Formula 4 (F4) night street race winners Hugh Barter (C), Ruhaan Alva (L), and Abhay Mohan (R) strike a pose with their trophies. (Photo | Manivasagan) 
Chennai

Chennai F4 night street race HIGHLIGHTS | Australia's Hugh Barter and South Africa's Aqil Alibhai share honours

Barter, who last weekend had won a race starting last on the grid, was unstoppable while winning the first race that was marred by two Safety Car periods and then a red flag with little over three minutes and a lap left.

Online Desk

CHENNAI: Australian Hugh Barter of Godspeed Kochi and South African Aqil Alibhai of Hyderabad Blackbirds shared the day’s honours in the FIA-Formula 4 Indian Championship in the country's first-ever night racing event, in Chennai on Sunday night.

Legal issues, track certification delay, change of corners, traffic diversion - the inaugural night street race in Chennai had hurdle after hurdle hurling at it. But they all fell by the wayside, a challenge so distant that it was not even visible on the rearview mirror when the action finally began on Sunday night.

By the time spectators made their way to the stands in the afternoon, the excitement around the event reached its peak with whooshing cars burning the rubber and setting the road-turned-track on fire in the qualifying rounds.

At the golden hours of the evening, the F4 cars buzzing around the track made it a visual treat for the large crowd that assembled here.

The atmosphere was further electrified when celebrity team owners like John Abraham, Naga Chaitanya, Arjun Kapoor, and Sourav Ganguly made their way to the pitstop to greet their teams and crew members. Also present was Minister of Youth Welfare and Sports Udhayanidhi Stalin, who faced political flak for being keen on organising the event.

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