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Category: Indians Abroad
News about Indians racing in different motorsports events abroad
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Campdelli-Rappa take podium for MRF Tyres: Italian Gravel Rally
26 April 2021: Team MRF Tyres has finished on the podium at Rally Adriatico with Simone Campedelli and Gianfrancesco Rappa taking the third spot in the opening round of the Italian Rally Championship – Gravel.
The Campionato Italiano Rally Terra (CIRT) which is the Italian Rally Championship – Gravel started its season at Rally Adriatico and it was the first round of the season for Team MRF Tyres for Campedelli/Rappa, Paolo Andreucci/Francesco Pinelli and Tamara Molinaro/Piercarlo Capalongo.
For Campedelli/Rappa, it was a great start to the season. They started the nine-stage, 64.71km event with a solid run to sixth on the first stage.
They were consistent on MRF Tyres throughout the event and were able to climb their way up the order. By the end of SS4, they had taken fourth place and on SS5, they were able to climb up to third.
They would hold their podium position for the rest of the rally, managing the gap to second and to fourth in the Volkswagen Polo R5.
By the end of the rally, they finished the rally with an average pace of 89.9km/h, showing a great full-season debut for MRF Tyres in the Championship.
Unfortunately for Andreucci/Pinelli, their rally would end on SS1 with a crash putting damaging their Skoda Fabia Rally 2 Evo. Fortunately, the crew was not injured but their competitive action will have to wait until the second round.
Molinaro/Capalongo showed good pace through the rally to take second in the Under 25 age category, first in the female category and 11th overall.
Their fight would be intense throughout the rally and would climb through the field to reach the top 10 throughout the day in the CIRT. The competition was tough with tight gaps throughout the field. After a tough fight, they would finish 11th and, importantly achieve their goals of taking top spots in the Under 24 and Female categories.
This result helps prove the development process for Team MRF Tyres and the intense program that has been undertaken over the past year and that will happen throughout 2021.
The team is committed to the CIRT and the FIA European Rally Championship (FIAERC). The FIAERC is due to get underway with Rally Poland in July, with the start of the series being delayed due to Covid.
The second round of the CIRT will take place on the island of Sargenda and will coincide with the World Rally Championship round from 3-4 June.
Quotes:
Simone Campedelli: 3rd. Volkswagen Polo R5
“We tried everything. We know where we have to work now. We know where we are really competitive and where we need to do work.”“We have started two rallies with Team MRF Tyres and now have two podiums. It is a great start.”
“I am looking forward to the next one! Thanks to the team at MRF Tyres for their hard work in getting us to this great result.”
Tamara Molinaro: 11th. Citroën C3 R5
“It was an amazing weekend at Rally Adriatico, I really enjoyed it! We finished P11 and we missed out P9 for 3.5 seconds as on the second stage of the loop we kept losing time, and we need to analyse the reasons behind it.”“The tyres did a mega job this weekend, I felt super confident in pushing and thanks to this we were able to close the gap with the top boys so now it’s time to work even harder and maybe one day fight for a podium!! Glad Simone and Gianfranco managed to get a podium showing the potential of MRF Tyres.”
“We bring home a P6 in CIRT Championship, we lead U25 and female categories.”
Paolo Andreucci, DNF. Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo
“I regret going off the road. I’m sorry for MRF Tires, for the H Sport team and for all our partners.“Unfortunately, immediately after a bump I lost the car and ended up in the embankment.”
“Over the course of the Shakedown we had had good times and also in the first stage, according to our splits. It is too bad because our championship starts with a DNF. Now we will have to work hard to recover the gap to our rivals
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Durgovich tops 1st session; Jehan puts in 78 laps: Formula 2 Test
Barcelona, 25 April 2021: UNI-Virtuosi’s Felipe Drugovich was the only driver to break the 1m 28s barrier in the second Formula 2 test of the season at Barcelona, setting the time in the morning to cap off a fine three-day stint in Spain for the Brazilian.
The 20-year-old finished 0.190s ahead of Round 1 winner Oscar Piastri with PREMA Racing, while ART Grand Prix’s Christian Lundgaard ran third.
MORNING
The final morning in Barcelona wasn’t quite as bright as the second day, with dark clouds hanging over the circuit, and even a spot of rain towards the end of the first session.
The field all headed out at the earliest opportunity and got a feel for the tarmac, before switching to their final set of medium Pirellis around the hour mark.
There was a brief stoppage as HWA RACELAB’s Alessio Deledda spun at the first turn and brought out a red flag, but action soon resumed, with Drugovich taking control. The Virtuosi racer broke the 1m 28s barrier for the first time in Barcelona, lapping at 1:27.945 once he had made the switch to mediums.
Lundgaard and MP Motorsport’s Lirim Zendeli were the next to follow suit, undertaking a qualifying simulation of their own, but neither could quite nail all three sectors. Lundgaard lost out in the first and Zendeli in the third, putting them P2 and P4.
PREMA sent Piastri out on fresh mediums and the Australian driver delivered the second fastest time of the morning to push Lundgaard down to P3, lapping just 0.190s off Drugovich. Hitech also sent their Red Bull junior pairing, Liam Lawson and Jüri Vips, out there on the same tyres, with the duo nestling into fourth and fifth.
Lundgaard’s ART teammate Théo Pourchaire impressed with the sixth quickest tour of the morning, only five tenths off the leading pace. Robert Shwartzman took seventh in the second PREMA, ahead of Bent Viscaal and Zendeli, who had fallen to P9.
The second Virtuosi completed the top 10, with Guanyu Zhou running ninth, 0.810s off his teammate. There was a slightly premature end to the session, as Carlin Racing’s Jehan Daruvala came to a halt at Turn 11 in the final minute.
AFTERNOON
The sun returned for the final afternoon of the Barcelona test, just in time for a series of long-runs, with HWA RACELAB duo Matteo Nannini and Deledda setting the benchmark times, leading the charts with 1:30.346 and 1:32.183.
There was a brief stoppage in the opening hour as Lawson tagged the wall at Turn 5. The Kiwi did manage to get back out there, but then came to a halt between Turns 8 and 9 with 15 minutes to go. Despite the stoppages, the Hitech racer still managed to set the ninth fastest time of the final stint.
There was also a third Red Flag of the afternoon for Verschoor, who stopped at the start of Turn 7.
When action resumed, Trident pairing Viscaal and Marino Sato started to climb the leaderboard, firing into third and fourth, before improving to second and third, pushing Deledda down to P4.
Viscaal continued to improve and leapfrogged Nannini in the final hour, with a tour of 1:30.280.
DAMS duo Marcus Armstrong and Roy Nissany slid into fifth and seventh, either side of Zendeli. Shwartzman was behind them in eighth, with the Russian’s PREMA teammate, Piastri, two places further back in 10th.
Drugovich will aim to carry his form over into the second round of the season at Monaco, which takes place in just under a month, 20-22 May.
2021 FIA FORMULA 2 CHAMPIONSHIP – BARCELONA TEST, DAY 3, MORNING SESSION
DRIVER TEAM LAPTIME LAPS 1 Felipe Drugovich UNI-Virtuosi 1:27.945 21 2 Oscar Piastri PREMA Racing 1:28.105 23 3 Christian Lundgaard ART Grand Prix 1:28.285 43 4 Liam Lawson Hitech Grand Prix 1:28.422 39 5 Jüri Vips Hitech Grand Prix 1:28.433 25 6 Théo Pourchaire ART Grand Prix 1:28.484 44 7 Robert Shwartzman PREMA Racing 1:28.491 31 8 Bent Viscaal Trident 1:28.736 38 9 Lirim Zendeli MP Motorsport 1:28.737 35 10 Guanyu Zhou UNI-Virtuosi 1:28.755 24 11 Roy Nissany DAMS 1:28.906 33 12 Richard Verschoor MP Motorsport 1:28.972 35 13 Gianluca Petecof Campos Racing 1:28.973 29 14 Ralph Boschung Campos Racing 1:28.992 21 15 Dan Ticktum Carlin 1:28.993 36 16 Jehan Daruvala Carlin 1:29.032 35 17 Marino Sato Trident 1:29.182 51 18 Marcus Armstrong DAMS 1:29.678 31 19 David Beckmann Charouz Racing System 1:29.744 38 20 Guilherme Samaia Charouz Racing System 1:30.166 36 21 Alessio Deledda HWA RACELAB 1:32.096 37 22 Matteo Nannini HWA RACELAB – – 6 2021 FIA FORMULA 2 CHAMPIONSHIP – BARCELONA TEST, DAY 3, AFTERNOON SESSION
DRIVER TEAM LAPTIME LAPS 1 Bent Viscaal Trident 1:30.280 30 2 Matteo Nannini HWA RACELAB 1:30.346 59 3 Marino Sato Trident 1:30.943 22 4 Alessio Deledda HWA RACELAB 1:32.183 55 5 Marcus Armstrong DAMS 1:33.199 44 6 Lirim Zendeli MP Motorsport 1:33.271 47 7 Roy Nissany DAMS 1:33.529 55 8 Robert Shwartzman PREMA Racing 1:33.572 50 9 Liam Lawson Hitech Grand Prix 1:33.782 24 10 Oscar Piastri PREMA Racing 1:33.816 57 11 Théo Pourchaire ART Grand Prix 1:34.308 49 12 Ralph Boschung Campos Racing 1:34.502 57 13 Gianluca Petecof Campos Racing 1:34.515 43 14 Richard Verschoor MP Motorsport 1:34.540 37 15 Jehan Daruvala Carlin 1:34.693 43 16 Felipe Drugovich UNI-Virtuosi 1:34.709 45 17 Jüri Vips Hitech Grand Prix 1:34.883 45 18 Dan Ticktum Carlin 1:35.075 44 19 Guanyu Zhou UNI-Virtuosi 1:35.088 54 20 Christian Lundgaard ART Grand Prix 1:35.106 50 21 Guilherme Samaia Charouz Racing System 1:35.120 44 22 David Beckmann Charouz Racing System 1:35.310 60 -
ART GP’s Lundgaard tops Day 1 of F2 Testing
Barcelona, 23 April 2021: ART Grand Prix’s Christian Lundgaard topped both sessions on Day 1 of testing in Spain, proving peerless around the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The quickest time of the two came in the morning session, as the Alpine junior beat out UNI-Virtuosi’s Felipe Drugovich by 0.178s.
India’s Jehan Daruvala of Carlin put in a useful 31 laps in the morning and did 47 more in the afternoon session.
Hitech Grand Prix pairing Jüri Vips and Liam Lawson also managed spots in the top five on the opening day, ahead of MP Motorsport’s Lirim Zendeli.
MORNING
Greeted by a hefty layer of fog upon arrival, the teams only sent their drivers out for an initial install lap when the lights went green. Thankfully, the fog quickly cleared and was replaced by bright blue skies, allowing Campos Racing to shoot out and get a feel for the circuit.
MP Motorsport followed suit, but without setting a competitive time, before Carlin’s Jehan Daruvala stopped at Turn 1 and brought out an early Red Flag.
There was a second inside of the opening hour, as PREMA Racing’s Oscar Piastri pulled up at Turn 3, although the Australian did still manage to finish ninth.
With the two cars safely back in their garages, Lundgaard headed out for a tour of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and posted the quickest time of the morning, setting the standard at 1:29.606, ahead of Vips, who notched 1:29.988.
There was then a third stoppage at the midway point when Gianluca Petecof spun his Campos between turns two and three, coming to a halt on the gravel.
In the final hour, Drugovich managed to give the order a bit of a shake-up, barging into second place, 0.178s off Lundgaard, while Lawson leapt up to fourth, ahead of Zendeli.
Guanyu Zhou just missed out on a spot in the top five with UNI-Virtuosi, finishing 0.005s off Zendeli. Marcus Armstrong was seventh with DAMS, ahead of Campos’s Ralph Boschung.
Running the most laps of the morning session, MP’s Richard Verschoor posted 40 overall, whilst also completing the 10th fastest time.
AFTERNOON
MP were the first team to return to the track in the afternoon session, with their duo getting a fast run out of the way early doors. Verschoor charged to the top of the table on his fifth lap, with a tour of 1:30.165, and was backed up by his teammate, Zendeli.
The pair would end up finishing in second and seventh, with Verschoor’s attention switching to longer runs, before Zendeli lost control of his MP and tagged the barrier.
There was another red flag shortly after as Roy Nissany lost control at Turn 9 and touched the wall himself.
It was the familiar name of Lundgaard who bumped Verschoor down to P2, with the Alpine junior heading out for a single push lap, which returned him to P1 with a time of 1:29.827, before shooting back into the garage.
Lawson was briefly behind them, before getting overtaken in the order by 2020 Formula 3 rival Théo Pourchaire, who lunged into third, three tenths off his ART teammate’s quickest time.
Armstrong dove into fourth to drop Lawson to fifth, ahead of Boschung. David Beckmann emerged in eighth with Charouz Racing System, but was almost a second off the leading pace, ahead of Vips and Drugovich.
Lundgaard will aim to kick off Day 2 in similarly strong form, when action gets underway at 9am local time.
2021 FIA FORMULA 2 CHAMPIONSHIP – BARCELONA TEST, DAY 1, MORNING SESSION
DRIVER TEAM LAPTIME LAPS 1 Christian Lundgaard ART Grand Prix 1:29.594 34 2 Felipe Drugovich UNI-Virtuosi 1:29.772 26 3 Jüri Vips Hitech Grand Prix 1:29.988 26 4 Liam Lawson Hitech Grand Prix 1:30.006 26 5 Lirim Zendeli MP Motorsport 1:30.078 39 6 Guanyu Zhou UNI-Virtuosi 1:30.083 27 7 Marcus Armstrong DAMS 1:30.158 26 8 Ralph Boschung Campos Racing 1:30.259 31 9 Oscar Piastri PREMA Racing 1:30.425 21 10 Richard Verschoor MP Motorsport 1:30.519 40 11 Dan Ticktum Carlin 1:30.598 34 12 Jehan Daruvala Carlin 1:30.674 31 13 Roy Nissany DAMS 1:30.723 26 14 Marino Sato Trident 1:30.727 19 15 Bent Viscaal Trident 1:30.727 33 16 Théo Pourchaire ART Grand Prix 1:30.738 33 17 Gianluca Petecof Campos Racing 1:30.882 30 18 Matteo Nannini HWA RACELAB 1:30.953 30 19 David Beckmann Charouz Racing System 1:30.973 32 20 Guilherme Samaia Charouz Racing System 1:31.305 31 21 Robert Shwartzman PREMA Racing 1:31.435 27 22 Alessio Deledda HWA RACELAB 1:37.100 7 2021 FIA FORMULA 2 CHAMPIONSHIP – BARCELONA TEST, DAY 1, AFTERNOON SESSION
DRIVER TEAM LAPTIME LAPS 1 Christian Lundgaard ART Grand Prix 1:29.827 45 2 Richard Verschoor MP Motorsport 1:30.165 45 3 Théo Pourchaire ART Grand Prix 1:30.167 42 4 Marcus Armstrong DAMS 1:30.617 46 5 Liam Lawson Hitech Grand Prix 1:30.739 41 6 Ralph Boschung Campos Racing 1:30.755 41 7 Lirim Zendeli MP Motorsport 1:30.767 6 8 David Beckmann Charouz Racing System 1:30.824 31 9 Jüri Vips Hitech Grand Prix 1:30.956 39 10 Felipe Drugovich UNI-Virtuosi 1:31.075 43 11 Bent Viscaal Trident 1:31.198 36 12 Oscar Piastri PREMA Racing 1:31.350 24 13 Robert Shwartzman PREMA Racing 1:31.440 23 14 Gianluca Petecof Campos Racing 1:31.532 40 15 Guilherme Samaia Charouz Racing System 1:31.575 31 16 Marino Sato Trident 1:34.503 40 17 Alessio Deledda HWA RACELAB 1:34.629 7 18 Guanyu Zhou UNI-Virtuosi 1:34.783 51 19 Jehan Daruvala Carlin 1:35.511 47 20 Matteo Nannini HWA RACELAB 1:35.787 35 21 Dan Ticktum Carlin 1:35.865 46 22 Roy Nissany DAMS 1:36.166 14 -
Mixed bag of results for AGS Event Duo Akhil Rabindra
Bengaluru, 19 April 2021:The AGS Events Duo comprising Akhil Rabindra, the only Asian participating at the European GT4 Championship this year, and Hugo Conde faced tough tests at Monza, Italy in the European GT4 Championship on Sunday evening (April 18, 2021). The duo finished thirteenth in Silver category in race two at the circuit after having retired in Race 1.
The Indo-french duo driving the Aston Martin Racing V8 Vantage GT4 for AGS Events Racing Team had to retire in Race. Akhil had to take to the steering for race twoto avoid action because of an incident where two cars crashed and stopped in front of him. This happened in front of him and thus resulted in him being pushed back in his position.However given the pace of the car (Aston Martin Racing V8 Vantage GT4)which resulted in his team finishing P11 at the qualifying, Akhil still managed to finish 20 laps in 50:34:074hrsthereby finishing 13th in the Silver Category.
“We are not content with Sunday’s result, especially after what we could have achieved on Saturday.Its fortunate that we could not convert our P11 position in the qualifying to better results, but we are confident that we will have better outcomes in the races ahead,” Rabindra stated.He further added, ” Saturday’s crash was quite a big one, and all credit to our team that our car was ready just in time for race two. Though the car was not like Saturday and we didn’t have the same pace for race two but we are confident of us having a great machine that will help us achieve favorable results.”
The European GT4 Series now moves to Circuit Paul Ricard, France for Round 2 of the Championship from April 26 – 28, 2021. Akhil earlier in the European GT4 Series had finished 5th overall and would look forward to better results in the upcoming weekend. The race can be watched LIVE on the YouTube Page of European GT4 Series.
About European GT4 Championship:
The GT4 European Series is a sports car championship created and organised by SRO Motorsports Group. It is a pro/am championship which followed a formula similar to the FIA GT3 European Championship, which was itself derived from the FIA GT Championship which utilized the GT1 and GT2 classes.
GT4 class cars are mostly what can be referred to as track day cars, which are factory-built race cars available to the public. However, custom-built cars based on production models can also be built by teams. All cars are test driven by the FIA and then modified so that they all have near identical performance levels. Once a car has been approved by the FIA, it cannot be modified by the teams, eliminating continual development costs for constructors. All cars run on regulated Pirelli tires to further equalize performance.
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Akhil Rabindra begin campaign this week-end: Euro GT4
Bengaluru, 16 April 2021: Aston Martin Racing (AMR) Driver Academy product (2019-20), Akhil Rabindra of India, will commence his racing season at the famous Monza circuit in Italy. This weekend of April 16-18, 2021, will see Akhil racing for AGS Events Racing Team in Round 1 of the 2021 European GT4 Championship. AGS Events Racing Team were also the winners in the teams’ title and Silver Cup Drovers’ title category in the season finale at Circuit Paul Ricard in 2020 and they would look forward to extend their winning run this season as well with Akhil and Hugo carrying the mantle forward.
The 24-year-old racer who also is the only Indian driver in the European GT4 Championship this season will be driving an Aston Martin Racing V8 Vantage GT4. Rabindra would be racing in the silver category and will be joined by his French teammate Hugo Conde for the 2021 season in the silver category.
This would be Akhil’s second outing at the Monza circuit, his first being in 2019 for Pro Sport Performance where he finished 7th and 8th respectively in the Silver Category. The opening race of the European GT4 Championship at the Monza Circuit will host one of the largest grids this year with around 48 cars vying for the podium. The grid would include 18 cars in the silver category while 19 cars would represent the pro-am category. Further a total of 11 cars would be racing in the amateur category.
“This will be my second time at the Monza circuit and I am looking forward to the race for my team AGS Events Racing Team. Monza is a really fast track and is equally challenging and I hope to better my performance here this time around,” said a visibly busy Akhil ahead of the race weekend.
The race will be streamed LIVE on European GT4 Championships YouTube Page on 17th& 18th April 2021.
The 2021 season of the European GT4 Championship will comprise of 12 races and six rounds travelling through six countries.The Autodromo Nazionale di Monza is a historic race track near the city of Monza, north of Milan, in Italy. The circuit’s biggest event is the Italian Grand Prix. The site has three tracks – the 5.793-kilometre (3.600 mi) Grand Prix track, the 2.405-kilometre (1.494 mi) Junior track and a 4.250-kilometre (2.641 mi) high speed oval track with steep bankings. The major features of the main Grand Prix track include the Curva Grande, the Curva di Lesmo, the VarianteAscari and the CurvaParabolica.
Get the complete schedule of the 2021 European GT4 Championship: GT4 European Series | GT4 European Series (gt4series.com)
LIVE Streaming Time –
17th April 2021: GT4 European (Qualifying Race) – 15:10 Hrs (IST) Onwards
17th April 2021: GT4 European (Race 1) – 20:55 Hrs (IST) Onwards
18th April 2021: GT4 European (Race 2) – 16:40 Hrs (IST) Onwards
About European GT4 Championship:
The GT4 European Series is a sports car championship created and organised by SRO Motorsports Group. It is a pro/am championship which followed a formula similar to the FIA GT3 European Championship, which was itself derived from the FIA GT Championship which utilized the GT1 and GT2 classes.
GT4 class cars are mostly what can be referred to as track day cars, which are factory-built race cars available to the public. However, custom-built cars based on production models can also be built by teams. All cars are test driven by the FIA and then modified so that they all have near identical performance levels. Once a car has been approved by the FIA, it cannot be modified by the teams, eliminating continual development costs for constructors. All cars run on regulated Pirelli tires to further equalize performance.
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Joining the Red Bull Junior team is an important milestone, says Jehan Daruvala
Chasing the Formula 2 title with Carlin, Jehan Daruvala has lofty ambitions for the 2021 campaign, but how did he get here? We sat down with the Red Bull junior to find out the moments that made him.
1. FORCE INDIA’S ‘ONE IN A BILLION HUNT’
“The first moment would be from years ago, when I was chosen in the top three of the ‘One in a Billion hunt,’ which had been organised by the Force India Formula 1 team. Being chosen in the top three is what gave me the opportunity to come to Europe in the first place and start racing. That was back in 2011, it was a competition to find the next Indian racing talent.
“Initially, only drivers between the ages of 14-18 could enter and I was only around 12 or 13 at the time. They later opened up a wildcard entry though, where they chose one person below the age of 14 and one above the age of 18. I was selected as the under 14 wildcard option because I did the fastest time in the whole of India in that age group.
“I then went up against 100 people and this number was gradually cut down to 50, 25 and 10. Eventually, a final three were chosen. I finished in the top three and that kick started my career and got me to Europe.”
2. A PIVOTAL KARTING TITLE WIN
“Winning the Super 1 National KFJ Championship in 2013, which included drivers like Dan Ticktum. I faced George Russell the year before I won as well.
“There was a lot of pressure on me at the time because I was with Racing Point and they wanted me to win the Championship in order to continue in the programme. Thankfully, I managed to deliver and retained my place at the time.”
3. JOINING THE RED BULL JUNIOR TEAM
“The biggest of the three moments would be getting chosen to join the Red Bull Junior Team. To have the opportunity to drive in Formula 2 under the Red Bull colours is a huge honour. It gives me the platform and the chance of getting a seat in Formula 1 if I perform.
“The discussions initially started at the end of my Formula 3 season in 2019. I injured my knee not long after and this put the talks on hold, but once that healed, we opened up talks again and moved forward. It has been really good so far. I have benefitted loads, from prepping on their simulator to speaking to the people who work there, like the psychological coaches for example. It helps me so much.”
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Looking Forward to driving the Mercedes AMG GT3 in DTM, says Arjun Maini
Bengaluru/Virtual, 6 April 2021: Arjun Maini, who is set to become the first Indian to compete in DTM full-time, expressed his excitement about racing for the Mercedes-AMG Performance Team GetSpeed in the upcoming 2021 DTM season at the wheel of the Mercedes-AMG GT3 during a virtual media conference on Tuesday. The 23-year-old former Haas F1 Team Development Driver will be competing in eight rounds (16 races) in the series, which will be held across Europe from June 2021 to October 2021.
“Everyone knows how big the DTM championship is and I followed it a lot while growing up as well. And now to be a part of DTM as the Mercedes-AMG driver with the GetSpeed team is an absolute honour and pleasure for me. I just can’t wait to continue testing and I am really excited for what’s coming,” said Maini.
The racer further expressed that he is looking forward to being alone in a car once again, “I will be racing in a GT car for the first time. In a way, it’s going back to being alone in a car. I have been sharing a car in the last two years because I have been in Endurance Racing . So, it’s good to be on my own again and pushing for myself. But the competition is going to be really high and I am ready for it. I have to be on top of my game throughout the season, so I have to make sure that I am consistently performing at the highest level that I can deliver, and I think we should be alright.”
Stefan Wendl, Head of Mercedes-AMG Customer Racing, expressed that Arjun is exactly the type of driver the team was looking for, “We had been in discussion with all potential DTM drivers and then we came across a young Indian driver and we thought it would be interesting for him to join us. Then we put all our heads together along with the GetSpeed team and we made it work. He (Arjun) fits exactly the type of drivers we try to attract for this program. Now, among our seven contracted drivers, we will have a good mix of well experienced drivers and few very young, but talented drivers. We need to keep steeping up to be successful in the season.”
Steve Buschmann Team Manager, Getspeed Performance said that the team could see how motivated Arjun is to race in the DTM series from the moment they contacted him for the first time, “The DTM is a new start for every team in 2021 and it is giving new opportunities to drivers like Arjun. The DTM series will not have cockpit sharing and I think this was one of the reasons that Arjun was interested in joining DTM because there won’t be another person, who shares the cockpit with him. We got in contact with him, and his management and we could see how motivated he was to join the DTM and to join us. The more the discussions went on, the more we were convinced that this is the right man. Arjun is very motivated and very professional. We have enjoyed the partnership with him from the first minute we met him. We are absolutely looking forward to race with him this year.”
GT3 cars will feature in the DTM series for the first time in 2021. A race weekend will consist of two free practice sessions on Friday and then a qualifying and a one-hour race including a pit stop on both Saturday and Sunday.
The opening round of the season is set to take place from June 18 2021 – June 20 2021 in Monza, Italy. Thereafter, the series will be held at the Norisring from July 2 to 4, Lausitzring from July 23 to 25, Zolder from August 6 to 8, Nürburgring on August 20 to 22, Red Bull Ring from September 3 to 5, and Assen from September 17 to 19, before the Hockenheimring conducts the grand finale on October 1 2021 to October 3 2021.
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Regular points-finishes would be more important, says Jehan Daruvala
Carlin’s Jehan Daruvala cited Guanyu Zhou’s lead of the Drivers’ Championship as proof the new Formula 2 format works, after the UNI-Virtuosi racer qualified on pole and took the opening Feature Race win. And while it may not have benefited the Red Bull junior as much in Sakhir, he believes it bodes well for his own title bid in the long-term.
Taking second, fourth and sixth in the opening weekend of the new-look championship, Daruvala departed Round 1 in third place in the Standings, as one of the most consistent drivers in the opener.
While he didn’t leave with a win for his efforts, the Indian feels that regular points’ finishes will be more important over the course of the season than an extra victory or two.
“If you qualify at the front, then you have the best chance of scoring the most points. It is pretty simple and Zhou showed that,” Daruvala said. “There’s no need to try and qualify in eighth or ninth or play tactics like that: Zhou qualified at the front, won the Feature Race and left in (first place).
“Before the weekend, I would have taken this as a good starting point. There are always places where you can improve, and for me, it is all about qualifying – getting into the top five and then scoring points consistently.
Jehan Daruvala photo by Getty images “That isn’t easy in Formula 2 because the level is really, really high. But, if you are consistently in the top five or six, like I was this weekend, then I think in the end you’ll be in the fight for the championship.”
He may have finished the Feature Race where he started it, but Daruvala had to work for sixth place after a Safety Car ruined his attempts of an undercut.
Pitting two laps earlier than most on the hard-soft strategy, the Indian came out ahead of everyone except Zhou, before the arrival of the Safety Car gifted Richard Verschoor and Liam Lawson a free pitstop and track position.
“It was a very eventful race, which to be fair is normal for Formula 2 race. They’re all exciting” he continued. “I started on the hards and then changed to the softs, which seemed better overall. Things were going quite well, and everything was going to plan.
“I was looking forward to the last 10/12 laps, but the Safety Car hindered me a little bit, and Richard and Liam ended upcoming out ahead of me. I was then left to fight with Théo (Pourchaire) and had a big lock-up on my front right tyre.
“Still, I am pleased to have finished in P6 after a difficult race. I think it’s positive. We have the test in Barcelona next where we can make improvements before Round 2 in Monaco.”
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Akhil Rabindra for 2021 European GT4
Bengaluru, 31 March 2021: Aston Martin Racing (AMR) Driver Academy product Akhil Rabindra of India, announced his participation for the 2021 season of the coveted European GT4 Championship on Wednesday.
The Bengaluru born Akhil, will be back with the AGS Events Racing team this year, a team he represented for the first time last year at the French GT4 Championship.
Rabindra is the only Asian to have made it to the highly respected AMR Driver Academy for consecutive years in 2019-20 & 2020-2021. The 24 year old racer will also the only Indian driver in the European GT4 Championship this season.
Akhil’s campaign with AGS Events Racing Team will commence at the famed Monza circuit in Italy, on the weekend of April 16-18, 2021, with Round 1 of the 2021 European GT4 Championship.
Akhil will be driving an Aston Martin Racing V8 Vantage GT4 for the 2021 season, which comprises 12 races across six countries and as many rounds. 19-Year-Old French driver Hugo Conde will be Akhil’s team mate for the AGS Events Racing Team.
“I am really looking forward to getting back on the racetrack with AGS Events Racing Team and am excited about the upcoming European GT4 Championship. AGS have had a great GT racing record over the years and I am determined to help them better it even more,” said Akhil post announcing his association with AGS Events Racing Team.
After a successful debut, AGS Events has confirmed it’s come back to the GT4 European Series. The reigning Silver, Pro-Am and Team champions will field three Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4s in the series this season.
Around 30 cars will be competing for the 2021 European GT4 Championship with as many as 10 top Constructors fielding their latest GT4 models.
LIVE Streaming Times – IST
17th April 2021: GT4 European (Qualifying Race) – 15:10 Hrs (IST) Onwards
17th April 2021: GT4 European (Race 1) – 20:55 Hrs (IST) Onwards
18th April 2021: GT4 European (Race 2) – 16:40 Hrs (IST) Onwards
About European GT4 Championship:
The GT4 European Series is a sports car championship created and organised by SRO Motorsports Group. It is a pro/am championship which followed a formula similar to the FIA GT3 European Championship, which was itself derived from the FIA GT Championship which utilized the GT1 and GT2 classes.
GT4 class cars are mostly what can be referred to as track day cars, which are factory-built race cars available to the public. However, custom-built cars based on production models can also be built by teams. All cars are test driven by the FIA and then modified so that they all have near identical performance levels. Once a car has been approved by the FIA, it cannot be modified by the teams, eliminating continual development costs for constructors. All cars run on regulated Pirelli tires to further equalize performance.
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I kept out of trouble and made some sensible moves in Race 1, says Jehan Daruvala
Sakhir, 28 March 2021: India’s racing star Jehan Daruvala began his 2021 FIA Formula 2 Championship campaign on a stellar note, clinching second place in race 1, during the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend, here at the Bahrain International Circuit over the weekend.
He showed his mettle in the second race too, climbing from eleventh to fourth after a brilliant run, to miss a second straight podium by the proverbial whisker. In the final race, he started in sixth and although he did move down & up the order, he had to settle for sixth place, inspite of severe vibrations from flat spotted tyres. This puts him in third place in the Points Standings, after Round 1 of 8.
“I kept out of trouble at the start of Race 1, and then made sensible moves up the order. Both, Lawson and I, had similar pace towards the end, but it was difficult to pass. It’s good to start the season with a podium,” the Red Bull Racing Junior driver said after his victory.
“I enjoyed Race 2 too, with the amount of overtaking in the last few laps. Unfortunately I flat spotted my set of soft tyres, causing severe vibrations that seriously compromised race 3 for me. A big thanks to Carlin for the excellent car which helped me finish in the points in all the races,” he added.
Earlier, Jehan qualified sixth out of 22 racers on the grid but started on P5, owing to the reverse grid rule for the opening race. He began smartly, overtaking the car ahead go him to move into fourth position.
Jehan then drove intelligently, staying just behind the pack, without pushing hard to protect his tyre life. Halfway through the race, he began mounting pressure on German racer David Beckmann, for third. He succeeded by first pushing him hard into a corner and then overtaking around the outside, to move into third.
French racer, Theo Pouchaire who had started on pole, was next. Jehan quickly closed the gap and just as he was about to make a move, the Frenchman’s car suffered a technical issue, allowing Jehan to move up to second.
Race leader Liam Lawson of New Zealand, was now 2.7 seconds ahead. Jehan reeled off a series of good laps to quickly close the gap to the leader. The extreme Bahrain heat, however, meant that all drivers were finding it tough to overtake, and Jehan was unable to make a serious attempt for the race lead.
Jehan ultimately crossed the finish line, less than a second behind Lawson who won the race. Such was the pace of the lead duo that Beckmann in third, finished over 13 seconds behind Jehan.
The top ten finishers of the first race were reversed for the start of Race 2. Thus Jehan started ninth for the second sprint race. A first corner melee on lap one brought out the safety car, while Jehan dropped a couple of places.
When racing resumed Jehan made one position and some laps later moved up to eighth. Another safety car situation saw Jehan and other drivers dive into the pits for a fresh set of soft tyres.
Jehan was eleventh after the round of unscheduled pit stops. He was on a charge the moment racing resumed and in just five laps, he drove another fantastic race, moving up steadily each lap to eventually finish a fantastic fourth.
