X1 Racing eSports League to start from 10th October, followed by a November debut for the X1RL

The debut six-city season of the X1 eSports League will be sponsored by OnePlus and is set to begin in Mumbai from tomorrow. Meanwhile, the X1 Racing League will head to the Buddh International Circuit for its inaugural round on 30th November.

The X1 Racing League (X1RL), an all-new racing series founded by Indian motorsport veterans Aditya Patel & Armaan Ebrahim, is set to make its debut at the iconic Buddh International Circuit on 30th November 2019. Moreover, the league will be powered by eminent Indian motorsport promoter JK Tyre Motorsport. The announcement was made during a recent press conference in Mumbai. Contrary to the details revealed at the inaugural X1 Speed Summit in May 2019, the first season of the X1RL will comprise 6 city-based franchises (instead of 8), which will only compete on two racing circuits – the Buddh International Circuit (Nov 30 – Dec 1) in Delhi-NCR and the Madras Motor Race Track (MMRT) in Chennai (Dec 7 – Dec 8). Earlier, the X1RL management was also planning to introduce two street circuits in the calendar. However, the decision seems to have been put on hold for now.

Meanwhile, the X1 eSports League (a bespoke digital simulator-based car racing championship), is set to begin in Mumbai from tomorrow. The eSports league will comprise six rounds (one round will be held in each of the six franchise cities) & each city will host multiple competition venues. After Mumbai (Oct 10-Oct 13), the league will head to Chennai (Oct 14-Oct 20), Pune (Oct 21-Oct 25), Hyderabad (Oct 28-Nov 3), Ahmedabad (Nov 4 - Nov 10) and finally Delhi (Nov 11-Nov 17). While the detailed league format is yet to announced, what we do know at the moment is that the competition carries a prize pool of up to ₹ 1.5 crores, and the top finishers in the eSports league stand a chance to compete in the XI Racing League.

The X1RL management also announced the respective owners of five of the franchises during the press conference. While the Chennai team is backed by none other than Indian racing veteran Narain Karthikeyan, the Delhi team is owned and backed by the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Saeed Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan. Meanwhile, the Pune, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad franchises are owned by Ameet Gadhoke (Gadhoke Group), Akhilesh Reddy, and Dhaval Gada (Pen India Studios), respectively.

Coming to the driver line-ups, each of the six teams will consist of one international male, one international female, one Indian (international), and one Indian (domestic) race driver. Each team will also field two cars. In terms of the international male drivers, expect renowned names like ex-Formula One racer Vitantonio Liuzzi, Alex Yoong, Mathias Lauda (son of F1 Legend Niki Lauda), Oliver Webb, and Freddie Hunt (son of F1 Legend James Hunt) to make their presence felt in the X1RL. On the female front, international drivers like Michelle Gatting, Pippa Mann, W-Series participant Alice Powell, and Swiss racer Rahel Frey are expected to be a part of the driver line-up for the debut X1RL season.