INDIA in F1

Tag: Euro Nascar

  • Advait Deodhar manages P7 in Race 2 on Sunday: EuroNascar2

    Advait Deodhar manages P7 in Race 2 on Sunday: EuroNascar2

    Valencia, 16 May 2021: Ace Indian driver Advait Deodhar, redeemed a forgettable round, with a well-earned P7 in the second race of the EuroNASCAR2 at the 4-km Circuit Ricardo Tormo on Sunday. Martin Doubek was unstoppable once again  and he won the Race 2 too. The driver of the #7 Hendriks Motorsport Ford Mustang started from pole, led all 15 laps and scored his second consecutive win of the 2021 NASCAR Whelen Euro Series season. The 26-year-old now leads the overall standings with 80 points on his account.

    Advait Deodhar, of CAAL Racing, in a #56 Ford Mustang, had a bad first race on Saturday where he struggled due to problems with the set-up of his car and had a mechanical retirement before he was classified in P17. However, even as the problems continued, he managed to finish P7 in the Round 2, the second race on Sunday. “I’m really struggling with the car right now and can’t quite understand why. However, I’m sure we’ll find a solution by the next round in the Czech Republic,” said the TJB Super Yachts sponsored racer after the race. Advait timed 26:34.121 for the 15 laps of Race 2 on Sunday. “We will come back stronger for the next round,” promised Advait.

    For Doubek it was the fourth EuroNASCAR 2 career win after the two he collected at Circuit Zolder in the 2020 NWES season and the one he grabbed on Saturday. The NWES veteran, who’s part of EuroNASCAR since the 2015 season, made a good start and pulled away from the field right in the first lap. After that he administered his advantage and Hoosier Racing Tires to be first under the checkered flag.

    “I’m very happy”, said an exhausted Doubek after the race. “The car is perfect since we hit the track on Friday for Free Practice. With Loris Hezemans, I can rely on a very quick teammate and the team is doing an exceptional job. We found a good setup that made it look so easy to get two wins here in Valencia.”

    Doubek’s teammate Tobias Dauenhauer from Germany ended up second after a fierce battle with Academy Motorsport / Alex Caffi Motorsport’s Vladimiros Tziortzis from Cyprus. The Hendriks Motorsport driver and 2019 EuroNASCAR 2 runner-up managed to keep the 24-year-old youngster at bay and when they crossed the checkered flag, 2.597 seconds separated the two. After bad luck hampered his Saturday’s race with a blown tire, Justin Kunz showed his potential by piloting the #22 DF1 Racing Camaro to fourth.

    Double V Racing team boss and driver Pierluigi Veronesi had a solid run in his #27 Mustang: the Italian completed the top-5. After struggling with braking issues on Saturday, Simon Pilate also fought his way back into the top-10 with a solid sixth place. The Belgian completed the race ahead of Advait Deodhar. Deodhar made a mistake in the first race that shuffled him down the order, but he managed to strike back by finishing seventh.

  • A fighting Advait Deodhar misses overall 3rd narrowly in the 2019 Euro Nascar Championship

    A fighting Advait Deodhar misses overall 3rd narrowly in the 2019 Euro Nascar Championship

    Advait Deodhar fights in the rain in the last round at Zoldar and finishes 4th overall in the Euro NASCAR series. Photo for INDIAinF1

    Zoldar, 8 Oct 2019: The London-based Indian racing driver Advait Deodhar started the weekend in contention for overall third place in the 2019 NASCAR Whelen Euro Championship Elite 2 class but missed out narrowly and had to settle for the overall fourth after a thrilling final race here in Belgium on Sunday, the 6th of October.

    In Race 1, after some stellar performance, sitting in 3rd and fighting for a win, Advait lost out on the very last lap, 2 corners before the finish line. The last 300 meters of Race 1 impacted the outcome of P3 in the Championship as Advait was also given a 60-second time penalty.

    Race 2 started under extremely wet conditions. After a good start and on the pace, the rain stopped and the extreme wet setup the team opted for, started working against the changing track conditions. With the car being a handful to drive, Advait brought home his Chevrolet SS in a lonely 6th place clocking 37:51.569.

    Advait Deodhar poses with Gian Luca Guiglia, his CAAL Racing team manager.

    After the successful end of a long season where Advait had to struggle for every race looking for sponsors, he managed admirably to complete the season fighting for a top-three place despite missing a round. Looking back at the season, the racer who works as a Yacht broker to fund his racing activity, said: “It’s been a surreal journey and racing this year has happened against all odds. I have not been able to raise sponsorship but managed to race this year with no sponsorship by working extremely hard on my day job and risked it all to fund it through my earnings, and using up all credit and savings. I drove for three teams due to budget constraints, missed one round, lived in uncertainty and confirmed each round only a few days before each race weekend.”

    Fans of Advait before the race.

    Advait drove against a very competitive grid and managed to somehow make it all work and the fact that he was fighting for overall third till the last corner is a great achievement when compared to the support and resources enjoyed by the other drivers. “A top-3 should have been possible under different circumstances but I’m very proud of the achievement this year,” he quipped.

    “I think it’s about time I secure a sponsor and get some support from Indian companies as I race on the international stage,” said Advait even as he looks at 2020. “I want to come back to the Championship in 2020 with a full budget and race seat confirmed. I will fight for the title and accept nothing less,” he concluded with conviction. It is time Indian corporates and many sports-loving promoters look at this rare talent and support him in his journey. Last year Advait Deodhar won the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series in October.

  • Advait Deodhar all set for the final week-end with an outside chance for the title

    Advait Deodhar all set for the final week-end with an outside chance for the title

    File photo of European Nascar series in progress. INDIAinF1

    Zolder (Belgium), 4 Oct 2019: Advait Deodhar is currently 4th overall, and just 2 points behind third-placed Vittorio Ghirelli the final round of the 2019 European NASCAR Championship begins in Zolder, Belgium. The first race is scheduled for 8.30 pm (IST) on Saturday.

    The fight for P3 in the Championship is going to be intense, with five drivers from P3 to P7, separated by less than 30 points.

    File photo of Advait Deodhar (left)

    Advait also has an outside chance to fight for the overall Championship as a maximum of 160 points are still on offer in the two races, but it is probably a difficult task for the Indian.

    However, he is looking for a good performance in the final round and is raring to go to get the best out of the week-end for a top-3 finish.

    In the earlier round in Hockenheim on Sept 23, Advait’s week-end did not go a planned. In Race 1, Advait bent his steering arm after an unavoidable crash in front of him as too was forced to collide with another two cars and ended up 10th. In Race 2, he bagan 10th but could onoy manage a P7.

    Saturday
    Qualifying : 9.30 am GMT
    14.00 India time.
    Race 1 : 16.00 GMT
    20.30 India time.
    Sunday
    Race 2 : 9.50 am GMT
    14.20 India time.