INDIA in F1

Category: Non-F1

  • Double podium brings constructors title for Mahindra Racing in Italy

    Rome, 14 October 2012: Mahindra Racing – the first and still the only Indian company to enter the world of motorcycle grand prix racing – created history by winning the prestigious ‘Constructors Title’ in the 125GP class at the Italian National Motorcycle Racing Championship (CIV) in Italy. The exciting final race of the 2012 season concluded at the Vallelunga Circuit on Sunday, 40 kms from here.

    The team won the premier title armed with two young but very promising and talented riders – 17 year old Miroslav Popov and the Austrian teenager Lukas Trautmann. Bringing to the fore a phenomenal performance, Miroslav Popov ended the season in style and brought about a stunning finish for 1st place. Displaying great skill on the track, the team’s second rider Lukas Trautmann, put in yet another impressive performance to finish 2nd in the 16 lap race, says a Press Release.

    Popov started the race from pole position after the outstanding performance displayed in qualifying. His team mate Lukas Trautmann, at his very first weekend on the bike, moved off from the third row of the grid after finishing the two qualifying sessions as the fourth 125GP rider in the classification.

    After the lights went out Popov got immediately in the lead, while Trautmann was third at Turn 1. Both riders displayed a very good race pace that allowed them to put some gap between themselves and the other

    Finishing 1-2, Mahindra riders clinched the Constructors' title in the Italian Racing Championship, received by Mafaddal Choonia (centre). Mahindra Racing photo

    125 GP riders.

    As the race progressed Popov and Trautmann rode carefully and made no mistakes, crossing the line in first and second position. Miroslav Popov also set the fastest lap of the race with a 1’47’’041 lap-time.

    Though he did not compete in the last race of the season, 27-year-old Riccardo Moretti claimed an impressive second place in the overall all Riders Rankings thanks to his phenomenal performances during the season behind leader Lorenzo Dalla Porta in the Riders Classification of the championship. He has already secured five podiums so far in the seven rounds of the season.

    “This historic win by Mahindra Racing at the CIV demonstrates the superb performance our bikes, the skills and commitment of our riders and outstanding team work – all hallmarks of Mahindra Rise philosophy. Our continued success in international motor sports events such as the Italian National Motorcycle Racing Championship is strengthening the Mahindra brand globally.” said S. P. Shukla, Member of Group Executive Board and President of Group Strategy, Mahindra Group.

    Mr. Mufaddal Choonia, CEO of Mahindra Racing said, “Winning a highly competitive event like the Italian National Motorcycle Racing Championship is a historic achievement for Mahindra Racing and Indian motorsport. We competed against the best in the world with a pair of young and energetic riders and our victory marks a big step forward for the team. The year wasn’t all easy but we remained determined and committed and are thrilled with the results.”

    Commenting on his performance in the race, Popov said, “I feel very content to have finished the season on a winning note. There were moments that were challenging but we worked hard, beat the odds and have come out victorious. We are working together very well as a team and I couldn’t have hoped for a better result than this. The credit for our victory goes to the team.”

    Lukas Trautmann said, “I am happy with the results of the race and am gaining more and more confidence after each outing. I thank the team and Mahindra. The future looks promising and I am glad to be racing for Mahindra Racing.”

    After making its CIV debut in 2012, Mahindra Racing became the first from India to win an international motorsport event when Moretti took the chequered flag at the season-opening race in Mugello, Italy on 25th March this year. The team won 6 out of the 8 races in the championship with 3 spectacular double podiums. The Indian manufacturer is one among a handful of entrants using its own chassis and engine, developing new technology at the same time challenging the might of established racing factories that fill the rest of the grid.

    CIV Manufacturers Title – 1) Mahindra 176 – 2) Aprilia 162 – 3) Honda 50 – 4) KTM 34

    Vallelunga Circuit Results – 125 GP CIV Italian Championship Round 8 : 1) Popov (Mahindra) – 2) Trautmann (Mahindra) – 3) Carpi (Aprilia).

    About Mahindra Racing

    Mahindra Racing is the first Indian team to participate in the FIM MotoGP™ World Motorcycle Racing Championship (in 2011) and the Italian National Motorcycle Racing Championship (CIV, in 2012).

    On the world stage, the Indian factory team signed off its 2011 debut season on a high note with action packed performances by both its riders. Marcel Schrötter finished 15th overall in the 125cc Rider’s Championship and the team finished a strong third overall in the Constructor’s Championship. Danny Webb made history when he secured pole position in Valencia in the last race of the 125cc era. The team has taken this learning into its participation in the all new Moto3™ class which replaced the 125cc class from the 2012 season onwards.

    In the CIV in Italy, the team competes in the 125 GP Class with ex-Italian Champion Riccardo Moretti. The team became the first from India to win an international motorsport event when Riccardo took the chequered flag at the season-opening race of the CIV in Mugello, Italy on 25 March, 2012. Since then, the team has recorded five victories from seven races with only one round remaining. Having secured second place in the Championship, Moretti has now joined Webb on the MGP-30 for the remainder of the Moto3 season.

    For further information please visit: www.mahindraracing.com

    About The Mahindra Group

    The Mahindra Group focuses on enabling people to rise. Mahindra operates in the key industries that drive economic growth, enjoying a leadership position in tractors, utility vehicles, information technology and vacation ownership. Mahindra has a presence in the automotive industry, agribusiness, aerospace, components, consulting services, defence, energy, financial services, industrial equipment, logistics, real estate, retail, steel and two wheelers.

    A USD 15.4 billion multinational group based in Mumbai, India and is the only global group that is present in the complete transportation chain from two wheelers, passenger vehicles and trucks to boats and aeroplanes.

    Mahindra employs more than 144,000 people in over 100 countries.

    In 2011, Mahindra featured on the Forbes Global 2000 list, a listing of the biggest and most powerful listed companies in the world. Dun & Bradstreet also ranked Mahindra at No. 1 in the automobile sector in its list of India’s Top 500 Companies. In 2010, Mahindra featured in the Credit Suisse Great Brands of Tomorrow.

    In 2011, Mahindra acquired a majority stake in Korea’s SsangYong Motor Company.

    For further information, please visit www.mahindra.com, www.mahindra2wheelers.com

    Connect with us on www.facebook.com/mahindragroup, www.facebook.com/mahindrascooters

     

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  • Karun, JRM finish second in their class

    Fuji (Japan) 14 Oct 2012: Indian racing star Karun Chandhok and his JRM Racing achieved its best result of the season today at the Six Hours of Fuji in Japan, finishing second in the privateers’ class and fifth overall. The #22 HPD ARX-03a driven by David Brabham, Peter Dumbreck and Karun Chandhok had qualified in P3 in the privateers’ class for the penultimate race of the FIA World Endurance Championship, setting up a good race today.

    Peter got the six hours underway for the team and had a good start, gaining a place in the first corner. He was in the car for the first two hours and 40 minutes, managing the tyres perfectly and lapping at a very consistent pace. After a double stint, the Scot handed over to David. The Safety Car had to come out half way through the race so debris on track could be cleared, but David looked after the tyres and when the race got underway again he was able to run at consistent pace, constantly swapping track positions with the #12 Rebellion.

    Karun drove the #22 during the last third of the race. Minor contact with the #1 Audi was made during his first stint, and during the last minutes of the race he also had to do an extra pit stop to change the rear end of the car that had been damaged. Nevertheless he managed to stay in fifth position and even set the team’s fastest lap of the race, a 1:30.907.

    After achieving the best result of the season so far, the team looks forward to the eighth and final race of the year that will take place in China in two weeks’ time.

    Karun Chandhok was thrilled with the best finish of the season after struggling with mechanical problems in the last few races when the team was in a strong position. He said, “Great to be on the podium! It was a good race and finishing for the team was a fantastic feeling, particularly as it’s our best finish of the season so far. I had a bit of contact with the Audi and there was a bit of bodywork damage but apart from that we were reasonably quick. We do need a little bit more pace to finish ahead of the Rebellion – we stick with them at some parts of the race and only need a little bit more to get ahead. It’s nice to get a trophy for the boys, and it’s very positive for us and for the team moral. I’m very pleased after a couple of hard weekends in Brazil and Bahrain, and hopefully we can finish the season strongly in China.”

    Nigel Stepney, team manager and chief engineer, said, “This is our best result so far and we are absolutely delighted. The race went according to plan. We probably lost the chance to fight the Rebellion during Peter’s second stint on new tyres when we had a bit of a performance problem. But the boys did a fantastic job changing the rear bodywork in an extra pit stop and it was a positive race overall. We’ve been promising it for two races, Brazil and Bahrain, so it’s finally nice to get to the end and achieve what we know we can do.”

    James Rumsey, team principal, commented, “Overall, a very positive result today; we can be very happy and proud. The team has worked very hard during the whole weekend and finally it all came together in the race. This is our best result of a season where we have improved race after race and we certainly deserved it. It’s also great to finally see our drivers on the podium for the first time. Now we have to continue working hard and do our best to end the season on a high.“

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    Karun and teammates get a second place in their class at Fuji on 14 Oct 2012. Adrenna Photo

  • Bridgepoint brings together MotoGP and World Superbikes

    Paris, 2 October 2012: Bridgepoint has announced that Dorna Sports and Infront Sports & Media have reached agreement to bring both their motorcycle racing interests under a single umbrella organisation. Dorna is the organiser of the FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix (“MotoGP”), whilst Infront organises the eni FIM Superbike World Championship (“WorldSBK”) through its subsidiary Infront Motor Sports.

    As a consequence, MotoGP and WorldSBK, will be integrated within the Dorna Sports group but managed as separate events with a view to enhancing the two distinct championships. The objective is to allow both series to develop and enhance their championship personalities, retaining their leadership positions in the arena of world motorcycle road racing – WorldSBK, with its focus on production-based racing, and MotoGP with its focus on prototype racing. At the same time, both championships will benefit from joint marketing and commercial strategies. Alongside this re-organisation, Infront has been appointed as marketing partner and global advisor to both championships, according to a Press Release.

    Philippe Blatter, President & CEO of Infront Sports & Media, said: “Under the new structure, the two leading motorcycle road racing events are now set for sustainable further growth and development. A true win-win situation has been created. Both Dorna and Infront can now further strengthen and focus on their core competencies and, in addition, achieve leading positions in their specific area of expertise.” Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna Sports, added: “We’re very excited to have the two top motorcycle road racing series under one roof. We fully expect to develop and strengthen the distinct nature of both MotoGP and WorldSBK as separate properties and remain committed to working with teams and manufacturers, circuit owners, sponsors and broadcasters to give fans the best experience yet.” Commenting on the re-organisation, Bridgepoint said: “This is a logical and exciting development which should ensure that both these fantastic Championships continue to flourish.”

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  • Disappointment for Karun, JRM

    Bahrain, 30 Sept 2012: Indian racing star Karun Chandhok and his JRM Racing’s increasing promise went unrewarded in today’s Six Hours of Bahrain. The #22 HPD ARX-03a driven by David Brabham, Peter Dumbreck and Karun Chandhok had qualified in P3 in the privateers’ class for today’s inaugural FIA World Endurance Championship race in the Middle East and had high hopes of a podium finish, however electrical gremlins hit just a handful of laps into the race.

    Karun Chandhok had started the six hours but the car developed a problem with the chassis electronics inside the one-hour mark. Chandhok was running in a strong 4th place and was setting competitive lap times on old tyres compared his rivals. The team tried to reset all systems but could not fully regain the data needed to run the car. After 50 laps the #22 came into the pits to effect full repairs but after just one lap back on track, this time with Peter Dumbreck, it became clear that the car required more fundamental work.

    The car returned to the garage for the team to conduct repairs and rejoined with one hour 10 minutes remaining, but was forced to retire shortly afterwards. Post race the problem was traced to a faulty loom section, which the team will work to fully resolving prior to the next event in Japan.

    Karun Chandhok, commented, “The race started OK and I was running behind Jonny [Kane]. I was a little bit slower than him, but this was as expected as I was managing the tyres very carefully. Then in my second stint the race started to come to me – I was quicker than the other guys on used tyres and I think we could have had a good race. However very early on in the first stint I lost the power to the dash and the guys had no telemetry, which is critical for the engine and also knowing where we are on fuel consumption. We pitted quite conservatively and lost time as we were caught speeding in the pitlane – the pitlane limiter didn’t work due to the electrical problem. From then on we tried to reset but it didn’t work out. Sometimes it’s like that, unfortunately.

    Nigel Stepney, team manager and chief engineer, said, “What can we say – things happen when we are going well! We are not 100% certain of why the chassis electronics failed in the first instance, but an on-track reset didn’t work and we had to pull the car into the garage to change the control systems. When that proved ineffective, we had lost too many laps to score points so we decided to fully understand the issue so we don’t have a reoccurrence in Fuji.

    James Rumsey, team principal, commented, “It’s disappointing that yet again we couldn’t realise our potential, but as a young team we are learning all the time about the car and its systems. With that comes a certain amount of risk, which we saw today. We will now focus on Fuji and hope that we can finally get a weekend we deserve.

    About JRM

    After winning the 2011 FIA GT1 World Championship with Nissan, The British-based JRM Racing will partner with Honda Performance Developments to enter the brand new FIA World Endurance Championship in the LMP1 class.  JRM Racing will enter a single LMP1 Honda Performance Development ARX-03a powered by a specially designed and tested 3.5-litre naturally aspirated V8 engine. The ARX-03a is currently hailed as the most competitive petrol Le Mans Prototype around.

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  • Clean sweep by Allwyn Jebaz, Ramesh Kumar in Round 4

    Irungattukottai (Chennai), 30 Sept 2012: Round 4 of the 2012 MMSC-SIDVIN FMSCI Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship came to a close with 14 action packed races today and mixed results across the various Championships.

    Day 2 started with the Honda One Make Championship (CBF Stunner Open) where Vivek Mani of Chennai took the win ahead of Rajesh Rathinakumar with S. Madhana Kumar of Trichy rounding out the top 3, with all three riders crossing the finish line within a second of each other. The Honda CBR 150R Open category witnessed another fine ride from Ranchi’s Sumit Lucas Toppo who took the win ahead of Rajesh Rathina Kumar from Chennai while Sudhakar crossed the line 7 seconds off in third. The CBR 250R Open category took place in tricky conditions following a short downpour but it didn’t stop M. Gautam of MotoRev India who took a strong win ahead of K. Rajini, also of MotoRev India, with Sarath Kumar of MP Ten10 Racing completing the podium.

    The TVS MMSC One Make Championship kicked off today with the Apache RTR 180 Novice category where yesterday’s top two finishers battled once again with MD. Intekhab Alam from Chidambaram this time taking the win ahead of Abdul Wahab of Chennai and R. Venkatraman, also from Chennai. The Apache RTR 180 Open category saw another fine performance from Rajesh Rathina Kumar, who has been impressive in various categories through the weekend, this time taking the win ahead of Vivek Mani and S. Padmanabhan, making it an all Chennai podium.

    Yamaha’s MMSC One Make Championship saw riders battle it out in the YZF R15 Open category where Allwyn Jebaz seemed to ride a different race to everyone else in Race 1, crossing the finish line almost 15 seconds ahead of Shyam Shankar and M. Sudhakar who finished in 2nd and 3rd respectively. Race 2 of the Open category was also held today but not much changed for Allwyn Jebaz who made it a clean sweep with another dominant win ahead of Vivek Pillai and Shyam Shankar, once again making it a Chennai 1-2-3. The YZF R15 Novice race saw MD Intekhab Alam from Chidambaram put in an impressive ride once again with a win ahead of Chennai’s Ramesh Kumar and Rahul Rathod of Yavatmal.

    Moving away from the manufacturer’s One Make Championships now where Ramesh Kumar of MotoRev India led his teammate, Meka Vidhuraj from Andhra Pradesh across the line, ahead of Performance Racing’s P. Sandesh in the Group D 165cc Novice category. Race 20 of Round 4 saw riders in the Group D 165cc Novice category battle it out once again with no change in the result as MotoRev India’s Ramesh Kumar came out trumps once again ahead of his teammate, Meka Vidhuraj from Andhra Pradesh while Sandesh .P completed the podium in 3rd.

    Riders in the Group B 165cc Open category faced tricky conditions as the rain came down handing K. Jagan of TVS Racing a unique win under shortened race conditions of only 3 laps with every other rider giving in to the conditions and not seeing the chequered flag.

    The Group D 130cc Novice race witnessed an inspired ride from Jalgaon’s Kamlesh Thakur (Sparks Racing) who crossed the finish line ahead of Chennai riders, Abdul Wahab of TVS Racing and K. Kunal Kumar.

    Mother nature’s sudden downpour dampened proceedings briefly and although great efforts were taken by the MMSC Officials to kickstart proceedings once again, the time delay meant a cancellation of two races, the Group A 600cc Superbikes and Group C 165cc Open category.

    The final round of the INMRC, Round 5, will take place in Chennai on 21-23 December, 2012.

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    Allwyn Jebaz at the Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship on 2nd day of Round 4 on Sunday at Irrungattukottai, near Chennai. All photos from MMRT courtesy Suhail Chandhok, Adrenna Comm.

     

  • Karun Chandhok qualifies in 6th for JRM racing

    Bahrain, 29 Sept 2012: Indian racing star Karun Chandhok and his JRM Racing will start the inaugural Six Hours of Bahrain, the sixth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship, from third in class and sixth on the grid. The HPD ARX 03a was driven by Karun Chandhok for the 20 minute session, with the Indian recording a best time of 1:48.784 on his third lap on track. Yet again the privateer class was fiercely fought, with Karun pipped by just 0.3secs on the last lap by Strakka Racing for second in class.

    The team will now complete its final preparations for the inaugural World Endurance Championship race in the Middle East tomorrow. Six hours of racing round the 5.4km Bahrain International Circuit will kick off at 16.00 local time, with the race starting in sunshine and finishing well into the hours of darkness. JRM Racing will seek to regain ground in the privateers’ championship, in which it is currently third, only six points adrift of second-placed Strakka.

    Karun Chandhok, who has enjoyed success at Silverstone in every series through the years, added, “After practice this morning we thought we were around 0.4secs from Strakka over one lap and in the end we were a little under that. We have chipped away at them all weekend, so we can be quite happy. The gap to the Rebellion is larger than we would have hoped for – it looks like they changed their car for more top speed in qualifying – but if we look at the pace and fuel consumption from Sao Paulo I am optimistic we can match them again in the race.”

    Nigel Stepney, team manager and chief engineer, said, “That was a reasonable session. We aimed to have a day without incident and that’s exactly what we had, which allows us to fully focus on the race tomorrow. All three drivers took part in the final hour of practice this morning, with Karun setting up the car very well for qualifying. We’ll now look at the information we’ve gathered and combine with the data we have on tyre wear and see what we can do in the race. The challenge will be to manage the tyres; the surface is very abrasive here to compensate for the sand on track so getting the tyre wear correct – and matched with fuel consumption – will be key to a good result.”

    James Rumsey, team principal, commented, “We can be quite happy with P6 on the grid and third in class today. We are close to the other privateers, which bodes very well for a close fight tomorrow. Getting everything right and putting performance, reliability and strategy together in the race is our aim so we can deliver the result we have been aiming for – and promising – since Silverstone.”

    You can watch live streaming of the Race at www.fiawec.com starting 6:30PM on Saturday

    About JRM

    After winning the 2011 FIA GT1 World Championship with Nissan, The British-based JRM Racing will partner with Honda Performance Developments to enter the brand new FIA World Endurance Championship in the LMP1 class.  JRM Racing will enter a single LMP1 Honda Performance Development ARX-03a powered by a specially designed and tested 3.5-litre naturally aspirated V8 engine. The ARX-03a is currently hailed as the most competitive petrol Le Mans Prototype around.

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    Karun Chandhok helps his team JRM Racing qualify in sixth. Adrenna photo
  • Zuhin showcases Subaru in IRC class; Lohitt-Sujit win INRC K1000

    Zuhin showcases Subaru in IRC class; Lohitt-Sujit win INRC K1000

    By David Bodapati

    Bangalore, 23 Sept 2012: Team Kajah Motorsports’ A Zuhin and co-driver Musa Sherif showcased the beauty of a `beast’ as they drove their 4-wheel-drive Subaru Impreza in the foreign class of the Indian Rally Championship to clock the overall best time in the spectator-friendly Super Special Stage which attracted a crowd of over 5,000 fans at the Bangalore International Exhibition Grounds on Tumkur road here on Sunday.

    They were a couple of seconds faster than the Indian National Rally Championship 2012 winner Lohitt Urs and co-driver Sujith Kumar BS of Team PGA Motorsports. The Mysore star stole the thunder to put in two laps of stunning drifts and a daring dash on the straights with his Bangalore navigator BS Sujit Kumar in their Mitsubishi Cedia to comfortably win the IMG Sports 38th K-1000 rally, the first leg of the Indian National Rally Championship. The Horizon-sponsored team clocked 2 minutes 55.2 seconds to cover the 2.6 km SSS in the 2000cc N class while Amittrajit Ghosh and co-driver Ashwin Naik had to be content with a second place. The Kolkata-Mangalore pair clocked 3 minutes. Karna Kadur and co-driver Somonnita Ghosh, the only lady driver in the championship, finished. Karna-Ghosh timed 3 min 02 seconds.

    Zuhin displays his skills in a Subaru Impreza at the K1000 in Bangalore on Sunday. Photo by Anand Philar
    Zuhin displays his skills in a Subaru Impreza at the K1000 in Bangalore on Sunday. Photo by Anand Philar

    “We really enjoyed the rally this year as the stages were challenging and demanding with the stock cars and pace notes really made a difference. The credit should go to my navigator Sujit,”said Lohitt Urs. The Karnataka Motor Sports Club-organised first leg will be followed by Mysore, Chikmagalur and Nashik for this year’s four-leg national championship.

    Team Kajah Motorsports’ A Zuhin and celebrated Navigator Musa Sherif had a good run today, even if it is only for a few minutes. “Unlike the stages yesterday, we were able to manouvre the 4-wheel drive and get the power to the ground. It is a joy to drive this car,” quipped Zuhin from Kuttikanam.

    In the 1600cc category of the Indian National Rally Championship, Aditya S and co-driver Kariyappa KB put paid to the hopes of veteran Siddharth Ragnekar and Nitin Jacob. Prakhyat H Shirole and co-driver SM Bharath finished third in the class.

    Young talented teenager Dean Mascarenhas impressed with his driving skills and along with navigator Shruptha Padiwal was street ahead of their nearest rivals to win the Junior INRC. The Mangalore duo thrilled the spectators in their Esteem today with their slides and drifts.  Karan AM (co-driver Shanmuga SM) came second while Vineet Tom Vincent and Sob George finished third.

    Out of the 41 cars which started the rally only 25 managed to finish.

    Provisional final classifications:

    INC: Zuhin A / Musa Sherif (Kajah Motorsports) 1 (1hr, 27mins, 27.7secs).

    INRC (Group N, 2000cc): Lohitt Urs / Sujith Kumar (PGA Motorsports) 1 (01:25:40.6); Amittrajit Ghosh / Ashwin Naik 2 (01:26:17.3); Karna Kadur / Somonita Ghosh 3 (01:26:51.8).

    INRC (Group N, 1600cc): Aditya S / Kariappa KB 1 (01:36:06.2); Siddharth Ranganekar / Nitin Jacob 2 (01:36:20.8); Prakhyat H Shirole/ SM Bharath  3 (01:38:19.1).

    Junior INRC: Dean Mascarenhas / Shruptha Padiwal 1 (01:30:24.8); Karan AM / Shanmuga SM 2 (01:35:52.6); Vineet Tom Vincent / Sob George 3 (01:39:05.8).

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    Lohitt V Urs and co-driver Sujith Kumar BS win the opening round in INRC K1000 on Sunday. Photo by Anand Philar.
    Lohitt V Urs and co-driver Sujith Kumar BS win the opening round in INRC K1000 on Sunday. Photo by Anand Philar.

  • Parth wins agains: Formula Pilota

    Guangdong (China), 16 Sept 2012: Young Indian racer Parth Ghorpade capped off a great weekend at Round 4 of the 2012 Formula Pilota Championship when he dominated Race 3 at the Guangdong International Circuit. This was his second win of the weekend which puts him 3rd in the overall championship and 1stin the Asian category. Parth qualified on pole for Race 3 finished more than 5 seconds ahead of the second placed driver. Parth had earlier taken his maiden win when he won Race 1 a day earlier

    Parth Ghorpade who won two races in Formula Pilota in China. Adrenna Comm photo.

    Parth converted his maiden pole into a lights to flag finish in Race 3. The storming drive saw him finish 5 secs ahead of his teammates Antonio Giovinazzi and Sean Galeal, to make it another podium lockout for Team Eurasia. Along the way he set the fastest lap of 1:14:318secs to make it a perfect race with pole, fastest lap and the win.  The 2 wins this weekend puts him in the lead of the Asian class and 3rd overall with 6 races to go.

    After winning his first race from 4th on the grid a delighted Parth commented, “This has been an amazing weekend for me and the most dominant race of my career. Every driver dreams of qualifying on pole, setting the fastest lap and winning the race so the result is perfect for me. The start was important and once I was ahead I tried to pull away as much as possible. I would like to thank Eurasia for giving me a great car this weekend. We still have two more race weekends in Sepang to go so will give it my all. A special thank you to my sponsors Karvy without whom I would not be here.”

    18 year old Ghorpade is a five-time National Karting Champion, runner-up in the inaugural 2010 Volkswagen Polo Cup India, and recently competed in the Renault F4 series in 2011, finishing in the top five multiple times.

  • Massa leads parade of Ferraris, a world `record’

    Silverstone, 15 Sept 2012:  Although it has not yet been officially ratified as a Guinness World Record, there’s no doubt that today, a new world record was established for the biggest parade of Ferraris ever organised. 964 Ferraris took to the Silverstone circuit to beat the previous record of 490 cars dating back to 2008 at Japan’s Fuji Speedway Circuit, according to a Ferrari release.

    Felipe Massa was the guest of honour, leading the parade at the wheel of a 458 Spider. “It was a really unforgettable experience,” commented the Scuderia Ferrari race driver, against a backdrop of the 800 cars. It’s a great honour for me to be here for such a special event, with so many cars all brought together on one race track, which produced an unprecedented spectacle for all Prancing Horse fans.”

    It was a truly memorable scene with over 900 Ferraris from all over the UK and further afield at Silverstone circuit as part of the Ferrari Racing Days. This ambitious attempt was successful in no small part thanks to the cooperation of the British Ferrari Owners Club and it was all in a good cause, as Ferrari donated £5 for every car in the parade to BEN, a British charity that supports employees from the motor industry and their family.

    Also taking part in the parade was Marc Gene, who is attending the event as a special coach for drivers taking part in the F1 Clienti programmes. There was also an opportunity for spectators to admire the entire range of Ferrari cars, including the very latest model the F12 berlinetta, the most powerful road car every built by the Maranello marque.

    All the necessary conditions were met for a world record to be ratified and put before the Guinness World Records Limited Comission, who will confirm the record by the end of next week.

    Massa leads a parade of Ferraris at Silverstone on Saturday 15 Sept 2012. Ferrari photo.

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  • Parth wins in China: Formula Pilota

    Guangdong (China), 15 Sept 2012: Young Indian racer Parth Ghorpade continued his great start to Round 4 of the 2012 Formula Pilota Championship when he won Race 1 at the Guangdong International Circuit. This was his first win in an international series and moves him to third in the championship. Parth finished only in 8th position in Race 2 when he was hit from the back by Ren Nagabuchi in the first corner and had to recover after that.

    Starting P4, Parth had a terrific start and was able to make his way through to P1 at the end of the first lap. He crossed the first lap in the lead which he was able to control till the end of the 18 lap race. He came under pressure from Ren Nagabuchi in the middle half of the race, but was able to pull away in the last 4 laps to secure his maiden win in Formula Pilota. The two front runners were able to establish a considerable lead over the rest of the pack and by lap 6 it had become a two-way battle for the win. The win was Parths 3rd consecutive podium in the overall class and 4th in the Asian class.

    In Race 2, Parth started P3 , but was hit from behind in the first corner by Nagabuchi whom he had got past off the start  line. The collsion launched him into the lead car of Dan Wells, who recovered without major damage, but the damage to Parth’s car was severe and he had to nurse it home to 8th place. It was a dissappointing end to the day as he just had to clear the first corner and could have cruised to a podium in the short 10 lap race.

    After winning his first race from 4th on the grid a delighted Parth commented, “This is probably the biggest achievement in my international racing career and hope it is the first of many. We have been close in many races but have not managed to step on the top step of the podium. I had one of my best starts of the season and managed to end the first lap in front. It was a good battle with Ren but managed to stay ahead of him. It was a shame that I got hit in Race 2 as the car was really good. This win is down to all the hard work put in so happy that it has paid off. I would like to thank my family and sponsors for making this possible. I will now turn my focus to the rest of the weekend and try to gain as many points as possible.”

    18 year old Ghorpade is a five-time National Karting Champion, runner-up in the inaugural 2010 Volkswagen Polo Cup India, and recently competed in the Renault F4 series in 2011, finishing in the top five multiple times.

    ends

    Parth Ghorpade of India wins the race in China to climb to the third position in the Formula Pilota Championship. Photo by Adrenna Communications.