Sergio Perez who topped the time sheets in Bahrain on Thursday. A Sahara Force India photoBahrain: After a four-day hiatus Formula One returned to the Bahrain International Circuit today to begin its final pre-season group test before shipping out to Australia and the first grand prix of the 2014 season. Force India’s Sergio Pérez recorded the fastest lap of the day, though few teams seemed to be searching for outright pace. Headline times were several seconds slower than those recorded at the circuit last week. Instead, the day saw the front runners largely focussing on long-run pace and – as is now expected at the last test of the winter – fitting aerodynamic parts closer to a race-specification than those seen previously.
Pérez finished nine-tenths of a second quicker than Valtteri Bottas, though the Finn recorded the highest mileage of the day, with 128 laps for Williams. Kimi Räikkönen for Ferrari was third quickest, Nico Rosberg fourth for Mercedes and Adrian Sutil fifth for Sauber. McLaren’ Kevin Magnussen was sixth fastest. He completed 109 laps, joining Pérez (105) and Bottas in three figures. That was seventy laps more than seventh-fastest Daniel Ricciardo managed for Red Bull – he did, however, had the consolation of being the fastest of the Renault-engined cars. Eighth on the timesheet was Marussia’s Max Chilton who was followed by Daniil Kvyat for Toro Rosso, Pastor Maldonado for Lotus and Caterham’s Kamui Kobayashi.
Bottas was the first man out on track, leaving the garage almost immediately the pitlane exit light turned green, though all 11 teams were lapping within the first half-hour. The first time of the day was set by Ricciardo, with a 1:40.262. The Australian dropped that to 1:38.642 moments later, over a second faster than the RB10 managed at the previous test.
If that were a reassuring start for one Renault team, the opposite was true at another as Caterham caused the first red flag of the day, with Kobayashi pulling his smoking car over 40 minutes into the session.
Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg gave the timesheet a familiar shape when he went fastest an hour and a half after the start with a lap of 1:37.722. That stood as the benchmark for an hour before Pérez took a second out of it with a lap of 1:36.051. He then improved to 1:35.290 as the lunch break approached.
“We really needed a good day to start this week and today we had it,” said Pérez. “We managed to do a lot of laps, try several different compounds and mappings, and it’s been a fantastic day in terms of learning about the car. Tomorrow is my last day in the car before the season starts so hopefully we can have another solid day to be in good shape for Melbourne.”
In a change to the timetable for the previous test, a half-hour break was scheduled for 1300, compensated with an extra half hour on track at the end of the day. The change was for the benefit of the track marshals rather than the teams – though some had a busy lunch break as Pastor Maldonado stopped out on track a few minutes before the interval. Lotus had been trialling a new exhaust system and later revealed this to be the source of the breakdown. They did not run again during the day.
After lunch Kvyat caused another red flag, stopping the Toro Rosso at Turn Two but there was happier news from the other Italian team. An unspecified glitch had restricted Raikkonen to just 12 laps in the morning but Ferrari were able to resolve the issue and allow the Finn a full afternoon of running – though it was he who brought the session to a slightly premature conclusion, stopping out on track a few minutes before the scheduled close.
Things were going the other way at Red Bull. Ricciardo completed 32 laps in the morning but failed to build on that, spending much of the afternoon in the garage as the team suffered a problem with its exhaust. Ricciardo added a further seven laps at the end of the day – but with Red Bull wanting a significant increase in track time this week, it was not the ideal start to proceedings.
“We sent Daniel out for a long-ish run, but we had to abort about five laps in, as we noticed some issues on the sensors,” explained race engineering co-ordinator Andy Damerum. “We brought him in, had a look at the car and discovered that we had a problem with the exhaust. So we had a long afternoon in the garage, but we did manage to get Daniel back out at the end of the session, which was good. We have some work to do overnight but hopefully tomorrow we’ll be able to run in a similar style to this morning.”
Testing continues tomorrow and will run until Sunday.
2014 second Bahrain test day one – unofficial times
1 Sergio Pérez Force India 1m35.290s 105laps
2 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1m36.184s +0.894s 128laps
3 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1m36.432s +1.142s 54laps
4 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m36.624s +1.334s 89laps
5 Adrian Sutil Sauber 1m37.700s +2.410s 89laps
6 Kevin Magnussen McLaren 1m37.825s +2.535s 109laps
7 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 1m37.908s +2.618s 39laps
8 Max Chilton Marussia 1m38.610s +3.320s 44laps
9 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1m39.242s +3.952s 56laps
10 Pastor Maldonado Lotus 1m40.599s +5.309s 31laps
11 Kamui Kobayashi Caterham 1m42.285s +6.995s 19laps
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Silverstone, 7 Feb 2014: Sahara Force India has expanded its driver development programme by teaming up with Hilmer Motorsport to create Sahara Force India’s official GP2 team.
The new partnership will see Facu Regalia and Daniel Abt race on the GP2 grid in the distinctive colours of Sahara Force India in the Hilmer Motorsport GP2 car.
The development programme expands on the success of Sahara Force India’s reserve driver programme, which has already helped progress several drivers to Formula One race seats. It also represents a logical addition to the team’s ‘One From A Billion’ talent hunt, which helped unearth a selection of young Indian karting talents. The most successful candidate has been Jehan Daruvala, a 15-year-old from Mumbai, who graduated into the team’s Academy last year and was crowned British KF3 Junior champion.
Dr Vijay Mallya, Team Principal and Managing Director of Sahara Force India: “As a team we’ve always placed great emphasis on nurturing young drivers so I’m delighted to announce our partnership with a GP2 team. It’s the logical next step as we look to bring through the next generation of drivers and provide them with the opportunity to showcase their talent. Our presence in GP2 moves us closer to having a holistic development programme to school drivers from grassroots karting to the higher echelons of professional motorsport.”
Franz Hilmer, Team Principal and Managing Director of Hilmer Motorsport: “We are very happy about the collaboration between Hilmer Motorsport and Sahara Force India Formula One Team. I’ve had an association with Sahara Force India for ten years and we are looking forward to working together on a sporting level going forward. With Facu Regalia and Daniel Abt we have two very talented young drivers with the potential to progress to Formula One. We will do our best to support them on their way to the pinnacle of motor racing.”
Facu Regalia, Driver #12 Hilmer Motorsport:
“It is incredible news for me to be a GP2 driver with Hilmer Motorsport and Sahara Force India’s driver development programme. I appreciate the belief Franz Hilmer showed in my performances last year and the opportunity to race with him in 2014. I am also very proud to be associated with Sahara Force India and will make the most of the opportunities it presents. The chance to drive a Formula One car at the end of the season is also a huge motivation. My focus is to work as hard as I can to make sure we are fighting at the front of the field and getting the best results possible.”
Daniel Abt, Driver #11 Hilmer Motorsport:
“I am very happy about the association between Hilmer Motorsport and Sahara Force India Formula One Team. Over the last few years, Sahara Force India has given young and talented drivers the opportunity to race in Formula One so it’s great to have their support this season. I am determined to have a successful year with Hilmer Motorsport in the GP2 Series and I’m sure that we have the right package to achieve our ambitious goals.”
New Delhi, 5 Feb 2014 – Jaguar Land Rover’s latest award-winning products made their Indian debut at the 12th
Narain with Jaguar F-Type coupe at the Delhi motorshow on Wednesday. A TVC photo
Delhi Auto Expo Motor Show today. Amongst the star attractions, the Jaguar F-TYPE Coupe was unveiled by India’s racing driver, Narain Karthikeyan and the Range Rover long wheelbase by leading Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra.
The celebrities appeared alongside Jaguar Land Rover’s new Indian product range, including the latest Land Rover Discovery and the Range Rover Evoque with 9-speed transmission. Also making their much anticipated Indian debut were the Jaguar C-X17 crossover concept and the D-Type inspired Project 7 concept car.
Jaguar Land Rover CEO, Dr. Ralf Speth said:
“We are here in India to showcase the very latest offerings from our two great British brands. India continues to be an important and dynamic market for Jaguar Land Rover with year on year sales growth. This demonstrates that we are delivering our promise to create exciting products and unrivalled customer experiences. We aim to enhance the potential of the Indian market by growing our dealer network by 25 per cent this year and will now manufacture our flagship model, the Jaguar XJ, in Pune”.
Today, the company confirmed that Jaguar’s flagship model, the XJ, would become the third model to be made at the firm’s local manufacturing facility in Pune, following the introduction of the Land Rover Freelander 2 in 2011 and Jaguar XF in 2013.
This positive trend is reflected in India where the Jaguar and Land Rover brands have gained significant prominence and popularity since entering the market in 2009. Retail sales were up by 21 per cent in 2013 and Jaguar was one of the fastest growing luxury car brands in the country.
Chennai, 3 Feb 2014: J Prithviraj of Coimbatore Automotive Sports Club, an active council member in promoting the rallying in India for the last few years was announced as the President of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs in India while pre-election favourite Bharat Raj, of Karnataka Motor Sports Clubs, who pumped in monies in the last few years to keep the rallying scene alive in India, was forced to support the new team.
It was Tutu Dhawan, who took Bharat Raj’s place as Vice-President in the Federation, which is under severe pressure to prove its efficiency and capability after the outgoing team’s high performance, at least, as far as Formula One is concerned.
Just like FIA and Formula One, both of whom are steeped in secrecy as far as financial transparency is concerned, FMSCI will also come under the scanner as far as Governance and Transparency issues are concerned especially as the National body which is the ASN (Association recognised by FIA, the World Governing boday) has paid a hefty income tax which would have been avoided, had it spent the money on promoting sport at the grassroot level or sharing the booty with the hard-working Clubs, who are suffering for lack of funds. Motorsports experts in the country feel that had FMSCI spent the money sharing the expenses of running events with the clubs, they would not have ended up paying a huge amount in scores of lakhs to the Income Tax department.
Coming to the elections, while Prithviraj serves as the President, Tutu Dhawan will be the Vice-President. The FMSCI also announced the formation of the new Governing Council for 2014-15 which will see the introduction of two new members. The change of guard promises a new direction that will focus on taking the sport to a higher level and the team and its members at various forums including Facebook, have expressed their inclination to come clean as far as transparency is needed. Prithvi, as he is popularly known in the rally circles, promised to look into the possibility of bringing the Federation under the ambit of RTI act.
Prithviraj has been a part of the rallying scene for over two decades, both as a participant and organizer. He has been a councillor since 2007 and the Vice President of FMSCI for two years, being Chairman and a member of various FMSCI sub committees.
Prithviraj was humbled to be elected President and commented, “I am honoured to be elected FMSCI President by my fellow councillors. Firstly I would like to thank the outgoing President and team for all their efforts over the years. As part of the last council our biggest achievement was bringing Formula One to India. Now our role will be to ensure we maximize the benefits of that to build national motorsport events across the country. The newly elected council is extremely excited of the task that lies ahead and I am confident that this is the perfect team to take the sport forward.”
The newly-elected Council will focus on the following few areas for the year ahead. The first area of focus will be the fact that policies and procedures will take precedence and not just the people involved. Secondly the council will select the best man for the job to ensure that seamless running of the sport comes first. The third objective will be to ensure total access to all information with regard to all aspects of the Federation. The FMSCI will also continue to partner with the auto and auto ancillary manufacturers to increase their involvement in the sport.
The FMSCI announced that they will launch an interactive website which will aim at making all event details easily accessible. From entry forms to regulations to schedules to officials to penalties everything will be made available on the website for everyone to see. Most importantly the online platforms will be interactive and open to queries and suggestions. There will also be an effort to ramp up marketing activities to ensure there is more reach and visibility for events.
Prithviraj commented, “We will look at coming under the ambit of Rights to Information act. The sport has been built to this level with the help of the media and we are looking forward to their continued support as we march on. All these factors will help us in offering better support and returns to our promoters, sponsors and partners.”
The FMSCI will also continue to make sure motorsports reaches all ends of the country from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and Kutch to Kohima. The North-East has already proved a popular motorsport venue with one of our promoters holding rallies there under the aegis of the FMSCI. The FMSCI will continue to give more importance to the region.
Prithviraj also announced the forming of a advisory body which will work with auto manufacturers, partners and government. He commented, “The dedicated committee will be entrusted with the task of working closely with auto manufacturers and government officials. Motorsport is the perfect platform for auto majors to showcase their products and get maximum visibility out of it. We are very happy by the government’s decision to modify the trade policy to facilitate easy import of cars and motorcycles for racing events. We still feel there is a lot of work to be done”
The results of the election were not announced immediately after the elections in Dec due to a court case filed by Sportscraft’s Shrikant Karani. The court ruled in his favour and struck down FMSCI stand that profit making bodies are not eligible to contest as per a recent amendment, but Karani chose to withdraw from the contest at a later stage.
However, it was Sanjay Sharma of JK Tyre, who called the shots. Hardy, as he is popularly known represented as an alternate member of Himalayan Motorspord Club.
Akbar Ebrahim – Meco, S Karani – PCRT, J Prithviraj – CASC, J Balmurugan – Spitfire, Sanjay Sharma, the kingmaker – HMSA. A photo by Adrenna
He also addressed the Press Conference.
Two new member clubs made their entry into the council joining the three founding members. The eight members of the council are:
Jerez, 31 Jan 2014: Sahara Force India wrapped up its first week of testing as Daniel Juncadella spent his first day in the VJM07.
Day four statisticDaniel Juncadella makes his debut in a Force India car at Jerez. A Sahara Force India photo
s:
Chassis: VJM07-01
Laps: 81 laps
Mileage: 359 km
Fastest lap: 1:29.457
Classification: P3
Daniel Juncadella: “It was my first day working with the team and it was a big challenge because of the tricky conditions. I took things very cautiously because I had never driven a Formula One car in the wet and for the whole day the track still had damp patches. It was a case of building up my confidence and learning how the team operates. It was a great experience and I made sure to make the most of it. We covered a lot of laps, which was a big improvement after quite a frustrating day yesterday. It’s what the team needed before the Bahrain test to really start understanding the car. I want to thank the team for today and I look forward to the rest of the season.”
Otmar Szafnauer, Chief Operating Officer
“The final day in Jerez has proved to be the most productive so far. Despite the mixed weather conditions, Daniel was able to cover 81 laps, which has given him valuable experience for his role as a reserve driver this season. The car has run reliably all day, which is a result of all the hard work carried out earlier in the week to resolve some of the initial reliability concerns. During these early days it’s paramount to get laps under our belt and over the last four days we have clocked up almost 650 km. It’s not been an easy test operationally, with lots of different challenges, but the whole team has done an extremely professional job to ensure we maximised the test days we had available.”
Dubai, 12 Jan 2014: Indian racing driver Karun Chandhok got his year off to a brilliant start with a 3rd place finish in the SP2 class victory at the Dubai 24hours. Chandhok, driving the Dubai 24hours for the second time in his career, drove for the Nissan GT Academy Team RJN, which suffered mechanical issues through the night, costing the team a chance at victory.
Chandhok, driving the No. 126 Nissan 370Z Nismo joined Nissan GT Academy winners James Moffat, Tor Graves and Ashley Oldfield in Asia’s leading endurance race, a press release from Adrenna Communications said. The No. 126 car was fighting with the RJN sister car for the win when the team suffered issues into the night, costing them more than 2 hours in the pits. The team was at one point 16 laps behind the leader and managed to unlap themselves 5 times but was too late.
Chandhok rued the bad luck but was happy to start the season with a podium finish. He commented, “This is a great start to the year for me and I would like to thank the Nissan GT Academy Team RJN for this opportunity. It was a crazy race and at one point we looked fast enough for the win. You need luck in a 24 hour race and we didn’t get our share of the luck but we fought back and took a podium finish. It’s a shame we had a few problems as we were matching the pace of the sister car at the start of the race. The podium is a massive reward for the RJN boys so it was good to get it for them”
Chandhok was invited to join the Nissan GT Academy Team RJN. The academy takes people who are good at video games and, in a matter of months, turns them into professional drivers. Over 765,000 people participated in last year’s Academy, held through a special free demo made using technology of the new Gran Turismo®6 game. A record 42 gamers gathered at the final selection round this year to compete in the process of turning them from virtual to real racers.
Chandhok added “This is a fantastic program initiated by the Nissan GT Academy where gamers have a chance to race in the real world. It was interesting to work with the graduates in a cost-effective program which can take a young kid from his couch to the highest levels of racing with Nissan at Le Mans. This event has been an education for me, learning about GT Academy. I have only seen it from the outside before and have read about it in magazines. I hope it will launch in India soon. It’s good to see these guys getting the opportunities that people like me didn’t have. They have been given a golden opportunity and they need to make the most of it.”
Sahara Force India is delighted to announce the beginning of a new technical partnership with Motegi Racing, the high performance wheel brand.
The new partnership will see the team’s 2014 car fitted with wheels carrying the iconic Motegi Racing brand. Sahara Force India will also benefit from Motegi Racing’s knowledge in wheel technology to help drive forward performance.
Otmar Szafnauer, Chief Operating Officer: “I’m very happy to announce our partnership with Motegi Racing. 2014 is a landmark year for Formula One with so many changes to the regulations and in order to be competitive we have to focus on developing all areas of the car. It gives me great confidence to have the expertise and experience of Motegi Racing supporting us at such an important time. Our technical team will be working very closely with them to enhance the performance of our wheels.”
Jody Groce, President Wheel Pros LLC: “We are very excited about the partnership with Sahara Force India as part of our growth at the highest level of global motorsports. This is a milestone achievement for our company as we prepare to supply our Motegi Racing wheels to compete at the pinnacle of racing technology in Formula One. It’s an interesting time to be involved in Formula One and we are honoured to become Sahara Force India’s technical wheel partner as the sport prepares for one of the most significant technical transformations in its history. This program provides the perfect technical platform to communicate the continuous evolution of the Motegi Racing brand. Motorsport is a proving ground for our technology to hone the performance authenticity of our brand.”
About Motegi Racing
Through technical partnerships with leading professional racing teams, Motegi Racing competition and high performance tuning wheels are designed and engineered for performance. Motegi Racing is a Wheel Pros brand. Wheel Pros products are sold worldwide in more than 20 countries on four continents and through a U.S. Network of more than 10,000 active dealers. It is one of the world’s largest suppliers of branded custom wheels, performance tires and related accessories for cars, SUVs and light trucks. For more details visitwww.motegiracing.com
About Sahara Force India Formula One Team
Sahara Force India Formula One Team was founded in 2008 when Dr Vijay Mallya, Chairman of India’s iconic UB Group, launched the first-ever Indian Formula One team. The cars incorporate the colours of the Indian flag and the team is a sporting representation of the emerging generation of young, aspirational Indians and the growing strength of India as a nation. In 2011 a historic partnership was agreed as Sahara India Pariwar became co-owners of the Silverstone-based team. With the support of Sahara, the team is now driven by two of India’s greatest industrialists who both recognise the value of using sport as a marketing platform to build some of India’s biggest brands. For more details visit: www.saharaforceindiaf1.com
Bangalore, 22 Dec 2013: Bharat Raj, Chairman of the Karnataka Motor Sports Club, has emerged as a strong contender for the post of the President of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India with Vicky Chandhok forced to step down from the coveted post after two successful terms in office. The greatest achievement during his tenure, is perhaps, the arrival of Formula One to the Indian shores. The elections are scheduled to be held in Chennai on Dec 23 and the results are expected to be announced on 8 Jan 2014 due to Madras High Court, which ordered the results to be kept in abeyance (in a sealed cover) before going for Christmas holidays.
Bharat Raj, however, is expected to face a tough challenge from veteran motorsporst administrator and organiser Shrikant Karani of Sportscraft, Mumbai. Karani filed an injunction against the elections contending against an FMSCI ruling which prohibited him from contesting elections as Sportscraft is a profit-making body.
The elections held today were for the five council berths. The council in turn elects the President and other office-bearers. If the Hon. Court probibits Shrikant Karani, Bharat Raj is likely to elected unanimously as President of the Federation. The other scenario, where the Court allows his nomination, the nine-member Council will elect the President.
Meanwhile, though Vicky Chandhok sent a subtle hint welcoming the incoming team in his annual news letter and later through his announcement that he would be stepping down paving the way for newcomers, experts feel that it is a strategic move to keep himself out of harm’s way as the International Federation of Motorsports (FIA) has now become a member of International Olympic Association (IOA) and the Indian Federation, an ASN (official member country) of FIA, has to follow the rules and regulations of the National Olympic Association which states that no office-bearer can continue for a third successive term.
With the Formula One race in India ruled out for 2014 due to scheduling problems, Chandhok, found it is right time to take a sabbatical from the helm. However, the veteran administrator who was the son of Indhu Chandhok, one of the founders of FMSCI and father of Karun Chandhok, the second F1 driver from India, is expected to represent India in the international fora in some honorary capacity, what with his savvy skills to take forward the motorsport in the country.
An announcement on Dec 23 said: “After a second extended term of being FMSCI President, Vicky Chandhok today confirmed that he will not be standing for re-election for the upcoming year.”
Chandhok, along with the Jaypee Group and other FMSCI council members including Vijay Mallya, played a key role in bringing Formula One to India and was helped by the great urge of FIA and the wish of ring master Bernie Ecclestone who thought that, the F1 bandwagon visiting India and the Asian country being on the regular calendar of F1 would benefit the sport more than India gaining from it. But the tax problems and other bureaucratic red tape were also named as reasons from removing India from the 2014 calendar. F1 is expected to return to the country in 2015 as JP group has a contract with the commercial rights holders of F1.
After an earlier stint of 3 years at the helm of the Federation from 2005 to 2007, Chandhok was elected to the Presidency again in 2010. The last 4 years have seen a big boost in Indian motorsport, not just with the Formula One Indian Grand Prix but also with domestic motorsport in general. Auto manufacturer support has increased with involvement in car and bike championships as well as the Indian National Rally Championship. Under his aegis, the first ever Indian National Times Speed Distance Rally Championship was also launched.
Chandhok said, “This is a difficult decision for me but after being President for 7 out of the last 9 years, and living and breathing Indian motorsport on a daily basis, it is time to pass the baton on. The federation has seen many wins over the past few years, including, most notably Formula 1 coming to India as well as the Asian Road Racing Championship for Bikes. There have been so many positive changes to Indian motorsport with the introduction of new championships, and I am glad to have played a pivotal role in making it happen. The first ever FMSCI Automobile Conclave has helped us in bringing more manufacturers into our various championships. From an international perspective, India has a much larger presence in world motorsport with 14 people joining international commissions and I’m glad that I have played a part in building these international relations with the FIA, FIM and CIK.”
The last 4 years have seen significant developments in the Indian motorsport arena. Karting and single-seater racing has given young Indian drivers the perfect platform to hone their skills before going to race internationally. The JK Tyre National Karting Championship continues to flourish and the introduction of the JK Racing India Series, MRF 16000 and MRF Challenge 2013 has helped prepare young drivers to face the challenges of international competition. Saloon car racing in India has established its own niche with the introduction of the Volkswagen Polo R Cup and the Toyota Etios Trophy. Rallying in India has recovered after a couple of difficult years and now has increased manufacture presence from car giants Volkswagen, Mahindra and Maruti.
Chandhok added, “Young drivers now have ample platforms to chart out their motorsport career starting from karting to F3 style cars. Rallying, a discipline where I personally spent many years competing, has now stabilised over the last 12 months. It has also been very heartening to see the support that organisers, promoters and competitors have extended to me personally, and the federation especially over the past couple of months. I have had a very passionate team of people to work with and none of our achievements would have been possible without the determination and hard work of the entire team.
“I am very grateful for the opportunity that I was given to improve Indian motorsport and I am confident that we can look forward to more successes in the future. There is a plenty of work to be done in supporting the Jaypee Group and Formula One Management, as well as the vehicle manufacturers to improve the sport in India. I will of course continue to be a member of the FMSCI managing council and look forward to lending my support to the new President and his team,” he added.
On the other side of the success, the new office-bearers will have to work that much harder not only to keep up the good work but also to bring in transparency and professionalism to the National body. Just like FIA, its parent body, the Indian Federation, guards its accounts and dealings in great secrecy. Time has come now to publish the audited reports and take responsibility by creating strong mechanisms for accountability.
(This article is edited on Dec 23 at 3pm)
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File photo of Vicky Chandhok with Bernie Ecclestone. An Adrenna Communications photo
Chennai, 21 Dec 2013: British driver Rupert Svendsen-Cook stormed back into the title fight with a dominant win in Race 4 of the MRF Challenge 2013 Round 3 at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain. Svendsen-Cook won the race ahead of Shinya Michimi and Sam Dejonghe as his main title rivals faltered. Championship leader Tio Ellinas was given a drive through penalty for a jump start while Arthur Pic had to retire after a collision with Renan Guerra. Earlier in the day Tio Ellinas beat Svendsen-Cook & Pic to win Race 3.
In Race 3, Rupert Svendsen-Cook started on pole position alongside Tio Ellinas. Svendsen-Cook had a clean start and went into the lead with Ellinas and Sam Dejonghe behind him. Arthur Pic starting in fourth position held on to his position in front of Brazilian driver Renan Guerra. Svendsen-Cook made a mistake on lap 3 allowing Ellinas to get a run on him and pass him on the main straight. On the same lap Pic made a move on Dejonghe to move into third place. While Ellinas started to slowly pull away, Pic started to close in on Svendsen-Cook with 5 laps to go. Pic made a move on Svendsen-Cook on the final lap but could not make it stick and ended up finishing in third place. Ellinas crossed the finish line to take his third win out of the last four races to increase his championship lead with Pic second and Svendsen-Cook third. Renan Guerra, who was in fourth place had to retire with a mechanical problem. Harry Tincknell finished in fourth place ahead of Sam Dejonghe and Shinya Michimi
Raj Bharath was once again the fastest of all the Indian drivers with a 11th place finish. Tarun Reddy ran as high as 13th place before finishing in 16th place while Vikash Anand retired from 15th position.
In Race 4, Shinya Michimi started on reverse-grid pole position alongside Sam Dejonghe. Both front row drivers started well holding their positions while Svendsen-Cook had one more of his trademark starts and jumped to third place from fifth on the grid. Ellinas moved into fourth place with Harry Tincknell and Arthur Pic behind him. Svendsen-Cook made a move on Dejonghe and got past him on lap 2 and then set his sights on Japanese driver Shinya Michimi. It took him another 2 laps but Svendsen-Cook got past Michimi to take the lead on lap 5. Behind him there was action all around with Ellinas getting past Dejonghe for third place. Tincknell, Pic and Guerra were involved in a close battle which ended with Guerra colliding with Pic forcing both drivers to retire on the spot. The drama continued when Ellinas was given a drive though penalty and was forced to come in to the pits to serve the penalty, putting him out of the points. With both Pic and Ellinas out of the points, Svendsen-Cook took advantage to cross the finish line in first in first place with Michimi second and Dejonghe third. Behind them Tincknell picked up another fourth place with Ryan Cullen and Camren Kaminsky in fifth and sixth places respectively.
The Indian driver enjoyed their best finish to date with an 8th & 9th place for Vikash Anand and Raj Bharath. Both drover very well to move up the field and into the top 10. Tarun Reddy retired after a collision on lap 1.
Championship leader Tio Ellinas was excited after yet another double podium finish. He said, “In Race 3 I had a good start but Rupert had a better start. I managed to pass him in a couple of laps and after that it was just a matter of keeping him behind me. I am glad I was able to increase my lead after Race 3. In Race 4 I moved a little but did not jump the start. It is unfortunate that I got a drive through penalty but that’s how it goes. This is my first race off the podium but am glad that my championship lead is still intact.”
Race winner Rupert Svendsen-Cook was happy with a double podium finish and a small change in his luck. He commented, “I am happy to take a dominant win after yesterday’s Race 2 retirement. The car felt much better than the morning and I was sure that I would be in with a good chance. I have inched closer to the top two guys in the championship so can’t wait to get to India for the final round.”
MRF Challenge 2013 Calendar:
Round 1: October 25-27, 2013, New Delhi, Buddh International Circuit (Formula One Support Race)
Round 2: November 28-30, 2013, Bahrain, Bahrain International Circuit (World Endurance Championship Support Race)
Round 3: December 19-21, 2013, Bahrain, Bahrain International Circuit (Gulf Racing Festival)
Round 4: February 14-16, 2014, Chennai, Madras Motor Race Trust
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Tio Ellinas in Chennai on Saturday. An Adrenna photo
Chennai, 15 Dec 2013: Despite finishing second Akash Dingare was crowned champion in the Yamaha One-Make championship of the Indian National Motorcycle Championship at Irrungattukottai, near here, on Sunday where India’s leading motorcycle riders were in action in 10 races at the final round of the 2013 season.
In the YZF R15 Novice category of Yamaha MMSC One Make Championship, it was a battle between Mizoram rider Lal Rindika and Akash Dingare for the third time this week. Lal Rindika managed to hold off Dingare by three tenths of a second for the win but Dingare did enough to be crowned champion.
Race 2 of the day saw Sumit Lucas Toppo continue his perfect weekend after taking yet another win in CBR 150cc open category in the Honda MMSC One Make Championship. He was followed home by Vivek Mani in second place with Ananth Raj finishing in third place.
In the Group D 165cc Novice class, Balaji U took his first win when Akash Dingare was excluded from the final result. Naresh Babu finished in second place with A Muralidharan finishing in third place.
K Rajni reigned supreme once again in the 165CC Group C category after a race long battle with A Prabhu. It was a three-way battle for third place with K Jagan beating Deepak R and Dinesh Kumar to take the final step on the podium.
The TVS MMSC One Make Championship with the TVS Apache RTR 180 Novice was up next. Lal Rindika won his 5th consecutive race ahead of S Kannan. Amit Richard took yet another podium as he finished in third place.
K Rajni took his second win of the day when he won the Honda MMSC One Make Championship race with the CBR 250cc bikes. Champion Sarath Kumar was forced to retire from the lead after two laps. Dinesh Kumar finished in second place with A Prabhu in third.
KY Ahamed took the top step of the podium once again with a win in theGroup D 130cc Novice category. After a race long battle with S Kannan, Ahamed held on to the lead to win by a close margin. C Akash finished in a lonely third place.
The Yamaha MMSC One Make Championship in YZF R15 Open categoryprovided the most entertaining race of the day with the top three riders finishing within half a second of each other. In a thrilling finish Ananth Raj beat M Sudhakar by three thousands of a second to win the race. Third place finisher Arun Muthukrishnan fought them all the way, finishing just behind the leaders.
In the Honda CBF Stunner Novice category, Meka Vidhuraj won convincingly ahead of Akash Dingare. Mithun Kumar finished in a distant third position after fighting for the lead in the opening laps.
The Apache RTR 180 open category, which is part of the TVS MMSC One Make Championship, was a tight race with SK Prakash winning. The battle behind him was extremely close with 5 riders finishing within 1 second of each other. Ananth Raj and Vivek Mani were side-by-side as they crossed the line in second and third place. Vivek Mani took third in the final race of the season.
cademy last year and was crowned British KF3 Junior champion.Dr Vijay Mallya, Team Principal and Managing Director of Sahara Force India: “As a team we’ve always placed great emphasis on nurturing young drivers so I’m delighted to announce our partnership with a GP2 team. It’s the logical next step as we look to bring through the next generation of drivers and provide them with the opportunity to showcase their talent. Our presence in GP2 moves us closer to having a holistic development programme to school drivers from grassroots karting to the higher echelons of professional motorsport.”Franz Hilmer, Team Principal and Managing Director of Hilmer Motorsport: “We are very happy about the collaboration between Hilmer Motorsport and Sahara Force India Formula One Team. I’ve had an association with Sahara Force India for ten years and we are looking forward to working together on a sporting level going forward. With Facu Regalia and Daniel Abt we have two very talented young drivers with the potential to progress to Formula One. We will do our best to support them on their way to the pinnacle of motor racing.”Facu Regalia, Driver #12 Hilmer Motorsport:“It is incredible news for me to be a GP2 driver with Hilmer Motorsport and Sahara Force India’s driver development programme. I appreciate the belief Franz Hilmer showed in my performances last year and the opportunity to race with him in 2014. I am also very proud to be associated with Sahara Force India and will make the most of the opportunities it presents. The chance to drive a Formula One car at the end of the season is also a huge motivation. My focus is to work as hard as I can to make sure we are fighting at the front of the field and getting the best results possible.”Daniel Abt, Driver #11 Hilmer Motorsport:“I am very happy about the association between Hilmer Motorsport and Sahara Force India Formula One Team. Over the last few years, Sahara Force India has given young and talented drivers the opportunity to race in Formula One so it’s great to have their support this season. I am determined to have a successful year with Hilmer Motorsport in the GP2 Series and I’m sure that we have the right package to achieve our ambitious goals.”eom
