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Tag: Arjun Maini
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Arjun Maini raring to go at the Red Bull ring in Styria
Spielberg (Austria) 3 Sept. 2021: Mercedes-AMG driver Arjun Maini will enter the fifth round with confidence after his good performance at the Nürburgring, where he got into the points for the first time scoring two valuable points in the 2021 DTM Championship after suffering initial hiccups which are not under his control.
After enduring a difficult start to his campaign, due in part to a series of o-track incidents, the Omega Seiki and JKTyre-backed Bengaluru driver finally broke his points-scoring duck with a stellar performance at the legendary Nürburgring race circuit.
Racing for the all-new GetSpeed DTM team, Arjun, the elder of the two Maini brothers, managed to bring his Mercedes GT3 racecar home in 10th at the conclusion of Race 1, in turn becoming the first Indian to score points in Germany’s apex racing championship.
“The last two races were fantastic and were an accurate reflection of my pace,” Maini said.
“I haven’t had the cleanest of weekends up until that point so it was good to finally have an incident-free weekend where I was able to bring home a solid amount of points. This marked GetSpeed’s first points in the series as well so it definitely was a memorable affair.
“Looking ahead I have fond memories of the Red Bull Ring and I hope I can build on my previous weekend and experience by bringing home some more points. The circuit’s undulations will be tricky to master but I’m confident about the preparation both the team and I have made in the lead up to this weekend,” he said about the circuit at Styria.After a few years’ absence, the DTM is making its comeback in Styria in 2021. The Red Bull Ring is located in Spielberg in the beautiful Murtal valley. The track is following the topography of the landscape, so that there is a lot of undulation. From the hotel located on the hill above the track, there is an unparalleled view, not only of the race track, but over the wide valley! The entire circuit facility is state-of-the-art and very nice, significantly contributing to the positive overall experience for visitors. Fascinating race cars are on display in the large welcome building, exclusive merchandise items can be purchased in the shop. Of course, in typical Styrian hospitality tradition, a wide variety of food is available, too, from tasty Leberkäse rolls via Wiener Schnitzel up a to delicious Kaiserschmarrn.
The weekend will get underway this Friday, August 3rd with the two practice sessions, with Qualifying 1 and Race 1 taking place on Saturday, August 4th, and Qualifying 2 and Race 2 concluding the weekend on Sunday, August 5th.
The full schedule can be viewed below and the qualifying sessions and races can be viewed live on Autocar India’s YouTube channel here.
Saturday Sept 4”
Qualy 1: 1.50 pm IST
Race `1: 5.00 pm IST
Sunday Sept 5th
Qualy 2: 1.50 pm IST
Race 2: 5.00 pm IST -
Arjun Maini delivers at Nurburgring to get 8 points: DTM
Nurburgring (Germany), 22 August 2021: Mercedes-AMG driver Arjun Maini finally got his DTM Championship going finishing both the races in points here on Saturday and Sunday. Starting on P12, Maini finished Race 1 in 10th to bag two points while he got 6 points in Race 2 after starting on P14 and finishing 13th.
Race 2 was won by Alex Albon of Alphatauri AF Corse while Kelvin van der Linde, the Championship leader at the half-way stage won Race 1.
Arjun Maini who clocked 1:27.996 in FP 1 after a very useful 27 laps was less than half a second off the pace of the fastest man Vincent Abri who clocked 1:27.480. In FP2, Maini did another 27 laps to better understand the circuit and the car and was again upto pace posting his best time of 1:27.620 which is just off 0.419 off the top car. He clocked 1:28.224 in Race 1 and was +52.788 after one pit stop in Race 2 (1:28.472).
A delighted Maini said: “I’m ecstatic with how the weekend went and it is nice to be back in points and I hope to steer clear and look forward to the second-half of the season.” After four rounds, Arjun Maini is in 15th place in the overall standings with 8 points ahead of Timo Glock of Rowe Racing.
The Bengaluru racing ace marked yet another milestone to become the first Indian to score points in the DTM Championship. Maini showed tremendous maturity by finishing 10th and a career-best seventh at the two races held at the legendary race circuit. After enduring a series of unfortunate incidents, the Mercedes-AMG star finally had a race weekend devoid of any on-track misfortune and he delivered a steady and measured drive to get valuable points.
Arjun Maini at Nurburgring on Sunday. Racing for the GetSpeed team, Maini struggled to put an Ideal lap manage P12 for Race 1 grid. The Indian made a tremendous getaway, making a few places, as the cars made their way around the first lap. However, an incident involving fellow Mercedes star Max Bukh brought out the Safety Car, which meant that the Indian had it to do all again. The restart saw Maini make up yet more positions with the Indian establishing himself in the top 10.
Unfortunately, tyre wear issues hampered Maini’s progress and he was forced to nurse his car home to a 10th place race finish.
A wet Qualifying 2 session saw Maini take P14 as he was piloting his GT3 racecar for the first time in wet-weather conditions. Despite his best efforts, Maini failed to qualify inside the top 10 and had a mountain to climb during the second race but managed to get into points again..
The race ultimately proved to be a chaotic as it saw nine cars retire. it was a shrewd call from Maini’s GetSpeed racing team that proved to make the difference as an early and well-executed pit-stop saw Maini make up a host of positions over the duration of the race and eventually claim his best result in the gruelling German race series.
“It’s been a long timing coming and I’m happy to have finally scored my first points in DTM. Obviously, a lot of credit has to go to the team at GetSpeed, I think our pit-stop was the second-fastest of the weekend and if it wasn’t for their tireless effort, this result would not have been possible,” said Maini who is backed by Omega Seiki Mobility and JK.Tyre.
“In fact, I think sixth was a definite possibility. There was the incident with Mike Rockenfeller, that cost us a lot of time and by the end of the race, I was gaining on Lucas Auer who finished only a second ahead of me.
“Nonetheless I look forward to the next round at the Red Bull Ring and I hope this weekend proves to be an inflection point for the rest of the season.”
Arjun Maini, who shifted focus to endurance racing told this writer earlier that his love and passion for this long-format has been increasing by the day and he is really caught the endurance bug. “F1 is not my target anymore. I enjoy taking part in Endurance races and look forward to making it to the Le Mans.”
He started his DTM career with the first round in Monza where he finished 13th in Race 1 and 18th in Race 2. In Round 2 at lausitzring, he finished 14th after a good qualifying stint which put him on P6 but he suffered mechanical issues. In Race 2, he finished 12th starting from P9. The third at Circuit Zolder saw Arjun Maini suffer misfortune which was not in his hands as he had his first DNC after P15 in qualification and the car was so badly damaged and could not be readied for Race 2. And it took Round 4 in Nurburgring here to bring him back to racing and he delivered with points.
The next 2 races will be September 4 to 5 at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.
Race 2 report:
Arjun Maini finished Race 2 in 13th after a penalty. Earlier, Alex Albon scored his maiden victory in DTM at the Nürburgring, the second win for Ferrari in history of the series. In an action-packed race, the Thai driver, who had started from pole position, stayed away from all the incidents and won in dominant fashion. Red Bull’s replacement Formula 1 driver is the sixth winner from eight DTM races held so far this season. In dry, good weather conditions, Spaniard Daniel Juncadella with the Mercedes-AMG of the GruppeM team and two-time DTM champion Marco Wittmann with the Walkenhorst Motorsport BMW rounded out the podium.
After eight of 16 races, Kelvin van der Linde of the ABT Sportsline Audi team is the unofficial ‘half-time champion’ of the 2021 DTM, although, on Sunday, the South African failed to score points for the first time this year after a collision with Liam Lawson and Mike Rockenfeller in the chicane. With 129 points, Kelvin van der Linde is starting the second half of the season as the leader in the drivers’ standings. His margin over Maximilian Götz (96) decreased to 33 points. Third in the standings is now Wittmann (94), Albon (82) has moved up to fourth place.
Porsche, meanwhile, had bad luck during its DTM début. Like on Saturday, Michael Ammermüller didn’t make it to the finish with the 911 run by SSR Performance, but had clearly shown the potential with fourth place on the starting grid. 19-year-old Belgian Esteban Muth scored the best result of the season for Lamborghini so far with fifth place. Ex-Formula 1 driver Timo Glock finally scored his first championship points of the season with the ROWE Racing BMW.
“Today, that was a really good day for my team and for myself,” Albon said after becoming the first DTM race winner from Thailand. “The team has been working hard overnight and that paid off. Today, we have made a step forward, we want to carry over this momentum.” The Red Bull Ferrari combination by AF Corse is the first team to have won races with both its drivers, Albon and Lawson, this year.
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Arjun Maini hoping to build on his experience before DTM Round 2
Lausitz (Germany), 23 July 2021: Mercedes AMG racing driver Arjun Maini is looking to secure his first points of the season as the DTM visits the popular Lausitzring track for the second round of the 2021 championship.
The Omega Seiki Mobility and J.K.Tyre backed driver had a baptism of fire, having had limited testing in the lead up to the first race of the season and a DNF ultimately ending his weekend prematurely. Nevertheless, Maini gained valuable experience over the course of the race weekend, and with his GT debut now firmly in the rearview mirror, the Indian will be looking to build on his experience as looks to secure his first points of the season.
Speaking about this weekend’s event Maini stated, “I’m looking forward to this race. The track is going to be interesting because going into Turn 1 we will be using the oval banking while the rest of the track remains the standard GP layout.
“The set-up will be key as everyone will have to compromise somewhere, though I am confident the boys at GetSpeed will be able to work around any constraints. Obviously pre-season testing here went well for me, however, with the new layout, which is challenging for everyone, it will be interesting to see how the weekend progresses.
“As always I’d like to thank my partners OSM, J.K.Tyre and Mercedes AMG who are all playing a crucial role in helping me build my experience in the DTM, as the days progress I am feeling more confident in the Mercedes AMG GT3 race car and I am confident that a strong result is right around the corner.”
As touched on by Maini, the Lausitzring track is famous for its banked turn 1, which is reminiscent of the final turn at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The weekend is set to get underway this Friday, July 23, with the qualifying and races themselves taking place on Saturday, July 24, and Sunday, July 25.
The sessions will be broadcasted live in India on https://www.youtube.com/user/autocarindia1.Saturday
Qualifying1: 14:00
Race 1: 17:00
Sunday
Qualifying 2: 13:40
Race 2: 17:00 -
Arjun Maini becomes first Indian to race in DTM GT3
Monza, 20 June 2021: Mercedes-AMG driver Arjun Maini had a baptism of fire during the first round of the DTM championship held at the Monza race track in Italy this weekend. Maini became the first Indian to race in the DTM championship.
Omega Seiki Mobility (OSM) and J.K.Tyre Motorsport backed racing driver Arjun Maini had a difficult start to his DTM campaign as the rookie faced a stern challenge against the championship’s more experienced campaigners.
The Indian had to deal with the added burden of having to adjust his driving style to suit the requirements of a GT3 racecar with very limited testing, after spending the last few seasons in Endurance Racing competing in the LMP2 class. Further Maini only had two practice sessions of 45 minutes each to acclimatize to both the circuit and racecar.
Racing for the GetSpeed team, Maini made steady progress over the course of the weekend with the Indian feeling more comfortable in his Mercedes AMG GT3 car as the sessions progressed.
The highpoint of Maini’s weekend came in Race 2 when he was locked in a battle with Mercedes stablemate Vincent Abril (who finished second in Race 1) before a mechanical failure ended his weekend prematurely.
“Today [Sunday] we were fighting for points before we had to retire with an ABS issue,” Maini explained.
“We had a Good start and we were Three Cars Side by side between Turn 1 and 2 . I held on to my Position but a small contact at that point caused the final failure later on in the race.”
“We had good pace in the second race and there was definitely significant progress made over the course of the weekend.”
“Becoming the first Indian to race in the DTM for me personally was a very special moment. While the final result may not have been what we wanted, I am proud of the progress we made as a team and we will regroup and come back stronger for the next round.”
Considering Maini has essentially missed an entire year’s worth of racing in Europe due to the ongoing pandemic, and the fact that there is a learning curve for even the most experienced of drivers given the shift to GT3 specification, Maini’s weekend could be classified as a success.
The second round of the DTM Championship will take place at the Lausitzring in Germany on 23rd and 24th of July. The Mercedes-AMG driver has previously tested on this circuit meaning he should be in contention to score his first points in the series. -
Ace Indian driver Arjun Maini confident of good show: DTM series
Monza (Italy), 16 June 2021: Mercedes-AMG driver Arjun Maini is confident of a good season ahead of the opening round of the revamped 2021 DTM series, scheduled to take place at the Monza race circuit in Italy between June 18-20. When quizzed at a press conference today about the probable contenders for the championship, the 23-year-old Indian driver backed himself to be the surprise performance of the season.
The Bangalore-based racer, who is supported by JK Racing, has recorded a series of firsts for Indians racing abroad, and with his foray into DTM is set to become the first Indian to compete full-time in the series. His debut DTM season with Mercedes-AMG backed GetSpeed racing team will mark a new challenge in Maini’s career after his previous expeditions in the FIA Formula 2 championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LMP2 category.
Speaking about his upcoming debut Maini commented, “I’m delighted to be back racing full-time after the lockdowns affected my 2020 season. I have been wanting to race in DTM since 2015, when I was still in Formula 3, so it feels a bit surreal to finally be able to make my debut. Competing in the series certainly won’t be easy but it’s the challenge that makes this experience so exciting for me.”
Talking about the season opener, Maini, highlighted the importance of tire management at Monza. “I personally love Monza as a circuit, and I think it’s always great for racing. However, the higher temperatures this weekend will result in tire degradation. So, it won’t be a flat-out sprint race, as tire management will be more important.”
Maini also extended thanks to his partners for their support, “As always I’d like to thank my partners for helping me tick another milestone off my bucket list. I wouldn’t have gotten here without the help of my longtime supporter J.K.Tyre who have been with me since my Formula 4 days. I would also like to welcome my latest partner Mumbai Falcons who I’m honored to say have supported my vision of becoming the first Indian to stand on a DTM podium.”
“Finally, I’d like to thank Mercedes-AMG and GetSpeed for giving me the opportunity to race one of these beasts. The Mercedes AMG GT3 race car is enthralling to drive, and I can’t wait to see what happens once the lights turn green on race day.”
DTM is Germany’s premier racing series, with pre-covid track attendance figures topping over 60 thousand on race day. An added dynamic to look out for this year is the championship’s technical overhaul, which now sees the introduction of the powerful and exciting GT3 class of racing cars.
This means that while the series will continue featuring the German triumvirate of Mercedes, BMW, and Audi, this year’s championship will now also welcome Italian stallions Ferrari and Lamborghini along with British stalwarts McLaren.
The 2021 DTM series will be broadcasted live in India at Autocar India’s YouTube channel – https://www.youtube.com/autocarindia1
Race Schedule – Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, June 19-20.Saturday
Qualifying: 14:00
Race 1: 17:00
Sunday
Qualifying: 13:40
Race 2: 17:00
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It is a good learning process for me, says Arjun Maini ahead of DTM season
Lausitzring, 6 May 2021: Arjun Maini, who is set to race for the Mercedes-AMG Performance Team GetSpeed in the upcoming 2021 DTM season at the wheel of the Mercedes-AMG GT3 expressed that he is looking forward to seeing how he goes up against the best, during an official DTM virtual media conference on Thursday, “One thing that I have had to get used to is the small margin for error. Even a small mistake can cost you and of course the level of the drivers is extremely incredible, like it always is in DTM. And I think the main thing is going to be that we cannot afford to make any mistakes throughout the season. I am looking forward to seeing how I can go up against the best.”
Maini, who is backed by JK Racing and Mumbai Falcons so far , has completed a three-day pre-season test in Lausitzring, Germany from May 4 to 6, further added that he has shown a lot of improvement since the first time he drove a DTM car, “It’s been a really good learning process for me. The team has been absolutely great while helping me get up to speed with the car and the way everything works, and also adjusting the car a bit to my driving style. I have shown a lot of improvement since the first time I drove. We have been focussing on our own program so far and it’s going really well.”
Maini posted the fastest time in testing over the two and a half days so far but when asked about it said that the real times will come out in Qualifying at the First Race in Monza.
The 23-year-old expressed that it’s a privilege for him to be a part of DTM and the Mercedes AMG family with the support from the GetSpeed team, “I first saw the DTM atmosphere when I was racing in Formula 3 in 2015 and you could realize how big it was already back then. It’s a massive privilege for me to be a part of DTM and the Mercedes AMG family with the support from the GetSpeed team. I am really looking forward to getting the season going with a lot of support coming in from home.”
The racer, who will be taking part in eight rounds (16 races) in the series, which will be held across Europe from June 2021 to October 2021, said that he is looking forward to making the DTM series more popular in India.
“It’ll be great to have a race in India sometime in the future. With me in the race, I think a lot of Indians will start following the DTM series and I think this series will be quite interesting and different for them. This type of racing is not quite well known as of now in India, so I am looking forward to making it popular for the Indian people and hopefully entertain them,” said Maini. -
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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Arjun Maini signs up for Mercedes team GetSpeed for DTM season
Bengaluru, 25 March 2021: Ace Indian racer Arjun Maini, who is announced as a Mercedes-AMG Driver, will race for the Mercedes-AMG Performance Team GetSpeed in the upcoming 2021 DTM season at the wheel of the Mercedes-AMG GT3, which will consist of 8 Rounds with 16 races across Germany and rest of Europe.
The 23-year, a former Haas F1 Team Development Driver who is currently backed by JK Racing will compete in the series and will become the first Indian to compete in DTM full-time, adding to his burgeoning list of firsts for Indians in motorsport.
“I am absolutely delighted to be driving for Mercedes-AMG with Getspeed in DTM. My first real experience of the championship came in 2015 when I was competing in Formula 3 and we drove on the same weekend as DTM. The Atmosphere was something I had never experienced before. I feel privileged to finally live out one of my dreams. The series enjoys a fine reputation around the world and is the perfect opportunity for me to test myself against rapid GT3 drivers. The icing on the cake is obviously the fact that I will be racing in the championship with one of the best Car brands on the planet. Mercedes-AMG needs no introduction and I’m looking forward to what I hope will be a long and successful partnership,” Maini said.
Martin Schwenk, Managing Director and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India:
The Car Arjun Maini will be racing this season! “It’s a moment of immense pride and excitement for us at Mercedes-Benz India, that Arjun Maini is participating in the upcoming 2021 DTM season, driving the thrilling Mercedes-AMG GT3 for Mercedes-AMG Performance Team GetSpeed. He will be the first Indian to compete in the DTM and it is highly satisfying to see Indian racers making their impressive mark by competing against the very best of motorsports talents across the world. At the highest levels of internationally acclaimed motorsports events like the DTM, this accomplishment by Arjun is indeed inspiring for aspiring and budding motorsports talents in the country.”
GetSpeed Performance operates from the business park at the Nürburgring and will line up in the DTM in the 2021 season.
The venture into the DTM heralds a new chapter for GetSpeed. “This is the first time we have been able to focus exclusively on one driver in the car in a performance-oriented series,” says team Principal Adam Osieka. “This is a very pleasant situation, as we have previously always had to juggle the drivers’ different preferences in one car at endurance races. In the DTM, there is no need to make compromises. I am expecting exciting races and top-class motorsport.”
Maini started his racing career on the karting scene in 2006. He won the Indian junior championship in 2011 and took part in the ‘One from a Billion ‘Hunt, which was run by former Formula 1 team Force India. As the winner, he was given the opportunity to race karts in Europe. In 2013, he switched to single-seater racing, in which he enjoyed success in the F4 British Championship. He ended the season in second place, just three points behind teammate and current Formula 1 driver George Russell. 23-year-old Maini’s career took him, via the Formula 3 European Championship and the GP3 Series, into the FIA Formula 2 Championship, in which he drove in 2018 and 2019. In 2019/2020, he raced in the European Lemans Series and in the 24 Hours of lemans. In the Asian Le Mans Series, the team won the LMP2-at the 4-hour race in Shanghai, in Class.
GetSpeed Performance has been a permanent fixture on the international GT3 scene since 2019. The racing outfit from Meuspath, near the Nürburgring, has its roots firmly in the Nürburgring-Nordschleife. Since 2013, the team has enjoyed success in the Nürburgring Endurance Series and at the Nürburgring 24 Hours. Two years ago, the team switched to Mercedes-AMG and GetSpeed became an official Performance Team after just one year. As well as outings on the Nordschleife, the team has also contested races in the GT World Challenge Europe, International GT Open and the German GT4 Championship over the past two years.
The DTM will feature GT3 cars for the first time in 2021. A race weekend comprises two free practice sessions on the Friday, followed by a qualifying and a one-hour race – including a pit stop – on both the Saturday and the Sunday. The opening round of the season takes place from 18th to 20th June 2021 in Monza, Italy. The series then visits the Norisring (2nd to 4th July), Lausitzring (23rd to 25th July), Zolder (6th to 8th August), Nürburgring (20th to 22nd August), Red Bull Ring (3rd to 5th September) and Assen (17th to 19th September), before the Hockenheimring hosts the grand finale from 1st to 3rd October.
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NK (Narain Karthikeyan) Racing Academy seals Sr National title on debut
Bengaluru,12 Jan 2021 : The ROTAX MAX National Karting Championship 2020 concluded here at the Meco Kartopia was dominated by NK Racing Academy drivers by the very rapid brothers Arjun and Kush Maini, a press release said here on Tuesday.
The CRG factory team founded and operated by India’s first Formula One driver Narain Karthikeyan ran five KT2 karts in the Senior MAX category.
It was yet another dominant stint for the team after its strong revival during the first two rounds of the Championship. The weekend begun with the very fast Kush Maini re-entering the Championship battle on Round 3, bagging pole position and the win closely followed by his brother Arjun Maini, the LMP2 driver who will represent India in the Asian Le Mans series with drivers Naveen Rao and Narain Karthikeyan himself.The academy rookie drivers Divy Nandan from Delhi and David Ryan from Chennai displayed strong pace as well, finishing P10 and P11 respectively with Sohil Shah was yet again, the reserve driver for the team running the fifth kart finishing P8 in the race with some strong moves in the race.
Round 4 was a very similar story with Kush Maini and Arjun Maini dominating qualifying 1-2 and the pre-final, final races. David Ryan put an impressive show making some moves to finish P8 while Divy Nandan placed P10 after losing out at the start. There was a change in the reserve driver line-up where, Sohil Shah was replaced by Nigel Abraham Thomas, who got to grips with the new kart immediately and put an impressive show at P6.
The Final Round of the Championship concluded with Arjun Maini winning both drivers and the team Championship with a dominant 31 points lead . Sohil Shah was back in the seat and performed remarkably finishing P7. The Rookie drivers David and Divy sailed home in P8 and P10 with the latter running Engine problems towards the end.Self help is the best help, drivers are expected to know their machine and are also expected to talk and give feedback to their engineers and mechs. Photo By Shajahan
Thus, NK Racing academy capped of a dominat debut season and gave CRG its first championship in India. Narain said “We achieved what we set out to do, most importantly in the development of young drivers from India. Also it was a great effort from CRG in giving us a dominant chassis specially made for our Indian track conditions.“NK Racing Academy is proudly supported by Usha International Pvt Ltd., Exgel Motorsport and Turtle Wax.
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Dominant victory on Asian Le Mans Series debut for Arjun Maini’s team
Arjun Maini in Shanghai. Photo from JK Tyre Shanghai, 25 Nov 2019: Superlative race performances from India’s JK Racing backed Arjun Maini, Canada’s John Farano and New Zealand’s Andy Higgins assured RLR MSport of the LMP2 Am Trophy victory in the season-opening 4 Hours of Shanghai that places the British team at the head of the fight for an automatic entry to the 88th 24 Hours of Le Mans in June 2020.
Arjun Maini of RLR MSport topped the charts in private testing and maintained a significant advantage over its LMP2 Am rivals in free practice to go into qualifying as the favourite for pole position.
However, a string of track limits infringements prompted stewards to delete the team’s best qualification times, and a 1m57.841s, set by Maini on a cautious banker lap, resigned the squad to second in class.
From the front row of the LMP2 Am grid, Maini made a clean start and quickly relieved the #4 ARC Bratislava entry of the lead.
The young Indian racer made good on his escape, consistently lapping between two and four seconds quicker than his nearest rival to build a massive advantage and break ranks by getting in among the LMP2 Pro runners.
Having risen to third place overall during an extraordinary 50-minute stint, Maini gave way to Farano in the first round of scheduled stops.
The Canadian Am managed the race well and breached the 2m05s barrier during a fault-free stint to keep RLR MSport at the top, but the team’s 40-second lead turned into a 40-second deficit after the second round of driver-changes.
The 3-member RLR MSport team, including Arjun Maini, which won the race at Shanghai. RLR MSport switched Farano for Higgins under green-flag conditions shortly before a protracted Full Course Yellow-Safety Car period, which presented ARC Bratislava with an opportunity to minimise its time in the pits and take the lead.
In an attempt to recover the lost ground, RLR MSport reinstalled Maini and fitted the #59 ORECA 05 with fresh tyres, only for the #4 car to grind to a halt with one hour remaining.
From there, the team had a clear run at the top step of the podium; Maini and Higgins drove consistently during outstanding stints to finish seventh overall and take a dominant LMP2 Am victory on RLR MSport’s maiden outing in the burgeoning Asian Le Mans Series
Maini said:“I’m quite happy with the result and my performance, although the victory came harder than expected. We were unlucky with the timing of the first Full Course Yellow, but I was actually disappointed that ARC Bratislava retired – I wanted to pass them on-track, because we were in a strong position to do so with our pace and strategy. However, it was a good fight, Andy (Higgins) did a great job in his maiden LMP2 race and John (Farano) performed brilliantly in his first competitive outing with the ORECA 05, and it’s comforting to know that we can make more progress with the car next time out in Australia.”
