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Category: Indians Abroad
News about Indians racing in different motorsports events abroad
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Narain wins Race 1 at Nurburgring for Super Nova International
Nurburgring, 17 Aug 2013: Narain Karthikeyan (Super Nova International) cruised to his third win of the 2013 Auto GP season in Race 1 at the Nürburgring on Saturday.
The Indian former Formula 1 racer took-off from the pole and managed to end up in front of Kevin Giovesi (Ghinzani Motorsport) who threw a good challenge to the front. The Italian racer, who lined-up in third place, successfully passed Super Nova International’s Vittorio Ghirelli at the start and managed to finish in a highly-positive second position.
Ghirelli paid the price of starting on the dirtier part of the track and missed the beat at takeoff, although he brought home a valuable podium position as well as the fastest lap of the race. The drivers received their awards on the podium from Emanuele Pirro. The former F.1 driver, who also starred in the Audi Le Mans squad for a decade, has recently covered the role of driver steward in Formula 1.
In fourth place Euronova Racing’s Kimiya Sato sailed to a solitary lead in standings after a tough on-track duel with his main rival Sergio Campana, driving for Ibiza Racing Team. The Modena-based man, who eventually rounded out the top-5, and his Japanese colleague even touched each other before their respective pit-stops, although none of them damaged their cars or infringed any rule. It’s been an exciting challenge for the DTM fans sitting at the Mercedes Arena. The top-6 was rounded out by Tamas Pal Kiss, making his debut with Ibiza Racing Team. He was followed by Robert Visoiu (Ghinzani Motorsport) but the real surprise came from rookie Roberto La Rocca (Comtec by Virtuosi) who ended up in 8th and secured the pole spot for Race 2.
Female racer Michela Cerruti, fielded by MLR71, also enjoyed a good debut race by topping Yoshitaka Kuroda (Euronova Racing) for 9th. On the other hand Daniel De Jong, driving for MP Motorsport, was forced to retire after a contact with Michele La Rosa (MLR71), who was penalized with a drive-through. A penalty was also assessed to De Jong’s team-mate Meindert Van Buuren for having cut the chicane and gained an advantage, while Andrea Roda (Virtuosi UK) lost valuable time in the opening part of the day due to a contact and a damaged front wing.
Narain Karthikeyan said: “I’m very happy to have scored my third win this season, which is also the second straight one and a great boost to our championship chances. I had a good start from the pole, and then I managed to pass Giovesi at the end of the pit-stops. I’m proud to have provided my team with another well-deserved satisfaction”.
Kevin Giovesi: “I made up one spot at the start by passing Ghirelli and then stayed in Karthikeyan’s slipstream. As I couldn’t edge him on-track, we tried with the strategy in the pits and we had almost made it. Unfortunately, due to the cold tires I overshot the braking for the first corner and had to surrender the lead”.
Vittorio Ghirelli: “The fastest lap of the race shows how quick our car was today. Unfortunately, I was forced to start on the dirty side of the track and that cost me one position on Giovesi”.
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Podium finish for Raj Bharath at Korea
Seoul, 10 Aug 2013: Indian racing driver Raj Bharath’s first outing here at the Inje Circuit for round four of the Formula Masters China series kicked off on a difficult note after he managed to overcome a disastrous qualifying session to win the second race of the day, only to be disqualified after being deemed to passing under yellow flags.
The 4.2-kilometer circuit, which is located two hours outside of the capital city Seoul, is an extremely challenging layout for the drivers featuring 19 corners with a lot of cambered sections and elevation changes. Earlier in the week, Raj started the proceedings on a solid note as he seemed to adapt to the undulating surface well, topping the open test session on Friday, according to a Meco Motorsports press release.
Raj Bharat finishes third in Race 1 at Korea. Photo by Meco Motorsports “It is a really demanding layout, it doesn’t really have too many long straights where you can take a break – you’re always busy and the cambered corners give a very different sensation of grip”, said Raj after his first impressions of the circuit.
But as the track gripped up in the following sessions, the setup changes didn’t seem to bring in the expected gains and come qualifying, Raj fell short of a few tenths in lap time. With the Formula Masters grid being exceptionally tight, he qualified seventh on the grid for race one and fourth for the third race of the weekend.
“We were still figuring out how to make up those final tenths and we managed to make a step forward from the first to the second qualifying session, so I was feeling positive for the race even though I was starting way back in seventh”, Raj clarified.
As the lights went out for the rain-soaked race one, Raj immediately set out to climb his way up the grid, coming through the pack despite exceptionally low visibility as cars in front bunched up and threw up a blinding spray. After pulling off some brave passes, he eventually finished third while setting the fastest lap of the race. Raj’s best lap was a 1:45.545s was seven-tenths quicker than the second fastest lap of the race. The fastest lap under torrid conditions also earned Raj pole position for race two.
“I was really happy with my pace in race two, and finishing on the podium after starting seventh was an added bonus”, remarked Raj.
Unfortunately though, race two turned out to be a disappointment as it was started under safety car as torrential rain meant that conditions were deemed too unsafe for a normal start. The safety car was brought in after two laps and the drivers were allowed to race for two laps, but the safety car was deployed once again for the next five lap, and the race was ended prematurely after just eight laps.
Somewhere amidst the chaos, Raj had been passed by Akash Nandy for the lead and the Indian driver managed to pass him back, but little did he know that he made his move under yellow flags.
Post-race, Raj’s victory was taken away as he was awarded a 20-second post-race penalty, which meant he lost valuable points in a race he could have easily won.
“I couldn’t believe when they told me, right after I had been on the podium and collected the winner’s trophy and everything, but that’s how it works sometimes”, he dejectedly said.
“Luckily only half points were awarded as the race was ended prematurely – so we didn’t lose out as much as we could have”, he added.
“Also, championship leader Afiq Yazid was also penalised for overtaking under yellows, so overall we didn’t suffer a huge hit in the championship standings. Once the final two races are done tomorrow, we’ll do the math and see where we stand”, he clarified.
Raj will start race three from fourth place, with the fastest lap order determining the starting grid for the fourth and final race of the weekend.
ABOUT RAJ BHARATH:
Born November 20, 1994 in Bangalore, Raj took his first steps in motorsport with karting in 2008 – like all aspiring F1 drivers. Then aged 14, he immediately showed glimpses of his potential in his debut year, winning the trophy for the ‘Most promising rookie of the year’ in the National Karting championship.
He eventually won the title in 2010 and progressed to Formula BMW Asia in 2011 followed by the Ferrari Academy supported Formula Pilota in 2012.
For 2013, Raj aims to participate in the Formula Masters China and win the championship before moving to Europe in 2014, and getting closer to his aim of making it to Formula 1. He posted his first victory of the season at the Shanghai International Circuit in May.
Career highlights:
2008 Most promising rookie in the JK Rotax Karting championship.
2009 Second runner-up in JK Rotax Max Karting championship.
2010 Rotax Max Karting NATIONAL CHAMPION.
2011 Debut in Formula BMW Asia Pacific – five top ten finishes.
2012 Formula Pilota China – 10 podium finishes and three wins.Formula Masters China car specifications
Chassis: Tatuus FA010, FIA F3 homologated
Engine: Volkswagen Formula EVO 2.0
Gearbox: Six-speed sequential with LSD
Power: 180 PS
Torque: 200Nm
Suspension: Double-wishbone with pushrod activation
Brakes: Four-pot Dixcel calipers
Tyres: Front – 180/550 R13
Rear – 240/570 R13
Weight: 540kg with driverFormula Masters China calendar
Zhuhai (China) 10-12 May
Shanghai (China) 24-26 May
Ordos (China) 05-07 July
Inje (Korea) 9-11 August
Sepang (Malaysia) 13-15 Sep
Shanghai (China) 25-27 Oct
Macau Grand Prix 8-10 Novends
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Gill-Sherif win SUV class; Ghosh-Naik top INRC
Coimbatore, 21 July 2013: Ace Indian rallyist Gaurav Gill and co-driver Musa Sherif in the Mahindra XUV 500 were the fastest and won the Indian National SUV Rally Championship while Malaysian Karamjit Singh along with navigator Jagdev Singh, also from Malaysia in the Volkswagen Polo won the Indian Rally Championship for foreign cars (IRC) here on Sunday.
According to a press release from Adrenna Communications, Amittrajit Ghosh and co-driver Ashwin Naik, in a Mitsubishi Cedia, took the overall honours in the Rally of Coimbatore, the third Round of the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) which started and finished at the Kari Motor Speedway (KMS). In the 1600 class, it was Byram Godrej / Prajwal Pai driving a Volkswagen Polo who won while Asad Khan / Zayne Asrar took victory in the Junior INRC class, in a Maruti Esteem.
Out of the 31 cars that started the Rally, 22 cars finished Leg 1. However, as per Super Rally format 5 out of 9 competitors opted to run Leg 2, thus making it a total of 27 cars fighting for Leg 2. Starting from the KMS, they then proceeded to the Textool stage of 24.81 kms for speed and action. At the end of Textool stage, there were 25 cars running with two competitors dropping out due to mechanical failure.
There were 19 cars that reported for the Super Special Stage at the Kari Motor Speedway. It was a festive atmosphere at the KMS where the rally drivers had the opportunity to watch some racing action from the JK Tyre Racing Championship and the racing drivers some rally driving at the KMS. It was ‘Master Drifter’ Gaurav Gill who enthralled the crowd by showing them the real rally drifting.
Indian National Rally Championship (INRC)
Amittrajit Ghosh / Ashwin Naik won the INRC overall of Rally of Coimbatore with a total time of 01:42:42.9. Vikram Devadasen / Srikanth GM finished second with 01:44:48.6 followed by Phalguna V Urs / Anoop Kumar with a total time of 01:45:54.2.
INRC 1600 class
In the INRC 1600 class, it was Byram Godrej / Prajwal Pai who finished first with a total time of 01:47:44.9 closely followed by Arjun Rao / Sathish Rajagopal and Mohammed Kasim / Sanath G with a time of 01:47:57.6 and 02:14:06.2 respetively.
Junior Indian National Rally Championship (JINRC)
In the closely fought JINRC, it was Asad Khan / Zayne Asrar who won with a time of 01:51:06.2. Suhem MK / Jeevarathinam J finished 2nd with 01:53:00.0 and Rohan Pawar / Arjun Mehta finished third with 01:56:29.2.
Indian National SUV Rally Championship (INSUVRC)
Gaurav Gill / Musa Sherif won the Indian National SUV Rally Championship with a total time of 01:40:00.3 followed by Lohitt V Urs / Bonnie Thomas (01:46:29.1) and Sunny Sidhu / Srinivas Murthy PV (01:52:43.1).
Indian Rally Championship (IRC)
In the IRC Championship it was Karamjit Singh / Jagdev Singh from Malaysia who won with a time of 01:42:12.1 followed by Sumit Panjabi / Chetan Shivram (02:00:35.6).
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Amittrajit Ghosh and co-driver Ashwin Naik who won the Rally of Coimbatore, the round 3 of the Indian Natinal Rally Championship at Coimbatore on Sunday. Adrenna photo -
Armaan rounds off FIA GT week-end with 2nd podium
Zandvoort (Netherlands), 7 July 2013: Indian racing driver Armaan Ebrahim and BMW Sports Trophy Team India rounded off their strongest weekend of the 2013 FIA GT World Series at the Zandvoort Circuit with a third place finish in the Pro-Am category and tenth overall.
Having scored their maiden podium by finishing second on Saturday, the team was on their way to go one better today but a delay during the driver change threw a spanner in the works, according to a Meco Motorsports Press Release.
“We were really on it today, the car was really strong and we could have won the class and finished top five overall”, said Armaan, hinting disappointment at the final outcome.
Armaan started the race from ninth position but like on Saturday, a huge incident on the opening lap led the race being red-flagged. The restart saw him holding his position and challenging the train of cars ahead.
But his attention was focused as much on the car behind as it was ahead, with nine-time WRC champion Sebastien Loeb in his McLaren MP4-12C breathing down Armaan’s rear bumper.
“I could see him coming in the mirrors but I had enough pace in the bag to keep him behind and was focusing on passing the cars right ahead of me”, he revealed.
But the BMW Z4 GT’s inherent lack of straight line speed prevented him from passing the Nissan GT-R and Mercedes SLS lying close ahead of him, despite the BMW holding an advantage around the rest of the 4.3-kilometer layout.
“Coming off the final corner, I just couldn’t stay with them, slipstream or no. It has been a weak area and even though there aren’t many long straights here, it still managed to hamper us”, revealed Armaan.
Having held Loeb off for the length of his stint, Armaan pitted for the mandatory driver change on lap 14, but disaster was in store.
“As soon as I tried to unbuckle [the seatbelt] myself, it refused to release despite repeated efforts. Then we had the crew on it and it took forever for me to come out and buckle Melroy [teammate] back in”, he said.
While this drama was unfolding in the pitlane, the team was steadily dropping down the order and lost nearly five positions by the time Heemskerk got back on the track.
There onwards, the team’s race was just an exercise in damage limitation and the Danish driver did his best to claw back lost time, but simply ran out of laps to get back up the order significantly, ultimately finishing tenth overall and third in the Pro-Am class.
“It is quite disappointing to be honest, given what we were capable of this weekend. But I’m happy that after a difficult start to the season, we’ve managed to turn a corner”, commented Armaan.
“We need to improve a bit on the pitstop front as well as sort out the straightline speed deficit. Next two tracks on the calendar – Slovakia Ring and Navarra are more straightline-dependent and we’ll be at more of a disadvantage than we were here at Zandvoort”, he cited.
The next round of the FIA GT Series is scheduled at Slovakia Ring on 17-18 August.
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Armaan Ebrahim, along with teammate, on podium after finishing third. A Meco Motorsports photo. -
Raj Bharath finishes third in Race 1: Formula Masters
Ordos (China), 7 July 2013: After qualifying third at Ordos International Circuit, Indian racing driver Raj Bharath rounded off his race weekend with a podium finish in Race 1 while engine issues in Race 2 didn’t allow him to finish better than sixth at round three of Formula Masters China. He came third.
Driving for Meco Motorsport, the Bangalore lad had posted his maiden win of the season on the last outing at Shanghai International circuit. At Ordos though, mechanical issues which first surfaced in qualifying, prevented him from showing his pace. But the 19-year old manage to hold on through the opening race of the weekend to finish third, a Meco Motorsports release said.
“The car seemed to lack acceleration out of corner exits, so I was losing speed on the straights and couldn’t catch up to my rivals ahead”, conceded Raj.
Things took a turn for worse in race two and Raj found it difficult to maintain his position, having started third. So despite a bout of defensive driving, he could only cross the line in sixth.
“It was much harder in the second race as drivers behind me were quicker, as our issues had become more pronounced”, he said.
“I did the best I could but there was no way of holding them back when you’re lacking a lot of speed on the straights”, he added disappointingly.
Race three of the weekend was cancelled due to some safety issues on the circuit, which turned out be a blessing in disguise as it limited the amount of points that could have been further lost in the championship standings.
The cancelled race will be held at the championship’s next outing scheduled at Inje Circuit in Korea.
“Honestly it was a relief that one race got postponed, so hopefully we’ll get to the bottom of the issues and we’ll be back to our usual competitiveness in Korea”, concluded Raj.
Round four of the Formula Masters Championship is scheduled at Inje Circuit from 2-4 August.
ABOUT RAJ BHARATH:
Born November 20, 1994 in Bangalore, Raj took his first steps in motorsport with karting in 2008 – like all aspiring F1 drivers. Then aged 14, he immediately showed glimpses of his potential in his debut year, winning the trophy for the ‘Most promising rookie of the year’ in the National Karting championship.
He eventually won the title in 2010 and progressed to Formula BMW Asia in 2011 followed by the Ferrari Academy supported Formula Pilota in 2012.
For 2013, Raj aims to participate in the Formula Masters China and win the championship before moving to Europe in 2014, and getting closer to his aim of making it to Formula 1. He posted his first victory of the season at the Shanghai International Circuit in May.
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Armaan 2nd in Round 3 at GT World Series Pro-Am
Zandvoort (Netherlands), 6 July 2013: Indian racing driver Armaan Ebrahim and BMW Sports Trophy Team India clinched their maiden podium of the 2013 FIA GT World Series at the Zandvoort Circuit, finishing second in the Pro-Am category and a brilliant ninth overall.
It was a welcome result for the team after a disappointing last outing at Zolder in Belgium, where Armaan’s teammate crashed the car during practice and put the team out of contention for the weekend, a Meco Motorsports release said.
“This is effectively our second race of the season and my first at this circuit, so it feels incredible to finish on the podium”, said an elated Armaan.
Prior to the weekend, the team had done a brief shakedown at Spa, along with Armaan’s new teammate Melroy Heemskerk, who had replaced Jouse who couldn’t continue due to some contractual issues with the team.
A Zandvoort native, Heemskerk had no problem getting comfortable in the car and both drivers ended up having similar pace at the Danish venue, despite Armaan’s comparative lack of experience at the circuit.
“The shakedown did us good as it enabled me to get into the groove straightway on the race weekend, as I hadn’t been in the car for over two months before that”, clarified Armaan.
After showing encouraging pace in practice sessions on Friday, the team was hoping for a good result in qualifying but was slightly left lagging on the setup front.
“We had a few things to work on but just ran out of time during qualifying, so we were hoping to make a step forward in the afternoon”, he said.
Heemskerk went on to start the race but things didn’t go to plan as a chaotic start saw the safety car being deployed on the opening lap and the Team India BMW Z4 dropped down the order at a rapid pace.
The Dane was however able to recover as the team elected to pit as late as possible in the pitstop window, allowing for laps in clear air which allowed him to claw back the time lost in initial stages.
Armaan took over around the mid-point of the one hour race and there was no looking back as he managed to carve his way up the field, setting the fastest lap for the team in the process and eventually finishing second in the Pro-Am category and a credible ninth overall.
“It was a good run even though we had some braking issues with the ABS malfunctioning towards the end, so I had to brake earlier than normal”, Armaan clarified.
“It wasn’t the best situation as we had some pressure from behind [the third-placed Lamborghini finished just over a second behind] but I was able to hold him off”, he elaborated.
Armaan will start ninth for the main race tomorrow and hopes that more progress will be on the books.
“Starting ninth tomorrow we can only go forward, so hopefully we’ll have another strong result to round off the weekend considering the amount of work everyone has put in since Zolder.” he concluded.
Following the race weekend, Armaan will head to Munich – the headquarters of BMW AG, to mark the culmination of the Dynamic 1 contest run by BMW India. Armaan will join cricket legend and BMW brand ambassador Sachin Tendulkar, both racing the new BMW 1-series car and hosting the winners of the Dynamic 1 contest.
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Armaan Ebrahim finishes 2nd in Pro-Am class and overall 9th at the FIA GT World Series. A Meco Motorsports photo -
Raj Bharath qualifies third at Ordos Circuit in China
Raj Bharath photo by Meco Motorsports. Ordos (China) 5 July 2013: Having clinched his first win of the season at Shanghai International Circuit in May, Indian youngster Raj Bharath qualified third at round three of Formula Masters China at Ordos International Circuit.
Backed by Bangalore-based real estate developer Embassy Group and driving for Indian outfit Meco Motorsport, Raj will start from the second row of the grid for two out of three races of the weekend, a Meco Motorsports release said.
At the start of the weekend, the 3.7-kilometre layout was extremely dusty as expected but given the large number of races scheduled for the weekend, the track gripped up in no time.
Throughout the free practice sessions, Raj was continuously in the top five and the team managed to make a step forward for qualifying, even though the session didn’t go smoothly due to yellow flags.
“There was a yellow flag at the first corner due to some incident and it happened so that I got my fastest first sector on that lap. I backed off but next time around the yellow was still there and I posted my fastest lap on that lap”, clarified Raj.
Six other drivers went through the same routine and had their fastest qualifying laps cancelled as a result. Luckily though, Raj’s consistency paid off as his second fastest-qualifying time was just one-tenth off his best time and he didn’t lose any grid positions as a result.
“The grid is so tight, if I had been three-tenths or so slower on my second best lap, I would’ve lost at least three positions. So from where we are now, we can still hope to get on to the podium and even win”, he surmised.
Race one and two are scheduled for Saturday with race three on Sunday.
ABOUT RAJ BHARATH:
Born November 20, 1994 in Bangalore, Raj took his first steps in motorsport with karting in 2008 – like all aspiring F1 drivers. Then aged 14, he immediately showed glimpses of his potential in his debut year, winning the trophy for the ‘Most promising rookie of the year’ in the National Karting championship.
He eventually won the title in 2010 and progressed to Formula BMW Asia in 2011 followed by the Ferrari Academy supported Formula Pilota in 2012.
For 2013, Raj aims to participate in the Formula Masters China and win the championship before moving to Europe in 2014, and getting closer to his aim of making it to Formula 1. He posted his first victory of the season at the Shanghai International Circuit in May.
Career highlights:
2008 Most promising rookie in the JK Rotax Karting championship.
2009 Second runner-up in JK Rotax Max Karting championship.
2010 Rotax Max Karting NATIONAL CHAMPION.
2011 Debut in Formula BMW Asia Pacific – five top ten finishes.
2012 Formula Pilota China – 10 podium finishes and three wins.Formula Masters China car specifications
Chassis: Tatuus FA010, FIA F3 homologated
Engine: Volkswagen Formula EVO 2.0
Gearbox: Six-speed sequential with LSD
Power: 180 PS
Torque: 200Nm
Suspension: Double-wishbone with pushrod activation
Brakes: Four-pot Dixcel calipers
Tyres: Front – 180/550 R13
Rear – 240/570 R13
Weight: 540kg with driverFormula Masters calendar
Zhuhai (China) 10-12 May
Shanghai (China) 24-26 May
Ordos (China) 05-07 July
Inje (Korea) 2-4 August
Sepang (Malaysia) 13-15 Sep
Shanghai (China) 25-27 Oct
Macau Grand Prix 8-10 Novends
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Armaan set for Round 3 of FIA GT World Series
Zandvoort (Netherlands), 4 July 2013: Indian racing driver Armaan Ebrahim and BMW Team India are looking forward to a strong outing at round three of the FIA GT World Series at the Zandvoort Circuit this weekend.
The team’s last outing at Spa had proved to be a disappointment as after showing top five pace early on, Armaan’s teammate Julien Jouse crashed the car heavily, putting the team out of contention for the weekend, a Meco Motorsport release said.
However, with the car rebuilt, BMW Team India did a shakedown at the Spa on Wednesday and things seem to be looking up.
“I think it went well at Spa even though it was very, very wet. The car seems to be as good as new and we turned in a few decent laps even though the conditions were torrid”, said Armaan.
The run up to the shakedown was far from smooth though as a couple of days back Armaan found himself without a teammate as Jouse could not continue with the team due to some contractual issues. Thankfully, Armaan’s Race Manager Gary Ayles was able to put together a contract with Danish driver Melroy Heemskerk – a Zandvoort native with plenty of experience at the venue.
“It is great to have Melroy onboard as he has immense knowledge of the track which will certainly help us as it is my first time at the circuit. Our pace at Spa turned out to be similar so we’re surely in a competitive position from that perspective”, added Armaan.
Following the race weekend, Armaan will head to Munich – the headquarters of BMW AG, to mark the culmination of the Dynamic 1 contest run by BMW India. Armaan will join cricket legend and BMW brand ambassador Sachin Tendulkar, both racing the new BMW 1-series car and hosting the winners of the Dynamic 1 contest.
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File photo of Armaan Ebrahim. Photo by Meco Motorsport -
Karun qualifies in seventh at Le Mans for Murphy
Le Mans (France), 21 June 2013: : Indian racing driver Karun Chandhok and his team Murphy Prototypes qualified in an impressive 7th position at the La Sarthe circuit in the LMP2 category in the Le Mans 24 hours. Chandhok’s team Murphy Prototypes set a time of 3:41.569 and will start in 15th place overall, and 7th in their category. The trio of Brendon Hartley, Mark Patterson and Karun Chandhok will drive the iconic Le Mans 24 hours race in the LMP2 Nissan V8-powered Oreca 03 with Murphy Prototypes. The second qualifying session was wet which resulted in Murphy Prototypes not venturing out at all.
The third and final qualifying session started on a damp but drying track. There were as many as 9 red flags which disrupted running for all drivers. This resulted in the track coming alive in the last 30 minutes with all cars looking to improve their time. Hartley ran in the qualifying session as he had not got any meaningful running the entire week. He finally managed to get a new set of tyres to run in qualifying.
Chandhok, who is supported by JK Tyre and Tag Heuer, is looking forward to a one-day break before the race starts on Saturday evening. He commented, “The morning session was a complete washout and it made no sense to do any laps. With the weather and so many red flags I could not get any running today but will be back in the car for warm-up tomorrow. We are starting in a reasonably good position and will have to push very hard to get a good result. The atmosphere here is unbelievable and I can’t wait to get going on Saturday. I am a little more experienced after racing last year but conditions are a lot more unpredictable this year so should be an interesting race. ”
Brendon Hartley was happy to get a run finally even though there were some problems to iron out before the race. He said, “We could have been much better, but it’s qualifying for a 24-hour race. We had some kind of issue with the steering rack – Karun commented on it yesterday and that made it very tricky in the beginning. We are in P7 so it’s not a big deal but with such a long race tomorrow we have little issue to fix, but we’re in good shape.”Team Principal Greg Murphy felt the LMP2 category will be one of the most closely contested this weekend and felt the team could have got more running time. He commented, “We were pretty disappointed to be honest, every time we went for a lap we got traffic, we got red flags… I’m sure it’s a common story up and down the pitlane, but yeah, we really struggled. We had a lot more pace in the car, than we showed today. But seventh position, I think Starworks when they won it last year started in 11th, so we’re reasonable happy, 24 hours to go, we’re here to fight and we’re here to win so I think we have some good speed in the car. We had a problem with all the red flags and stuff, we didn’t get a rhythm, and I feel a little bit for Karun he had very little running, but he’s such a good driver it’s not going to be a problem.”
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Parth Ghorpade 9th in Formula Renault 2.0 Alps debut
Vallelunga (Italy), 8 April 2013: Young Indian racerParth Ghorpade had a promising start in his Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS debut when he finished in 9th position out of a total of 36 cars in Race 1 at the opening race at Vallelunga, Italy. In Race 2, Parth had a brilliant start and moved from 16th to 7th position in the opening lap before being punted out of the race.
The Friday practice sessions, which were all hit by heavy rain, saw Parth finishing in 24th and 19th positions. This also meant that Parth went into qualifying with limited dry running time. Qualifying is split into two groups since the grid has 36 cars on it. Parth put in a fantastic lap to go 4th fastest in his group and would start 8th on the grid for Race 1, just half a second of the pole-sitter in his very first qualifying session.
In Race 1, Parth had a bad start and slipped to 11th place. He managed to pull off two great overtaking moves and ended up finishing in 9th position. His lap times were close to the leader but with the field so closely bunched together, 9th position was the best he could do. He started Race 2 in 16th position and had ones of the best opening laps of his career to move up 9 places to 7th position. On lap 2 Parth was hit from behind and ended up in the gravel forcing him to retire.
Parth was confident of a better showing in the coming races after a good start to the season. He commented, “We always knew this was going to be a very competitive series so to qualify 4th in the group in our first qualifying session exceeded all expectations. I had a slow start and lost some positions at the start. After that I started pushing and managed to overtake 2 cars and move up to 9th place. I was quicker than some of the guys ahead of me but could not overtake due to the characteristics of the circuit. In Race 2, I probably had the best start of my racing career and was up to 7th position from 16th and the car felt really good. On lap 2 I suddenly felt a hit from behind and was punted into the gravel.
Overall I am satisfied with the opening race. You have 25 cars within 1 second of each other so it is easily the most competitive field I have even raced in. We will test again before the race next month. I am looking forward to the rest of the season and confident for the same.” added Parth.
The Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS, is one of the most competitive feeder series for the Formula Renault 3.5 championship. The Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS, powered by the Clio III Renault Sport engine, has a paddle-operated 7-speed sequential gearbox, with 250bhp and push rod suspension.
The ALPS series will have 36 drivers for the 2013 season with 7 rounds consisting of two races each. The 2013 Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS calendar includes visits to the historic Spa-Francorrchamps, Monza, Imola with the first race taking place in Vallelunga on April 7. Each race weekend will have three 60 minute practice sessions on Friday, with qualifying and Race 1 on Saturday and Race 2 on Sunday.
19 year-old Ghorpade is the 2012 Formula Pilota Asian Champion, a five-time National Karting Champion, and runner-up in the inaugural 2010 Volkswagen Polo Cup India.
Calendar for the 2013 Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS
1 April 7 Vallelunga 2 May 12 Imola 3 June 9 Spa-Francorchamps 4 July 7 Monza 5 July 28 Misano 6 September 8 Mugello 7 October 6 Imola Updated files 16 apr 2020
