INDIA in F1

Tag: Brands Hatch

  • Rain-master Jaden Pariat qualifies in superb P5: British F4 Championship

    Rain-master Jaden Pariat qualifies in superb P5: British F4 Championship

    Brands Hatch (England) 6 May 2023: Indian racing talent Jaden R Pariat’s valiant effort in wet conditions got him a superb P5 in the qualifying session of the ROKiT British F4 Championship here on Saturday.

    Saturday morning saw a curtailed, wet qualifying session which set the grids for the first and third races of this weekend’s schedule. Jaden put a lap in the bank anticipating more rain and also did a second best lap that put him on P5 for Race 3. The first race of Sunday, Race 2 will see a reverse grid. Each round has three races and after the opener in Donington Park where Jaden secured a podium in Race 2, Saturday’s race was the fourth of the 30-race season. Two more races will be held on Sunday and dry conditions are predicted.

    “We had a solid qualifying today, followed by a very eventful race. I took to the track in the midst of a slight drizzle and it was all about banking a lap in-case the rain intensified. Happily my time was good enough for fifth fastest. My second fastest time got me P7 for Race 1. There was a bit more left in the tank and pole was only three tenths up the road, so we were in the mix,” said the 16-year Indian after the qualifying session.

    “I got a bit of a wheel-spin off the line on the damp surface and dropped a few places. In trying to make-up places, I made a move into Turn 1 causing me to have contact with another driver, so I lost our front wing and I had to pit,” the Shillong-born Jaden, added.

    The karting sensation, who made Bengaluru his home for better part last year, before shifting to England for a full season in the British F4 championship this year narrated how he fought back gaining five places after his pit-stop. “The team did a good job to get me back out and, when the race restarted with five minutes on the clock, I made some decent progress, gaining five places in two laps. Sadly, I ran out of time to gain further places. Let’s see what tomorrow brings,” he concluded.

    Jaden finally finished 12th. He will start P13 in Race 2 on Sunday but watch-out for Race 3 where he is expected to fight with the front-runners starting from P5.

    For the record, James Higgins (Fortec Motorsport) secured the Omologato Pole Position Award and first position start for both Races 1 and 3, after he set two fastest laps early in the session anticipating the rain to worsen. Teams had hoped the conditions would dry towards the end of the session, however continuing rain saw conditions worsen and a red flag for a stranded car ultimately ended the session early, preventing further challenges.

  • Advait Deodhar takes another well-deserved podium: EuroNASCAR2

    Advait Deodhar takes another well-deserved podium: EuroNASCAR2

    Brands Hatch (Kent, England), 4 July 2021: Ace Indian racer Advait Deodhar of CAAL Racing notched up another well-deserved podium taking a third place in EuroNASCAR2 Race 2 (Round 4) at the 1.94 kilometre Indy Circuit on Sunday. Tobias Dauenhauer scored his first win of the season and took the points lead from his teammate Martin Doubek.

    You can watch Sunday’s Round 4 race here on Auto Track You Tube.

    The 31-year old, Deodhar, in a #56 Ford Mustang, created history at the Saturday’s American SpeedFest 8 by taking a stunning victory in Race 1 of Round 3 as he became the first Indian pole sitter and race winner in the EuroNASCAR series.

    The London-based Mumbaikar’s victory proved to be a historic one in many ways. His victory is not only a first for an Indian driver in the Euro Series but his win also stopped the 12-race win streak that Hendriks Motorsport in the EuroNASCAR 2 division which is the longest streak of the most consecutive wins for any team in Euro Series so far.

    Race Report: Dauenhauer made a great start on the outside from second and got past poleman Deodhar at Paddock Hill Bend. The 23-year-old pulled away from his chasers and sped to victory after 30 laps under green. It was the first win of the season for the driver of the #50 Hendriks Motorsport Ford Mustang, who was handed the red Whelen banner for being the Championship leader.

    Deodhar, who lost the lead at the start, put up a stubborn defence against DF1 Racing’s Simon Pilate. The Belgian started from third and tried several times to get past Deodhar for second and managed to overtake on lap 27 for his best EuroNASCAR 2 result so far. Deodhar, the first Indian to win a EuroNASCAR race had to settle in third after a solid performance at the wheel of his #56 CAAL Racing machine in the 30-lap race. The Indian is supported by TJB SuperYachts and Strange Brew.

  • Kush Maini finishes a creditable 3rd in Race 2, consolidates third position in the championship

    Kush Maini finishes a creditable 3rd in Race 2, consolidates third position in the championship

    Kush Maini in action at Brands Hatch where took a third place on Sunday. Images: Maini team

    Brands Hatch, 6 Aug 2018: Up and coming Indian racer Kush Maini of Lanan Racing, the junior of the Maini brothers, finished third in Race 2 to consolidate his third place in the championship standings after a strong display at the Round 6 of the BRDC F3 Championship at the renowned Brands Hatch here on Sunday.

    The 17-year old Bangalore-born racer came back strongly after a bad outing at Spa in the last round, He managed two exciting results, finishing sixth in the Race 1 and Race 3, to bag enough points and packed it with an impressive third-place drive to the podium in Race 2.

    By claiming 56 points in this round, the Junior Maini has 321 points in the driver’s championship, 19 points ahead of fourth-placed Gamble.

    Despite not having much track time in the car, Maini started the weekend with a good qualifying session taking P6 for Race 1 after only a 20-minute practice session. He P6 time was just 0.379s off pole. Then, Maini drove a steady race and managed to finish sixth, the position he started on the grid in Race 1.

    Kush Maini with his trophy at Brands Hatch after his third place in Race 2 on Sunday.

    Race 2 saw a reverse-grid start, and Maini was forced to start from P10. Despite a bad start, Maini recovered in the first lap itself, as he managed to avoid the clash in front and sneaked in to move up. “There was chaos at the front and I just kept my nose clean and looked for the opportunities,” he said about the initial laps in Race 2. He had a busy race thereafter and with some gritty driving, he avoided the `frantic’ action on the second lap to surge past the cars ahead of him into the fifth position. Then a safety-car was deployed that did not help as he dropped a position after the restart. But the youngster, who grew up watching his father Gautam Maini and elder brother Arjun Maini racing cars, from childhood managed to go up into fourth place by Lap 9. A podium place was in the waiting as the third-placed finisher Ravishankar had to take a penalty for an infringement.

    Kush started the final race of the weekend from P8 on the grid. He carried on some of the great form, from his previous race and ensured another P6 comfortably overtaking a couple of cars and then widened the gap to Maldonado, who was trailing him in seventh. He had a lead of over 10-seconds to the Maldonado.

    Talking about his race, Kush Maini said, “It’s my eighth podium of the year and so I’m happy, But we’ve had a few tough races, so it’s good to be back here. We will be pushing harder to get back on the top step. There were plenty of battles raging and I thought there was going to be a bit of contact so I took different lines and got people on the exits, and I’m really happy with how I raced my race.”

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