Leagues Apart: The story of how the X1 Racing League came to be
In a time when Indian motorsport appears to be stagnant, there is a new dawn coming: The X1 Racing League. It is the first-ever franchise based racing league in the world and is set to commence on 29th of November 2019. And so, we thought that now is as good a time as any to dive deep into the roots of the league, how it matured from an interesting idea to a reality, and of course, the innovative format in which it will run. To this end, we spoke with Aditya Patel, the co-founder of the X1 league who took time out of his schedule to speak to us and shed some light on some of the questions we had.
Setting the Stage
Before we get into the nitty-gritties of how the X1 racing league came to be, it is important to understand the context in which it was birthed. Yes, the tech behind the top levels of circuit racing in India has evolved. But in a lot of ways, the racing scene is just as it has been for the past decade: it is not consistently televised, it is thirsty for investment, and only a small pocket of individuals actually follow and understand the sport. To put it in other words, it may have progressed technologically, but the format and process of a typical race weekend leaves a lot to be desired.
It is perhaps this dour realization that lit a spark in the minds of Aditya Patel and Armaan Ebrahim, the founders of the X1 Racing League. In a lot of ways, the approach to the clutter-breaking new format of the X1 Racing League might appear to be the result of following one’s common sense, but it runs far deeper than that. Over the course of 18 months, Aditya and Armaan have managed to create a property that is just as exciting to investors and broadcasters, as it is to drivers and viewers, and this is a result of not just common sense, but also a deep and holistic understanding of motorsport.
Finding the Investors
The X1 Racing League was always going to follow a franchise model, and so, the first step was to find enthusiastic investors who would be willing to back the duo.
“We’ve been very fortunate with the investors we have on board because they came from the connections that Arman, Ravi and I had.” Ravi, of course, is Ravi Krishnan, who in many ways has been the guiding light for the Aditya and Armaan as they navigated through the world of sportainment for the first time. Aditya goes on, “We went and pitched to them, they all loved the format and the concept.”
The fact that the investors loved the format of the competition is a recurring theme in the story of X1. In fact, the very first investor of the X1 Racing League, the Rattha Group were convinced after just one meeting with Aditya and Armaan, that the league was the right investment for them. They saw it as a new avenue for diversification.
Another reason for the allure of the X1 in the eyes of its investors is the fact that it is an affordable way to enter perhaps the costliest sport in the world. “This is the cheapest league in the county, even when you compare it to the likes of kho-kho, volleyball and badminton”, remarked Aditya.
And as if that wasn’t enough, the investors have yet another reason to be excited. Turns out, when they invest in a franchise, they don’t just get ownership of the racing team, but also the e-sports team. That makes it interesting for the team because they haven’t just got a racing team, but also a mechanism to sustain the buzz and excitement of the on-track racing.
“As far as e-sports goes, it is growing. We can build a strong e-sports team for championships around the world. And thanks to e-sports, we don’t have a lull period because the e-sports league starts pretty much from early next year (2020)”, reports Aditya Patel.
Getting through the 4th wall
Ask any potential sponsor for a motorsport investment and the question comes blaring, ‘What kind of viewership can I expect?’, and in a lot of cases, that is where the conversation goes south. It is indeed a sad reality that Indian motorsport hasn’t made it onto TV screens for the longest time. So, the fact that every minute of the X1 Racing League will be televised and streamed on the Sony Network is extremely impressive.
As it turns out, the reason for the enthusiasm from the networks is also the same reason why investors came on board: the uniqueness of the series. Aditya explains, “Sony is the kind of channel where most of the sports that they televise, is not very cricket focussed…they broadcast all kinds of different sports. This worked to our favour. They could see the potential, especially of the format.”
The fact that it was a motorsport event where you get to showcase Indian talent alongside internationals, and also put women on the same grid as men played a huge part in convincing Sony to broadcast the racing series.
Filling Up the Grid
Every team in the X1 Racing League is comprised of one Indian driver who has had success internationally, one domestic Indian driver, one up-and-coming Indian driver, one female driver and one foreign driver. When names such as Matthias Lauda, Alex Yoong, Oliver James Webb, Arjun Balu, and Gaurav Gill fill up the starting grid, you can’t help but think about the factors that convinced them to be a part of the league.
Turns out, the format and profile of the league have also played its part in attracting its star drivers, as well. “It’s the concept and profile which is unique, and that is what the drivers are excited about. With segregation becoming popular, it is something that the purists are looking forward to”, says Aditya.
The Format
We know by now, that the investors, the television networks and the drivers were all attracted to the never-before-seen format that the X1 Racing League has envisioned. Not only is every team filled with equal measures of talent and diversity, but the format of the competition itself is also truly unique. Here’s the rundown on the measured and well-thought-out format of the races.
The championship is based on the regular championship format, with team championships and drivers titles up for grabs. Further, at the end of the season, awards are given out for the best international driver, the best Indian driver and the best young Indian driver. However, this is where any similarity to a regular championship format ends.
As we know, each team has 5 drivers in their rosters: An Indian international driver, a foreign driver, a female driver, a domestic Indian driver, and a junior Indian driver. Further, each team has 2 cars, and each car will be driven by a team of 2 drivers.
There will be 2 qualifying sessions, on Saturday and Sunday respectively, preceding the day’s races. The qualifying sessions are quite unique too. In that, each of the 2 drivers that share a car gets to clock just 1 flying lap. The lap-times of the two drivers are added up, and this cumulative lap-time is what is considered when deciding the starting order.
The format of races is similar to the Sprint Race format. It lasts for 30minutes + 1 lap, and the first car to receive the chequered flag wins. And in all but the 4th race, the team will perform a driver swap between the 12th and 17th minute of the race. The classification in the first qualifying decides the starting order of Race 1 and the finishing order of Race 1 is reversed to decide the starting order of Race 2. Both Race 1 and Race 2 will run on Saturday.
The second qualifying session determines the starting order of Race 3, while the starting order of Race 4 is determined by the fastest lap set by each car during Race 3. Also, Race 4 is somewhat of a relay race, where only one car is out on the track initially, while the second car waits in the pits. When the pit window opens up, the first car pulls into the pits and tags the second car, which goes on to complete the rest of the race. Each driver gets 2 to 5 laps in the car in Race 4 before changing drivers.
This kind of format, especially that of race 4, has never been seen before, and also appears to have tremendous potential for excitement on the track, and also in terms of team strategies. It also opens up the possibility of not just inter-city battles, but also battles within 2 teams representing the same city.
Aditya adds, “What’s unique is that apart from having men and women race against each other, all teams participate against each other in the same event. It’s not like other leagues where it is city A vs city B. This makes it interesting for the audience, who are quite used to watching two cities go against each other.”
The Team
Armaan and Aditya were born and raised around the race track. Their dads, Akbar Ebrahim and Kamlesh Patel are highly respected figures in Indian motorsport. However, Aditya and Armaan are the only members of the team behind the X1 Racing League that come from the racing fraternity. The chairman of the X1 Racing League, Ravi Krishnan is also the brains behind a number of path-breaking sport and entertainment properties.
Aditya says, as he describes Ravi’s importance to the organization, “He guides us through the world of sport, which he has been involved in for the longest time. He has started properties not just in sport, but also sportainment. When you look at the Chennai open, the Lakme fashion week et cetera, you realize that he knows what he’s doing and it was crucial to have someone like that on board with us.”
Carefully constructing a well-rounded, competent team of professionals around themselves means that Aditya and Aarman’s endeavour to break the mould of racing comes on the back of some invaluable experience.
In summation, it certainly seems to us like Aditya Patel and Armaan Ebrahim saw the pitfalls of the current state of Indian motorsport, learned from them, and carved out a completely different path for themselves and for the X1 Racing League. A superb blend of risk and rationality has meant that two of India’s most successful racing drivers have made the most of their talents and their network to create what is quite possibly the boldest move to come out of the racing fraternity in recent memory.
Originally published at https://medium.com on December 3, 2019.
