Indian Racing Festival ready to take motorsport to the ocean-front

The Indian Racing Festival (IRF) is trying out new and exciting things this year. For the first time, the event will have an ocean-front round in Goa later this month and the grand finale on a street circuit in Mumbai.

“We are taking IRF to different cities to gain traction and create awareness just like cricket,” said Akhilesh Reddy, Chairman & Managing Director, Racing Promotions Private Limited (RPPL), in a chat with Sportstar.

“We have to work harder than cricket as the sport is a religion here. Fans fly down from various places just to watch a match, but for us, this is a new sport, and there is a huge vacuum in the market. People are not really aware of motorsport. So, in order to create awareness and gain traction, we have to travel a lot,” he added.

He said the best thing is to have more street races like in Goa, which will be a day race, and in Mumbai, a night affair. “And, this will be the first time we are doing this.”

Organising street racing is a tough task. “If you ask me how difficult it is, I will say it’s a nightmare because lots of parties will have to come together to make it happen. There can be some inconvenience too for the general public but we need to make sure it is minimal,” said Akhilesh.

Why take the burden at all?

“For street racing, the spectator presence is huge, unlike circuit racing. Chennai and Coimbatore circuits have attracted only a few thousand, but when we have the races on the streets, people come and watch out of curiosity. Once they get the first-hand experience, then they turn into a motorsport fan,” said Akhilesh.

“We also want youngsters to understand there are career opportunities and that’s why we are going all out to make it happen,” he added.

Published on Oct 05, 2025