tamil will carry the action in India, while JioHotstar will stream the races in multiple languages. STAR Sports’ YouTube channel will also serve international viewers outside India.
The season is supported by JK Tyre, Nayara Energy and Bisleri, adding established commercial partners to an expanding motorsport property.
For RPPL, the 2026 Indian Racing Festival therefore combines athlete development, franchise-based competition, multi-city hosting and broader media distribution into a single motorsport platform.