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Category: Indians Abroad
News about Indians racing in different motorsports events abroad
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Double delight for Team MRF Tyres: Italian Gravel Rally
Chennai, 12 Sept 2021: Team MRF Tyres secured second and third places on the podium as MRF Tyres also won the Female Championship in the Italian Gravel Rally Championship (CIRT).
Team MRF Tyres continued its podium winning form in the Italian Gravel Rally Championship (CIRT) and the Rally dei Nuraghi e del Vermentino. The fifth round of the CIRT saw seven stages and 68.08km of competitive action with Paolo Andreucci/Rudy Briani in their Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo, Simone Campedelli/Gianfrancesco Rappa in their VW Polo GTi R5 and Tamara Molinaro/Piercarlo Capolongo in their Citroën C3 Rally2 propelling Team MRF Tyres to podium finishes.
Going into the rally, the team was in a strong position after winning the previous round and had high expectations of a good result and gathering important tyre data.
The rally started well for Team MRF Tyres with the first two stages, Telti being run twice on Friday night. Campedelli/Rappa had won SS2, while Andreucci/Briani were equal leaders of the rally at the end of the day. Saturday had the bulk of the competitive action and the fight was intense.
Podium for Andreucci Paolo, left, and Briani Rudi, of Team MRF Tyres. Photo: INDIAinF1.com Andreucci/Briani pushed hard, winning SS4 Oschiri 1 and SS7 Monte Olia 3. Throughout the rally, they were inside the top three on every stage, ensuring they were in the mix. Campedelli/Rappa were also putting in a strong performance winning SS3 Monte Olia 1 and finishing second on the rest of the day’s stages.
These performances ensured that the gaps at the top of the timesheets were tight. Going into the final stage, the top three were separated by less than 10 seconds with Team MRF Tyres drivers fighting hard with Umberto Scandola/Danilo Fappani.
By the end of SS7, the final stage of the rally, Team MRF Tyres drivers fought to within 3.5 seconds of the win, with the top three being separated by incredibly small margins.
A technical problem for Campedelli/Rappa after the final stage saw them check-in to a time control late, taking a 20-second penalty in the process. However, the podium success for Team MRF Tyres could not be denied with Andreucci/Briani taking second and Campedelli/Rappa finishing third.
Paolo Andreucci, Driver, Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo, “It was a great rally and I am happy to be able to take a podium position with Team MRF Tyres. The car worked well throughout the rally and we were always at the front. “We were able to take another podium position and get more data for the tyres. Thanks to the team for the weekend and I am looking forward to the final round of the season.”
Meanwhile, Molinaro/Capolongo ran a strong rally in their Citroën, maintaining their 100 percent winning form in the Female category. The result allowed the pair to take home the Female Championship, one round before the end of the season. Bringing the car home on every stage with consistent pace, they were able to finish inside the top 10 in the CIRT and, in addition, took fourth position in the Under 25 category. Tamara Molinaro, Driver, Citroën C3 Rally2, said “We had some technical issues during the rally so we lost time with that. It was a challenging rally but we gained a lot of experience and won the Female Championship with one rally to spare so that is fantastic. A big thanks must go to MRF Tyres this year as well! The tyres worked well through the rally and allowed us to get this result.”
One round remains in the CIRT with the 12th Liburna Terra Rally taking place on 5-6 November. Team MRF Tyres will be in action again this week with the fifth round of the 2021 FIA European Rally Championship as Dani Sordo and Cándido Carrera join Team MRF Tyres to drive the Hyundai i20 R5 in the Azores Rallye.
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Daruvala dominates in Monza for first win of the season
Monza, 11 Sept 2021: Carlin team’s Indian ace Jehan Daruvala put on a controlled performance in the second Sprint Race at Monza to claim his first victory of the season, ahead of Trident rookie Bent Viscaal and PREMA Racing’s Robert Shwartzman, who took his fourth podium of the year in the FIA Formula 2 Championship here on Saturday.
India’s fantastic run in International sport continued with Jehan Daruvala who started started second, and completely dominated the field from lap 1 to win by a massive margin.
“Hearing the National Anthem Jana Gana Mana… on the top step of Monza podium feels really special. Big thanks to my team Carlin Racing for the Mega car,” he said after the race in a statement received by INDIAinF1. “Winning at Monza is every racer’s dream. I had qualified well and knew I had the pace to win. Getting ahead of David at the start and then breaking the tow were critical moments in the race. A big thank you to Carlin for the great car. I’m looking forward to the feature race tomorrow,’ an elated Jehan, added.
The Red Bull Racing Junior, started on the front row at the ‘Temple of Speed’ behind German racer David Beckman. As the lights went out, Jehan had ru.an excellent start. He braked really late to make an excellent move into the first corner.
An incident behind resulted in a Virtual Safety Car situation. The moment racing resumed, Jehan put his head down and drove a clean consistent race. The first few laps had Beckman within DRS range, but Jehan kept his cool and slowly inched away, opening a 1 second margin. Once Beckman was out of DRS range, Jehan steadily increased his lead every lap.
Three laps before the finish, Jehan had already opened a comfortable 5 second margin. Beckman under pressure fell down to third while Dutchman, Bent Viscaal moved into second. Soon former F3 Champion, Robert Shwartzman from Russia also overtook the German.
Jehan Daruvala makes sure that the Indian National Anthem
is played at the FIA F2 Championship in Monza on Saturday.Jehan’s dominance meant he won the race by over six seconds, ahead of Viscaal and Shwartzman. This was Jehan’s third podium of the season and second Formula 2 victory after he became the first-ever Indian to win a Formula 2 race last year at the Sakhir Grand Prix weekend.
Jehan’s fantastic performance in qualifying saw him qualify second, just 0.04 seconds shy of pole. He will start the Feature Race tomorrow in second position, where all racers need to complete a mandatory pit stop. The race will be telecast live on Eurosport at 2pm Sunday afternoon.
Leader Piastri finishes 7th: Given the chaos of the opener, the second Sprint Race was surprisingly peaceful, with Daruvala crossing the line 6.1s in front of Viscaal, who scored a maiden Formula 2 podium. Earlier in the first Sprint race, Daruvala finished 9th after starting from P2.
Shwartzman was a late entrant into the top three after reverse polesitter David Beckmann locked up late in the race and fell from second to fifth, behind Liam Lawson.
Championship rivals Oscar Piastri and Guanyu Zhou finished one behind the other in seventh and eighth, while Hitech Grand Prix’s Jüri Vips was ahead of them in sixth.
AS IT HAPPENED
Jehan Daruvala celebrates on the podium. Photo by James Gasperotti Lining up from pole for the second race in succession, Beckmann endured an almost identical start, but this time it was the Carlin of Daruvala who got the jump on him, launching off the line and down the inside into Turn 1 to take first.
After a great getaway, Viscaal was up one place to third, ahead of Vips, but Sprint Race 1 hero Christian Lundgaard had been spun around and dumped at the back of the field.
There was a sense of déjà vu in the battle for seventh, as 2020 Formula 3 title rivals Théo Pourchaire and Piastri started to tussle. The Frenchman had already passed Zhou and was trying to muscle his way ahead of Piastri too, eventually making the move stick after several corners of toing and froing.
A Virtual Safety Car meant that Piastri was unable to reply, as HWA RACELAB teammates Jake Hughes and Alessio Deledda collided, leaving the Briton’s car stuck in the wall. Guilherme Samaia had also pulled his Charouz Racing System to a stop at the pit entrance.
After momentarily losing fifth to Lawson, Shwartzman recovered to not only reclaim P5 but to snatch fourth from Vips as well, who then fell a place further behind his Hitech teammate.
Piastri set the fastest lap on his way to regaining seventh from Pourchaire, with the ART wobbling ever-so-slightly wide and plunging into the clutches of Zhou, but the Virtuosi racer opted against an initial move and decided to remain patient.
Piastri was allowed to scamper off up the road as Pourchaire switched his attention to defending P8, but the Sprint Race 1 winner missed the chicane and had to go through the escape road, returning in ninth, out of the points.
Daruvala was looking untroubled out in front, but Beckmann and Viscaal were still battling for P2, six seconds further back. The Campos locked up at Turn 1 and had to take the escape road. Returning in third, he attempted to retake second but appeared to have re-joined the track unsafely, which the Stewards duly noted.
Viscaal brushed off the challenge and darted off into the distance, as first Shwartzman, and then Lawson, both jumped Beckmann and dropped him to fifth ahead of the chequered flag. Vips held onto sixth in front of Piastri and Zhou.
“I think that a win was long overdue this season, so I am very happy. This weekend has been good so far, I’ve been consistently quick. I think we deserved the win, hopefully, I can repeat it tomorrow.”
THE CHAMPIONSHIP VIEW
Piastri leads the Drivers’ title fight on 124 points, ahead of Zhou on 116 and Shwartzman on 105. Vips is fourth with 90 and Dan TIcktum is fifth with 89.
In the Teams’ title fight, PREMA are first with 229 points, in front of UNI-Virtuosi on 175 and Hitech on 162. Carlin are fourth with 160 and ART fifth with 120.
WHAT’S NEXT?
After securing a second successive pole on Friday afternoon, Piastri will look to extend his Championship lead in the Feature Race. The PREMA will line up ahead of Daruvala and Zhou when the action begins on Sunday at 1.45 pm IST (10.25am (local race time Monza).
Action from FIA Formula 2 – Monza, Italy – Feature Race will be LIVE on EUROSPORT and EUROSPORT HD from 01:45 pm (in India) onwards on Sunday, 12th September, 2021. Eurosport channel can now be streamed on the discovery+ app.
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Stunning lap by Indian ace Jehan Daruvala gets him P2; misses pole by 0.041sec
Monza (Italy), 10 Sept 2021: A stunning lap by ace Indian racer Jehan Daruvala could get him only P2 as he missed the pole by a whisker, the closest margin this season as Championship leader Oscar Piastri became the first repeat polesitter of the season in Monza, finishing first in Qualifying for the second round in a row to add four more points to his title advantage. His main rival, Guanyu Zhou, was only 0.051s off pole but had to settle for third with Jehan Daruvala claiming his first front-row start of the season, missing out on pole by just 0.041s in the FIA Formula 2 Championship held along with Formula 1 World Championship at the famed track here on Friday.
The Mumbai-born Indian potential for F1 said: :It is an amazing car, thanks to Carlin Racing. It is also one of the closest qualifying sessions of the season so far. P2 it is and a front row start for the Feature Race on Sunday. I am really happy with my lap.”
Théo Pourchaire led the field out onto the Monza tarmac, hoping to make the most of the clean air, but the Frenchman was down in 10th after the first lot of runs, despite a positive Sector 1.
It was Ralph Boschung, from the back of the pack, who slotted into first place at the end of that run, the Swiss driver punching in 1:32.609 to put his Campos at the front.
Championship leader Piastri – who was on pole last time out at Silverstone – found his bearings on the next tour, stealing first from Boschung by two tenths. Meanwhile, Free Practice’s fastest man, Dan Ticktum, had taken third.
After losing the Championship lead to Piastri in Silverstone, Zhou needed a big weekend in Italy, but the UNI-Virtuosi racer was lagging behind in P8 with 12 minutes to go. Heading to the pits for a fresh pair of Pirellis, Zhou managed to improve five places to third when he returned, but was still unable to challenge his main rival in P1.
Enough life remained in his tyres for a final attempt with two minutes to go and this time, Zhou did manage to beat Piastri. However, the Australian was just a few places further back in a slipstream fuelled train and managed to beat him by 0.051s, retaking his position at the top of the timesheet.
Daruvala benefitted from a slipstream himself to dive into second place and bump Zhou down to third, by a mere 0.016s. Only 0.202s separated the top five, with Liam Lawson in fourth and Felipe Drugovich fifth. Meanwhile, Boschung equalled his best Qualifying result at this level with sixth, ahead of Pourchaire and Ticktum.
Finishing 10th overall, David Beckmann will start ahead of Jüri Vips in Saturday’s reverse grid Sprint Race 1, which takes place at 8.50am local time.
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UAE-based Indian Anshul Gandhi to race in Spanish F4
By David Bodapati
Bengaluru, 8 Sept 2021: Jodhpur-born Indian racing teen, Anshul Gandhi, all of sweet 16, has joined GRS Team and is scheduled to make his single-seater debut in the Round 5 of Formula 4 Spanish Championship, which takes place from September 18 to 19 in Ricardo Tormo Circuit, Valencia, just a few kilometres away from his new team’s base, the GRS team said today.
The Rajasthani currently living in UAE, had earlier qualified for the IAME X30 one-make karting World Juniors, after winning the 2019-20 UAE IAME X30 Junior championship, which unfortunately were cancelled due to the world-wide COVID travel restrictions.
This year he made it to the two Karting World Finals winning 2020-21 UAE Rotax Max Challenge DD2 Championship and as a runner-up in UAE IAME X 30 Senior Championship. World finals are scheduled later in the year in October for IAME in Italy, and in December for Rotax in Bahrain.
Anshul recently took part in Rotax Max Challenge International Trophy at Le Mans, France and was the only Indian among 216 drivers from 30 countries, making sure that the Tri-colour was on display at the venue along with other major motorsporting giants.
The GRS team in a statement on Wednesday said: “It is with great pleasure for GRS Team to announce the arrival of Indian driver Anshul Gandhi to the team. The young driver will make his single-seater debut in the Formula 4 Spanish Championship season at Ricardo Tormo Circuit, in Valencia”. His teammate at the F4 Spanish event will be Ryabov.
“Throughout the year, Gandhi has participated in testing sessions with GRS Team, allowing him to know team and to prepare his racing debut. The job done so far has been satisfactory and the team is looking forward to welcoming Gandhi in Valencia and to offering him the best service on his maiden formula race,” the team added.
Anshul Gandhi with team GRS. Photo courtesy Twitter @GRSteam_ “I have been testing with GRS for the last few months and the progress has been really promising. The team’s support and guidance really helped me smoothly transition from Karting to single seater. I am really excited and looking forward to my debut race in Formula 4 at Valencia in the ongoing Spanish F4 Championship. I would like to take this opportunity to thank GRS Team Principal, Josep, his team and my coach, Álvaro Barba for their continued support and guidance,” said Anshul Gandhi.
Eldest of the two Barba Lopez brothers, the former Spanish F3 race winner is an accomplished racing driver with high credentials and experience in high-performance coaching required at this level and the Indian, who moved to UAE looking for better pastures in Motorsports, is expected to shift gears and move up to competition in Europe, generally considered as a breeding ground for budding `speed’ aspirants.
Josep Trinidad, CEO & Team Principal said: “We are very excited to receive and welcome Anshul into the team. Having two cars on track will help us to improve the overall performance. The relationship and the job done with Gandhi have been positive since Day, so we are convinced we will perform really well in Valencia”.
GRS will face the next round of Formula 4 Spanish Championship with two cars on track, something that will definitely be helpful for both competitors. The team is evolving and improving at a fantastic rate throughout the season and the presence of a new driver proves that a good job is being done.
You can follow Anshul on Instagram at @anshul_g18 and Twitter @anshulg_18
or at INDIAinF1.com, your website for all Indian motorsports activities.
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Arjun Maini raring to go at the Red Bull ring in Styria
Spielberg (Austria) 3 Sept. 2021: Mercedes-AMG driver Arjun Maini will enter the fifth round with confidence after his good performance at the Nürburgring, where he got into the points for the first time scoring two valuable points in the 2021 DTM Championship after suffering initial hiccups which are not under his control.
After enduring a difficult start to his campaign, due in part to a series of o-track incidents, the Omega Seiki and JKTyre-backed Bengaluru driver finally broke his points-scoring duck with a stellar performance at the legendary Nürburgring race circuit.
Racing for the all-new GetSpeed DTM team, Arjun, the elder of the two Maini brothers, managed to bring his Mercedes GT3 racecar home in 10th at the conclusion of Race 1, in turn becoming the first Indian to score points in Germany’s apex racing championship.
“The last two races were fantastic and were an accurate reflection of my pace,” Maini said.
“I haven’t had the cleanest of weekends up until that point so it was good to finally have an incident-free weekend where I was able to bring home a solid amount of points. This marked GetSpeed’s first points in the series as well so it definitely was a memorable affair.
“Looking ahead I have fond memories of the Red Bull Ring and I hope I can build on my previous weekend and experience by bringing home some more points. The circuit’s undulations will be tricky to master but I’m confident about the preparation both the team and I have made in the lead up to this weekend,” he said about the circuit at Styria.After a few years’ absence, the DTM is making its comeback in Styria in 2021. The Red Bull Ring is located in Spielberg in the beautiful Murtal valley. The track is following the topography of the landscape, so that there is a lot of undulation. From the hotel located on the hill above the track, there is an unparalleled view, not only of the race track, but over the wide valley! The entire circuit facility is state-of-the-art and very nice, significantly contributing to the positive overall experience for visitors. Fascinating race cars are on display in the large welcome building, exclusive merchandise items can be purchased in the shop. Of course, in typical Styrian hospitality tradition, a wide variety of food is available, too, from tasty Leberkäse rolls via Wiener Schnitzel up a to delicious Kaiserschmarrn.
The weekend will get underway this Friday, August 3rd with the two practice sessions, with Qualifying 1 and Race 1 taking place on Saturday, August 4th, and Qualifying 2 and Race 2 concluding the weekend on Sunday, August 5th.
The full schedule can be viewed below and the qualifying sessions and races can be viewed live on Autocar India’s YouTube channel here.
Saturday Sept 4”
Qualy 1: 1.50 pm IST
Race `1: 5.00 pm IST
Sunday Sept 5th
Qualy 2: 1.50 pm IST
Race 2: 5.00 pm IST -
Advait Deodhar shunted out in the very first lap, retires
Most (Czech Republic), 28 August 2021: Ace Indian driver Advait Deodhar who won a silver in the Euro Whelen Series NASCAR2 races on Saturday was bumped out of the race on the very first lapl and was forced to the go to the back of the pack and ended a successful weekend in disappointment at the Autodrom Most here on Sunday.
“I started Race 2 on P3 and in the very first lap, I fired it down the inside of a corner, and was clearly alongside but unfortunately car # 27 (Pierluigi Veronesi of Italy) didn’t see me and just turned in. My # 56 suffered too much damage to continue… It was a real shame as the car had the pace and we were gunning for gold,” said the London-based Mumbaiker supported by TJS Yachts. Veronesi unwittingly forced both the cars virtually out of reckoning.
A Press Release adds:
Earlier, it was a perfect weekend for Tobias Dauenhauer: the German scored a dominant win in EuroNASCAR 2 Round 6 at the wheel of the #50 Hendriks Motorsport Ford Mustang. The 23-year-old led all 14 laps of an action-packed race at Autodrom Most. After a perfect start Dauenhauer pulled away from his competitors while several hot battles in the midfield delighted the fans.
With his third win of the season, Dauenhauer extended his Championship lead and kept the red Whelen banner on the #50 Mustang. With three wins, six top-5 results and two poles, the German made a statement on his way to win the EuroNASCAR 2 Championship at the halfway point of the 2021 season. With three events to go, the Hendriks Motorsport driver still needs to stay focused as the other competitors are hungry to enter the battle for the title and anything can happen in the second part of the season.
“I’m very happy at the moment and it was just a perfect weekend”, smiled the Most double winner. “As a team we showed such a great performance the whole weekend long – in the dry and in the wet. The car was just perfect, the Hendriks Motorsport team did a phenomenal job. I just gave my best and I have no words left to say but that it was a perfect weekend.”
Francesco Garisto said before the race that he wanted to stay out of trouble and that proved to be the best strategy on his way to second place. The 42 Racing driver avoided chaos in a wild opening portion of the race to settle in second and finish on the podium for the first time in the 2021 NWES season.
“I didn’t expect to step on the podium in this race,” said after the race Academy Motorsport / Alex Caffi Motorsport’s Vladimiros Tziortzis, who was third under the checkered flag with another solid performance.
DF1 Racing’s Justin Kunz followed in fourth place after an exciting race for the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series veteran. The German was right in the battle for fourth, when Tziortzis and Paolo Valeri got together. While Tziortzis and Kunz continued, Valeri spun and collected Naveh Talor and both were shuffled down the order, while Tziortzis took over third and Kunz fourth.
EuroNASCAR 2 returnee Gil Linster also avoided any contact when the Italian and the Israeli spun ahead of him to take over fifth and score a strong top-5 finish for DF1 Racing. Talor recovered and limited the damage by ending up sixth. DF1 Racing’s Ian Eric Waden crossed the finish line in seventh and won the Legend Trophy ahead of CAAL Racing’s Max Lanza.
Marko Stipp Motorsport driver Miguel Gomes not only scored his first ever top-10 but also won the Rookie Trophy for the first time and ended up third on the Legend Trophy podium. CAAL Racing driver Arianna Casoli rounded out the top-10 edging Alina Loibnegger, who spun on lap 6 but came back on her #12 Solaris Motorsport Chevrolet Camaro to finish eleventh.
Several top drivers were involved in incidents during the 14-lap race: Lanza lost almost half of his bodywork but made it to the finish. Local hero Martin Doubek had to retire due to a broken axle, while Pierluigi Veronesi and Advait Deodhar made contact that forced both to stop their cars early. Thomas Krasonis went from 20th to tenth in 4 laps but also had to park his car. Yevgen Sokolovskiy missed the braking point and collected Panebianco and almost his teammate Gomes. The Ukrainian also had to retire.
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Czech dream ends early for Team MRF Tyres: ERC
Zlin (Czech Republic), 29 August 2021: Team MRF Tyres’ visit to the FIA European Rally Championship’s Barum Czech Rally Zlin ended early after showing good pace.
The rally got to a good start for Jari Huttunen and Mikko Lukka in the Team MRF Tyres Hyundai i20 R5 by taking fifth spot in the qualifying session.
The duo would take the fifth starting position and drove safely through the first night stage in the streets of Zlin.
The event was able to welcome spectators to both the stages and the service park, providing a carnival atmosphere.
Saturday’s stages started well, with the tyre development program front of mind. The potential of the tyres was shown through top six stage times.
However, the rally came to an end on Stage 7, the 18.86 Hošťálková stage. An off damaged the rear side on the driver’s side. It also damaged the engine, and that was too great to repair onsite within the timeframe allowed.
Team MRF Tyres will be back in action in the FIA European Rally Championship with the Azores Rallye from September 16-18.
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Jari Huttunen, Driver, Hyundai i20 R5
“We were enjoying the Barum Czech Rally Zlin for Team MRF Tyres. We were going through our plan to get more data for the tyre. Unfortunately, we crashed on SS7 and the damage was too great to repair on site and we have to retire. Both Mikko and I are ok and want to get back behind the wheel. I feel bad for the team. The MRF Tyre was performing well to that point.” -
Stunning drive gets Advait Deodhar a silver: NASCAR2
Czech Republic, 28 August 2021: Indian racing maestro Advait Deodhar of CAAL Racing team looks to have found his wonted form and indulged himself in another stunning drive in wet conditions to take Silver after starting from a disadvantage of a P5, but had a good get away and kept his calm displaying his driving skills to take another podium and valuable points in the Round 5 of the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series Nascar2 class here on Saturday. He clocked 21min, 01.214sec for the 14 laps of 4.2 km Autodrom Most, just 7.2 sec behind leader Tobias Dauenhauer.
The London-based Indian’s journey from a Yachtsman to NASCAR racing brings pride to India on the eve of the National Sports Day, which celerates the legendary hockey wizard Dhyan Chand’s birth anniversary. The ace Indian racing star jumped to third in the rankings with 159 points behind Tobias and Doubek Martin and has one gold, one silver among his four points finish in top-10. Advait dedicated his trophy to his brother Akshay Deodhar, a sportsman mad about F1 and MotoGP and used to take part in Regatta races of Yachting Association of India in Mumbai.
Unfortunately, I lost him last month,'' said the Mumbaikar talking to INDIAinF1.com after the race about his 36-year old elder brother.“Racing for you, my beautiful brother. This one is for you big bro. I could sense you by my side in the car,” Advait’s words after he put his TJB SuperYachts-sponsored Mustang #56 in second place for a silver. In this bereavement, all his fans are with him as he races along to bring more laurels for the country. Ace Indian rally co-driver Musa Sherif, who was nominated for Arjuna Award by the Indian Federatin this year, is the first to congratulate Advaith and by Motoport Seena, who circulated his live video links to thousands of motorsports fans in Bengaluru on Friday.After graduating as an Automobile Designer from Turin, Italy, Advait Deodhar took part in domestic races at MMRT Chennai winning the Formula LGB 4 National Championship as a rookie in 2012 and became the vice-champion of Formula Ford 1600 Indian National Championship in 2015. Inbetween, he won a round of the Toyota Etios Cup as a guest driver and also got a drive in the MRF Challenge in Bahrain among other races. Then he says, “I took a one-way ticket to London in 2015 to take my motorsport career forward,” the late-starter, at age 22, is a quick bloomer though, winning the European NASCAR Elite Club Championship in his debut year 2018. Last month, he got his first major career victory at the prestigeous NASCAR2 at the coveted Brands Hatch circuit.
Rain was falling before the start of EuroNASCAR 2 Round 5 so all drivers had rain tires mounted for the race. At the end of the 14 scheduled laps, Tobias Dauenhauer scored his second win of the season after he already visited Victory Lane at Brands Hatch. Making it two in a row, the German led from flag to flag at the wheel of his #50 Hendriks Motorsport Ford Mustang and extended his Championship lead.
It was far from an easy race for Dauenhauer though. He went off track at the first chican, but managed to recover and keep the lead despite the incident. Afterwards, he opened the gap on Advait Deodhar, who settled in second after a wild start. Dauenhauer never allowed the other competitors to catch up on him and therefore he grabbed the win in dominant fashion.
Racing for you my beautiful brother, says Advait, who lost his brother Akshay last month. London based Mumbaikar, Advait Deodhar (2nd) gets a podium again and makes sure that Indian flag flies high on Saturday. A NASCAR Whelen Euro series image. “The conditions were pretty difficult out there and it was quite slippery”, said the EuroNASCAR 2 Championship leader. “I made a small mistake in the beginning but I managed to open the gap on the second placed car. I’m very happy and really want to thank the Hendriks team for such a great car. It was tons of fun and I’m really looking forward to racing again tomorrow.”
Deodhar was coming from fifth on the grid but took over second place in the very first lap. The Indian, who scored his first NASCAR Whelen Euro Series win at Brands Hatch, was put under pressure by local hero Martin Doubek, who was trying his best to take over second place. Deodhar defended his position and crossed the finish line in second, while Doubek completed the overall EuroNASCAR 2 podium.
DF1 Racing rookie Leevi Lintukantu had an amazing run at the wheel of the #23 Iceboys Chevrolet Camaro and stormed to victory in the Rookie Trophy classification in fourth. His teammate Simon Pilate rounded out the overall top-5 after falling through the order from 2nd on the grid. Francesco Garisto was sixth ahead of Max Lanza, who topped the Legend Trophy classification at the wheel of his #88 Caal Racing Camaro.
His fierce Legend Trophy competitor Yevgen Sokolovskiy finished right behind him in eighth claiming second place in the special classification. Paolo Valeri ended up ninth – and second in the Rookie Trophy standings as well as third in the Legend Trophy classification. Alberto Panebianco not only closed the top-10 but also completed the Rookie Trophy podium. Solaris Motorsport’s Alina Loibnegger edged Arianna Casoli in the battle for the Lady Trophy win.
Due to the difficult conditions, several drivers were involved in incidents at the 4.1 kilometer long track. On lap 1, DF1 Racing drivers Justin Kunz and Ian Eric Waden spun out. On lap 3, Naveh Talor, who started from 5th, collected heavy damage to his front bumper, while Vladimiros Tziortzis first spun and then had to retire early.
EuroNASCAR 2 will be back in action on Sunday: EuroNASCAR 2 Round 6 will start at 1:55 pm IST. All races will be broadcasted live on EuroNASCAR’s platforms – YouTube, NWES App, Facebook, Twitch – and Motorsport.tv.
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Advait Deodhar in top-2 in both practice sessions
Autodrom Most (Czech Republic), 27 August 2021: 2020 runner-up Tobias Dauenhauer is leading the EuroNASCAR 2 Championship after scoring his first win of the season at Brands Hatch. The German Hendriks Motorsport driver sits 9 points ahead of Most’s local hero Martin Doubek, who dominated the season opener at Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia with two wins. Will the German and the Czech be battling for the overall lead or will there be a surprise winner like Advait Deodhar in the UK?
The ace Indian driver of CAAL Racing team clocked the second fastest time in the Final Practice today putting in 13 laps, the highest than anyone else in FP2. He clocked 2:00.020 for the 4.212-km Autodrom Most here in his #56 Ford Mustang. Tobias Dauenhauer clocked the best time of 1:58.298, 1.722 better than Advait who did averagespeeds of over 126km better than all of the 13 of them except the leader. One can discard the surprise winner of July round at their own cost and all the Indians are behind him cheering in every available channel. Earlier, in FP1 Deodhar clocked 1min 53.046, just 0.240sec behind Lanza Massimiliano of Cheverolet Camaro Caal Racing team.
The Indian in a relaxed mood with Anish Gohil on Friday. Photos Stephane Azemard Wet track for Nascar2 FP2
While the best times were almost equally split between sessions 1 and 2 in EuroNASCAR PRO, the best lap times in EuroNASCAR 2 were driven in Free Practice 1. The second session was declared wet after moderate rainfall in the preceding EuroNASCAR PRO session. In the end, Max Lanza clocked the fastest lap of the day with a 1:52.806.
Brands Hatch race winner Advait Deodhar closed the day in second, 0.240 seconds shy of the Italian in first place. Academy Motorsport / Alex Caffi Motorsport’s Vladimiros Tziortzis followed in third, while Valencia double race winner Martin Doubek finished fourth. Tobias Dauenhauer, who topped the standings in Free Practice 2 on a soaked race track, completed the top-5.
Read Thursday’s Preview article below
Not Only Motorsport’s Alberto Panebianco was the fastest Rookie Trophy contender in sixth, while DF1 Tiger Justin Kunz was classified in seventh. Leevi Lintukantu was among the fastest rookies on the grid in eighth. Legend Trophy leader Yevgen Sokolovskiy, who’s piloting the #48 Marko Stipp Motorsport Camaro, ended up ninth ahead of Paolo Valeri.
One of those possible first time winners could be Vladimiros Tziortis at the wheel of the #1 Academy Motorsport / Alex Caffi Motorsport Ford Mustang. With three top-5 and four top-10 results so far, the Cypriot is only 15 points shy of the Championship leader. Brands Hatch winner Deodhar follows in fourth with a 20-point deficit. Double V Racing’s Pierluigi Veronesi is fifth, only 1 point behind the Indian in the CAAL Racing colors.
You can’t push me out, I will bounce back, Advait seems to be sending out a loud message with P2 in both practice sessions on Friday. Israel’s Naveh Talor is another dark horse for the NASCAR GP Czech Republic. The Not Only Motorsport driver shone with one top-5 and three top-10 results so far and is eager to score his first EuroNASCAR 2 win. Simon Pilate and Alberto Panebianco will make their Most debuts at the upcoming weekend, while Justin Kunz from Germany has scored one top-5 and two top-10’s at Most in the 2019 season. Youngster Francesco Garisto rounds out the top-10 of the overall standings.
The NASCAR GP Czech Republic at Autodrom Most takes place on August 28-29. Qualifying and all races will be broadcasted live on the EuroNASCAR social media platforms – YouTube, NWES App, Facebook and Twitch – as well as on Motorsport.tv.
IST Qulaifying time for NASCAR2 for Advait Deodhar: 1.30 pm IST
Saturday Race 1 of Round 5: 5.30pm IST
Sunday race: Round 6 race: 1.35 pm IST
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Czech point for Team MRF Tyre development
Zlin (Czech Republic) 26 August 2021: The 2021 FIA European Rally Championship heads to the famous tarmac of the 50th Barum Czech Rally Zlin this weekend. It marks the halfway point of the 2021 season and Jari Huttunen joins Team MRF Tyres.
The 50th Barum Czech Rally Zlín, is a tarmac rally held in Zlín, Czech Republic. It is currently part of the European Rally Championship and previously has been part of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge. Founded in 1971, it is part of the ERC schedule since the championship’s streamlining in 2004. Barum Czech Rally Zlín is based in the South Moravian university city, 300 kilometres south of the Czech capital Prague. It is a Tarmac test like no other due to the bumpy and sometimes broken nature of the road surface. To add to the challenge, several stages feature high-speed blasts through forests and intermittent showers are always possible. While the weather might be hard to predict, huge numbers of fans follow the action, especially on the opening night-time Zlín superspecial stage. The long-term ERC rally turns 50 in 2021.
Huttunen with codriver, Mikko Lukka are joining Team MRF Tyres as the team’s tyre development strategy evolves.
Through the driver pool that Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing has developed, MRF Tyres can take advantage of the feedback from a variety of drivers, starting with Huttunen and Lukka who are joining the team for the Barum Czech Rally Zlin.
Coming into its 50th edition, the Barum Czech Rally Zlin will offer a tarmac rallying feast for drivers and fans alike.
The crews face 15 special stages and 210.92km of competitive action. Friday sees the qualifying stage, with an early start for the crews. From 7:30 am local time (11:00 am in India), Huttunen and Lukka will have the opportunity for shakedown before qualifying starts at 9:30 am (1:00 pm in India).
The 4.07km stage will set the starting order for the rally that gets underway with a street stage through Zlin on Friday evening.
Saturday is a monster day with eight stages and 127.18km of action.
After a late finish on Friday, there is no chance to catch up on sleep with the first of the day’s stages getting underway at 9:31 am local time (1:01 pm in India).
The day sees two stages Březová (12.73km) and Hošťálková (18.86km) before morning service.
After service, a loop of four stages awaits the crews, with Komárov (8.46km) and Pindula (18.95km) before a repeat of Březová and Hošťálková. With almost 60km in the loop, a measure of speed and patience will be important.
The day then ends with a repeat run through Komárov and Pindula with the last stage due to start after sunset.
It is another early start on Sunday with the day’s six stages getting underway at 8:03 am local time (11:33 in India).
Sunday sees two loops of three stages with repeated runs through Halenkovice (8.85km), Biskupice (7.59km) and Májová (25.43km).
With the longest stage of the rally making up the final stage of the loop and of the rally, there will be no chance for the drivers to relax throughout the event.
With a huge field of world-class competitors, the 50th edition of the Barum Czech Rally Zlin is one not to be missed.
You can follow the action at home with every stage live on radio (www.fiaerc.com/ive-radio) or with SS5 and SS7 streamed live on Facebook or Youtube on Saturday and SS12 and SS15 streamed live on Sunday.
You can follow Team MRF Tyres throughout the rally on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Quotes
Jari Huttunen, driver, Hyundai i20 R5
“It is nice to be part of Team MRF Tyres here at Barum Czech Rally Zlin. I am looking forward to getting into the rally on the tyres. It will be my first rally on MRF Tyres. So far in testing, I am impressed.”“We have come to Zlin to help develop the tyres. Our main aim is to gain data for the development of the tyres. I am looking forward to the opportunity to contribute to the team.”
“I have rallied here before in 2017. Rally Zlin is a difficult rally and the weather will also play a part. I will try to drive without any mistakes as gaining data here on this unique rally is very important for me and for Team MRF Tyres.”
