INDIA in F1

Tag: Indian

  • Gill-Sherif win SUV class; Ghosh-Naik top INRC

    Coimbatore, 21 July 2013: Ace Indian rallyist Gaurav Gill and co-driver Musa Sherif in the Mahindra XUV 500 were the fastest and won the Indian National SUV Rally Championship while Malaysian Karamjit Singh along with navigator Jagdev Singh, also from Malaysia in the Volkswagen Polo won the Indian Rally Championship for foreign cars (IRC) here on Sunday.

    According to a press release from Adrenna Communications, Amittrajit Ghosh and co-driver Ashwin Naik, in a Mitsubishi Cedia, took the overall honours in the Rally of Coimbatore, the third Round of the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) which started and finished at the Kari Motor Speedway (KMS). In the 1600 class, it was Byram Godrej / Prajwal Pai driving a Volkswagen Polo who won while Asad Khan / Zayne Asrar took victory in the Junior INRC class, in a Maruti Esteem.

    Out of the 31 cars that started the Rally, 22 cars finished Leg 1.  However, as per Super Rally format 5 out of 9 competitors opted to run Leg 2, thus making it a total of 27 cars fighting for Leg 2. Starting from the KMS, they then proceeded to the Textool stage of 24.81 kms for speed and action.  At the end of Textool stage, there were 25 cars running with two competitors dropping out due to mechanical failure.

    There were 19 cars that reported for the Super Special Stage at the Kari Motor Speedway.  It was a festive atmosphere at the KMS where the rally drivers had the opportunity to watch some racing action from the JK Tyre Racing Championship and the racing drivers some rally driving at the KMS.  It was ‘Master Drifter’ Gaurav Gill who enthralled the crowd by showing them the real rally drifting. 

    Indian National Rally Championship (INRC)

    Amittrajit Ghosh / Ashwin Naik won the INRC overall of Rally of Coimbatore with a total time of 01:42:42.9.  Vikram Devadasen / Srikanth GM finished second with 01:44:48.6 followed by Phalguna V Urs / Anoop Kumar with a total time of 01:45:54.2.

    INRC 1600 class

    In the INRC 1600 class, it was Byram Godrej / Prajwal Pai who finished first with a total time of 01:47:44.9 closely followed by Arjun Rao / Sathish Rajagopal and Mohammed Kasim / Sanath G with a time of 01:47:57.6 and 02:14:06.2 respetively.

    Junior Indian National Rally Championship (JINRC)

    In the closely fought JINRC, it was Asad Khan / Zayne Asrar who won with a time of 01:51:06.2.  Suhem MK / Jeevarathinam J finished 2nd with 01:53:00.0 and Rohan Pawar / Arjun Mehta finished third with 01:56:29.2.

    Indian National SUV Rally Championship (INSUVRC)

    Gaurav Gill / Musa Sherif won the Indian National SUV Rally Championship with a total time of 01:40:00.3 followed by Lohitt V Urs / Bonnie Thomas (01:46:29.1) and Sunny Sidhu / Srinivas Murthy PV (01:52:43.1).

    Indian Rally Championship (IRC)

    In the IRC Championship it was Karamjit Singh / Jagdev Singh from Malaysia who won with a time of 01:42:12.1 followed by Sumit Panjabi / Chetan Shivram (02:00:35.6).

    ends

    Amittrajit Ghosh and co-driver Ashwin Naik who won the Rally of Coimbatore, the round 3 of the Indian Natinal Rally Championship at Coimbatore on Sunday. Adrenna photo
    Amittrajit Ghosh and co-driver Ashwin Naik who won the Rally of Coimbatore, the round 3 of the Indian Natinal Rally Championship at Coimbatore on Sunday. Adrenna photo

  • Azlan Shah snatches pole in ARRC

    Irungattukottai, 13 July 2013: With track temperatures soaring at the Madras Motor Race Track, all signs are pointing to a scorcher of a race for the third leg of the PETRONAS Asia Road Racing Championship.

    The 600cc riders power-slid their way around the 3.717km circuit with Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman quickly putting his marker on the coveted pole position with a new lap record of 01:42.909s, a Press Release from Adrenna Communications said.

    And only a day after predicting a Yamaha-advantage, Azlan’s team mate Makoto Tamada powered his own Honda to second on the grid with 01:43.593s. This makes it Tamada’s best start in the race to date, after struggling with bike setting issues for the past two rounds. Mohd Zamri Baba, who has been consistently fast the entire weekend, will take up the third spot on the front row with 01:43.713s.

    “Pole position is perhaps the most important winning-factor in this round. The circuit is tight and there are very few overtaking opportunities, especially in the 600cc class. After clocking in fastest during the morning session, I was even more determined to take the pole position. The new lap record was a bonus,” said Azlan.

    Rafid Topan’s Underbone lap record that stayed intact in the first day was quickly erased as the second day of practices commenced. Harlan Fadhillah beat the record by 0.346 seconds in Free Practice 3 with a fastest lap of 01:59.474s.

    Ahmad Afif Amran quickly bested that time during the opening minutes of the qualifying session with 01:58.672s. But the riders’ momentum was interrupted when the red flag came out on the 18th minute following a crash between Mohd Hafieenaz Mohd Ali and Mohd Adib Rosley. Both riders were reported to be OK. Hafieenaz rode back to the paddock on his own power but Adib fared a little worse, suffering from a sprained ankle.

    However, momentum interrupted, there were no more record-breaking charges by the Underbone riders. Afif scored pole position with his new lap record and will be joined on the front row by defending champion Hadi Wijaya who was second fastest with 01:58.703s and Ferlando Herdian third fastest with 01:59.248s.

    “For the most part, I did my quick lap with a clear track around me. But I did caught up to other riders at the last few corners and slipstreamed my way into pole position,” said Afif. “With the top five riders all clocking below the 2-minute mark, the pole position advantage is really very minimal.”

    Indian riders Sumit Lucas Prabhu will start 11th on the grid with Arunagiri Prabhu starting in 14th place.

    Results: SuperSports 600cc Practice 3 
    1. Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman (MAS), 1:43.417s; 2. Md Zamri Baba (MAS), 1:43.500s; 3. Katsuaki Fujiwara (JPN), 1:43.964s; 4. Yuki Ito (JPN), 1:44.304s; 5. Makoto Tamada (JPN), 1:44.347

    SuperSports 600cc Qualifying 
    1. Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman (MAS), 01:42.785s (new lap record); 2. Makoto Tamada (JPN), 01:43.593s; 3. Md Zamri Baba (MAS), 01:43.713s; 4. Katsuaki Fujiwara (JPN), 01:43.954s; 5. Peerawat Wongthananon (THA), 01:44.031s

    Asia Dream Cup Practice 2 :
    1. Dwi Satria (INA), 01:57.075; 2. Nakarin Atiratphuvapat (THA), 01:57.240; 3. Hiroki Ono (JPN), 01:57.306; 4. Md Fitri Ashraf Razali (MAS), 01:57.694; 5. Jakkrit Swangswat (THA), 01:57.924

    Asia Dream Cup Qualifying :
    1. Hiroki Ono (JPN), 01:56.230s; 2. Md Dwi Satria (INA), 01:56.600s; 3. Nakarin Atiratphuvapat (THA), 01:57.068s; 4. Md Fitri Ashraf Razali (MAS), 01:57.643s; 5. Khairul Idham Pawi (INA), 01:57.882s

    Underbone 115cc Practice 3:
    1. Harlan Fadhillah (INA), 1:59.474s; 2. Ahmad Afif Amran (MAS), 1:59.794s; 3. Gupita Kresna Wardhana (INA), 2:00.725s; 4. Ferlando Herdian (INA), 2:00.953s; 5. Md Amirul Ariff Musa (MAS), 2:01.097s

    Underbone 115cc Qualifying 
    1. Ahmad Afif Amran (MAS), 01:58.672s (new lap record); 2. Hadi Wijaya (INA), 01:58.703s; 3. Ferlando Herdian (INA), 01:59.248s; 4. Gupita Kresna Wardhana (INA), 01:59.728s; 5. Harlan Fadhillah (INA), 01:59.744s

    ends

    Note: Race begins on Sunday, 14th July at 10am with the action packed races expectedat the MMRT.

    Azlan Shah in action in the 600cc Superbikes qualies. Photo by Adrenna
    Azlan Shah in action in the 600cc Superbikes qualies. Photo by Adrenna

  • Armaan rounds off FIA GT week-end with 2nd podium

    Zandvoort (Netherlands), 7 July 2013: Indian racing driver Armaan Ebrahim and BMW Sports Trophy Team India rounded off their strongest weekend of the 2013 FIA GT World Series at the Zandvoort Circuit with a third place finish in the Pro-Am category and tenth overall.

    Having scored their maiden podium by finishing second on Saturday, the team was on their way to go one better today but a delay during the driver change threw a spanner in the works, according to a Meco Motorsports Press Release.

    “We were really on it today, the car was really strong and we could have won the class and finished top five overall”, said Armaan, hinting disappointment at the final outcome.

    Armaan started the race from ninth position but like on Saturday, a huge incident on the opening lap led the race being red-flagged. The restart saw him holding his position and challenging the train of cars ahead.

    But his attention was focused as much on the car behind as it was ahead, with nine-time WRC champion Sebastien Loeb in his McLaren MP4-12C breathing down Armaan’s rear bumper.

    “I could see him coming in the mirrors but I had enough pace in the bag to keep him behind and was focusing on passing the cars right ahead of me”, he revealed.

    But the BMW Z4 GT’s inherent lack of straight line speed prevented him from passing the Nissan GT-R and Mercedes SLS lying close ahead of him, despite the BMW holding an advantage around the rest of the 4.3-kilometer layout.

    “Coming off the final corner, I just couldn’t stay with them, slipstream or no. It has been a weak area and even though there aren’t many long straights here, it still managed to hamper us”, revealed Armaan.

    Having held Loeb off for the length of his stint, Armaan pitted for the mandatory driver change on lap 14, but disaster was in store.

    “As soon as I tried to unbuckle [the seatbelt] myself, it refused to release despite repeated efforts. Then we had the crew on it and it took forever for me to come out and buckle Melroy [teammate] back in”, he said.

    While this drama was unfolding in the pitlane, the team was steadily dropping down the order and lost nearly five positions by the time Heemskerk got back on the track.

    There onwards, the team’s race was just an exercise in damage limitation and the Danish driver did his best to claw back lost time, but simply ran out of laps to get back up the order significantly, ultimately finishing tenth overall and third in the Pro-Am class.

    “It is quite disappointing to be honest, given what we were capable of this weekend. But I’m happy that after a difficult start to the season, we’ve managed to turn a corner”, commented Armaan.

    “We need to improve a bit on the pitstop front as well as sort out the straightline speed deficit. Next two tracks on the calendar – Slovakia Ring and Navarra are more straightline-dependent and we’ll be at more of a disadvantage than we were here at Zandvoort”, he cited.

    The next round of the FIA GT Series is scheduled at Slovakia Ring on 17-18 August.

    ends

    Armaan Ebrahim, along with teammate, on podium after finishing third. A Meco Motorsports photo.
    Armaan Ebrahim, along with teammate, on podium after finishing third. A Meco Motorsports photo.

  • Vettel keeps Kimi at bay to take first win at home

    Nurburgring, 7 July 2013: Red Bull Racing driver Sebastian Vettel has extended his championship lead with a hard-fought victory at the German Grand Prix, adopting a three-stop strategy with one stint on the P Zero Yellow tyre at the start of the race followed by three longer stints on the P Zero White medium tyre.

    Thus the German won at home for the first time with Kimi Raikkonen’s Lotus pushing him during the last couple of laps. It is Vettel’s 30th GP win.

    Meanwhile, Sahara Force India failed to finish in points and the German GP halted a strong streak of performances by the Indian outfit. Paul Di Resta was overtaken by his former teammate Nico Hulkenberg in the fag end as he could only finish 11th. Sutil finished 13th.

    Paul said: “It’s not been the easiest of weekends for us, but in the final part of the race it looked like we were on course to score some points. In the end we just ran out of tyres during the last couple of laps, but it was always going to be risky with our two-stop strategy, especially as we had to pit under the safety car. There were times in the race when the car was working well, but I really struggled with the first set of mediums and was not happy with the balance. Things improved quite a bit for the final stint, but by then we were out of position. It’s a bit gutting to miss out on points so we need to unleash our potential and get back to our usual form in Hungary.”
    “It turned out to be quite a disappointing race and for whatever reason we’ve just not had the pace this weekend,” said Adrian Suitl. “I struggled a lot with the tyres and had to convert from a two-stop race to a three-stop race, which was not our plan. I also lost some time at my final pit stop and after that the points were just too far away.”
     Robert Fernley, Deputy Team Principal, was disappointed with the end of the points streak. “It’s disappointing to end our run of points finishes, but Paul came very close to picking up the final point today. Ultimately his two-stop strategy wasn’t quite enough to fend off our competitors in the final few laps, but we came close to pulling it off. Adrian’s race was also decided by tyre wear because we had to switch him to a three-stop strategy mid-way through the race. Overall we were missing some performance and didn’t have the pace to make the strategy work. Both Paul and Adrian were unable to pass the Williams of Maldonado after the safety car, which compromised the strategy. With three weeks until the next race and a young driver test before that, we will work hard to ensure we can recapture the form we’ve shown earlier in the season,” he felt.
    Pirelli adds:

    The championship leader started from second on the grid and made an excellent start to take the lead at the first corner. There were several strategies at work right from the beginning, with both Ferraris starting on the medium compound tyre, as well as the McLaren of Jenson Button and the Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg. From 11th, Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) was also one of the seven drivers to start on the medium tyre.

    A safety car with 36 laps to go prompted most drivers to make their second stops, with the final stops coming in the closing stages of the race. As different drivers were using varied strategies, the podium was only settled in the final laps. Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen completed a long middle stint to lead the race, before pitting for soft tyres with 11 laps to go. Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and Button also completed the race on the soft tyre. The top five finishers all used a three-stop strategy, with Button the highest-placed two-stopper in sixth.

    Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery said: “This had all the ingredients for a brilliantly strategic race from the beginning, with some drivers starting on the medium tyre in order to go longer in the first stint than the cars on the soft tyre. For many teams, this was almost a qualifying tyre – which gave the tactics an interesting edge. There were different strategies in play, which meant that the finish was extremely close. Overall performance and durability of our tyres were in line with our expectations while thermal degradation was perhaps a little higher than expected today, due to the high track temperatures, but wear was as we predicted. It would certainly have been possible to complete the race with two pit stops, as many of the competitors showed. However, the safety car slightly altered things. Last but certainly not least I would like to thank our staff at the factory in Izmit in Turkey who have worked tirelessly after Silverstone to produce the required amount of new rear tyres, and our logistics team who made sure that the tyres were here on Tuesday. It was a big team effort, for which I would like to thank everyone.”

    ends

    From left: Kimi Raikkonen (2nd), Red Bull engineer, Sebastian Vettel (German GP winner) and third placed Romain Grosjean also of Lotus on podium on Sunday. A Pirelli photo
    From left: Kimi Raikkonen (2nd), Red Bull engineer, Sebastian Vettel (German GP winner) and third placed Romain Grosjean also of Lotus on podium on Sunday. A Pirelli photo

  • Raj Bharath finishes third in Race 1: Formula Masters

    Ordos (China), 7 July 2013: After qualifying third at Ordos International Circuit, Indian racing driver Raj Bharath rounded off his race weekend with a podium finish in Race 1  while engine issues in Race 2 didn’t allow him to finish better than sixth at round three of Formula Masters China. He came third.

    Driving for Meco Motorsport, the Bangalore lad had posted his maiden win of the season on the last outing at Shanghai International circuit. At Ordos though, mechanical issues which first surfaced in qualifying, prevented him from showing his pace. But the 19-year old manage to hold on through the opening race of the weekend to finish third, a Meco Motorsports release said.

    “The car seemed to lack acceleration out of corner exits, so I was losing speed on the straights and couldn’t catch up to my rivals ahead”, conceded Raj.

    Things took a turn for worse in race two and Raj found it difficult to maintain his position, having started third. So despite a bout of defensive driving, he could only cross the line in sixth.

    “It was much harder in the second race as drivers behind me were quicker, as our issues had become more pronounced”, he said.

    “I did the best I could but there was no way of holding them back when you’re lacking a lot of speed on the straights”, he added disappointingly.

    Race three of the weekend was cancelled due to some safety issues on the circuit, which turned out be a blessing in disguise as it limited the amount of points that could have been further lost in the championship standings.

    The cancelled race will be held at the championship’s next outing scheduled at Inje Circuit in Korea.

    “Honestly it was a relief that one race got postponed, so hopefully we’ll get to the bottom of the issues and we’ll be back to our usual competitiveness in Korea”, concluded Raj.

    Round four of the Formula Masters Championship is scheduled at Inje Circuit from 2-4 August.

    ABOUT RAJ BHARATH:

    Born November 20, 1994 in Bangalore, Raj took his first steps in motorsport with karting in 2008 – like all aspiring F1 drivers. Then aged 14, he immediately showed glimpses of his potential in his debut year, winning the trophy for the ‘Most promising rookie of the year’ in the National Karting championship.

    He eventually won the title in 2010 and progressed to Formula BMW Asia in 2011 followed by the Ferrari Academy supported Formula Pilota in 2012.

    For 2013, Raj aims to participate in the Formula Masters China and win the championship before moving to Europe in 2014, and getting closer to his aim of making it to Formula 1. He posted his first victory of the season at the Shanghai International Circuit in May.

    endsRaj at Ordos International Circuit

  • Armaan 2nd in Round 3 at GT World Series Pro-Am

    Zandvoort (Netherlands), 6 July 2013: Indian racing driver Armaan Ebrahim and BMW Sports Trophy Team India clinched their maiden podium of the 2013 FIA GT World Series at the Zandvoort Circuit, finishing second in the Pro-Am category and a brilliant ninth overall.

    It was a welcome result for the team after a disappointing last outing at Zolder in Belgium, where Armaan’s teammate crashed the car during practice and put the team out of contention for the weekend, a Meco Motorsports release said.

    “This is effectively our second race of the season and my first at this circuit, so it feels incredible to finish on the podium”, said an elated Armaan.

    Prior to the weekend, the team had done a brief shakedown at Spa, along with Armaan’s new teammate Melroy Heemskerk, who had replaced Jouse who couldn’t continue due to some contractual issues with the team.

    A Zandvoort native, Heemskerk had no problem getting comfortable in the car and both drivers ended up having similar pace at the Danish venue, despite Armaan’s comparative lack of experience at the circuit.

    “The shakedown did us good as it enabled me to get into the groove straightway on the race weekend, as I hadn’t been in the car for over two months before that”, clarified Armaan.

    After showing encouraging pace in practice sessions on Friday, the team was hoping for a good result in qualifying but was slightly left lagging on the setup front.

    “We had a few things to work on but just ran out of time during qualifying, so we were hoping to make a step forward in the afternoon”, he said.

    Heemskerk went on to start the race but things didn’t go to plan as a chaotic start saw the safety car being deployed on the opening lap and the Team India BMW Z4 dropped down the order at a rapid pace.

    The Dane was however able to recover as the team elected to pit as late as possible in the pitstop window, allowing for laps in clear air which allowed him to claw back the time lost in initial stages.

    Armaan took over around the mid-point of the one hour race and there was no looking back as he managed to carve his way up the field, setting the fastest lap for the team in the process and eventually finishing second in the Pro-Am category and a credible ninth overall.

    “It was a good run even though we had some braking issues with the ABS malfunctioning towards the end, so I had to brake earlier than normal”, Armaan clarified.

    “It wasn’t the best situation as we had some pressure from behind [the third-placed Lamborghini finished just over a second behind] but I was able to hold him off”, he elaborated.

    Armaan will start ninth for the main race tomorrow and hopes that more progress will be on the books.

    “Starting ninth tomorrow we can only go forward, so hopefully we’ll have another strong result to round off the weekend considering the amount of work everyone has put in since Zolder.” he concluded.                    

    Following the race weekend, Armaan will head to Munich – the headquarters of BMW AG, to mark the culmination of the Dynamic 1 contest run by BMW India. Armaan will join cricket legend and BMW brand ambassador Sachin Tendulkar, both racing the new BMW 1-series car and hosting the winners of the Dynamic 1 contest.

    ends

    Armaan Ebrahim finishes 2nd in Pro-Am class and overall 9th at the FIA GT World Series. A Meco Motorsports photo
    Armaan Ebrahim finishes 2nd in Pro-Am class and overall 9th at the FIA GT World Series. A Meco Motorsports photo

  • Raj Bharath qualifies third at Ordos Circuit in China

    Raj Bharath photo by Meco Motorsports.
    Raj Bharath photo by Meco Motorsports.

    Ordos (China) 5 July 2013: Having clinched his first win of the season at Shanghai International Circuit in May, Indian youngster Raj Bharath qualified third at round three of Formula Masters China at Ordos International Circuit.

    Backed by Bangalore-based real estate developer Embassy Group and driving for Indian outfit Meco Motorsport, Raj will start from the second row of the grid for two out of three races of the weekend, a Meco Motorsports release said.

    At the start of the weekend, the 3.7-kilometre layout was extremely dusty as expected but given the large number of races scheduled for the weekend, the track gripped up in no time.

    Throughout the free practice sessions, Raj was continuously in the top five and the team managed to make a step forward for qualifying, even though the session didn’t go smoothly due to yellow flags.

    “There was a yellow flag at the first corner due to some incident and it happened so that I got my fastest first sector on that lap. I backed off but next time around the yellow was still there and I posted my fastest lap on that lap”, clarified Raj.

    Six other drivers went through the same routine and had their fastest qualifying laps cancelled as a result. Luckily though, Raj’s consistency paid off as his second fastest-qualifying time was just one-tenth off his best time and he didn’t lose any grid positions as a result.

    “The grid is so tight, if I had been three-tenths or so slower on my second best lap, I would’ve lost at least three positions. So from where we are now, we can still hope to get on to the podium and even win”, he surmised.

    Race one and two are scheduled for Saturday with race three on Sunday.

    ABOUT RAJ BHARATH:

    Born November 20, 1994 in Bangalore, Raj took his first steps in motorsport with karting in 2008 – like all aspiring F1 drivers. Then aged 14, he immediately showed glimpses of his potential in his debut year, winning the trophy for the ‘Most promising rookie of the year’ in the National Karting championship.

    He eventually won the title in 2010 and progressed to Formula BMW Asia in 2011 followed by the Ferrari Academy supported Formula Pilota in 2012.

    For 2013, Raj aims to participate in the Formula Masters China and win the championship before moving to Europe in 2014, and getting closer to his aim of making it to Formula 1. He posted his first victory of the season at the Shanghai International Circuit in May.

    Career highlights:

    2008       Most promising rookie in the JK Rotax Karting championship.
    2009       Second runner-up in JK Rotax Max Karting championship.
    2010       Rotax Max Karting NATIONAL CHAMPION.
    2011       Debut in Formula BMW Asia Pacific – five top ten finishes.
    2012       Formula Pilota China – 10 podium finishes and three wins.

    Formula Masters China car specifications

    Chassis: Tatuus FA010, FIA F3 homologated
    Engine:     Volkswagen Formula EVO 2.0
    Gearbox: Six-speed sequential with LSD
    Power:     180 PS
    Torque:     200Nm
    Suspension: Double-wishbone with pushrod activation
    Brakes:     Four-pot Dixcel calipers
    Tyres:     Front – 180/550 R13
    Rear – 240/570 R13
    Weight:     540kg with driver

    Formula Masters calendar

    Zhuhai (China)                  10-12 May
    Shanghai (China)                 24-26 May
    Ordos (China)                        05-07 July
    Inje (Korea)                            2-4 August
    Sepang (Malaysia)              13-15 Sep
    Shanghai (China)                 25-27 Oct
    Macau Grand Prix                 8-10 Nov

    ends

  • Armaan set for Round 3 of FIA GT World Series

    Zandvoort (Netherlands), 4 July 2013: Indian racing driver Armaan Ebrahim and BMW Team India are looking forward to a strong outing at round three of the FIA GT World Series at the Zandvoort Circuit this weekend.

    The team’s last outing at Spa had proved to be a disappointment as after showing top five pace early on, Armaan’s teammate Julien Jouse crashed the car heavily, putting the team out of contention for the weekend, a Meco Motorsport release said.

    However, with the car rebuilt, BMW Team India did a shakedown at the Spa on Wednesday and things seem to be looking up.

    “I think it went well at Spa even though it was very, very wet. The car seems to be as good as new and we turned in a few decent laps even though the conditions were torrid”, said Armaan.

    The run up to the shakedown was far from smooth though as a couple of days back Armaan found himself without a teammate as Jouse could not continue with the team due to some contractual issues. Thankfully, Armaan’s Race Manager Gary Ayles was able to put together a contract with Danish driver Melroy Heemskerk – a Zandvoort native with plenty of experience at the venue. 

    “It is great to have Melroy onboard as he has immense knowledge of the track which will certainly help us as it is my first time at the circuit. Our pace at Spa turned out to be similar so we’re surely in a competitive position from that perspective”, added Armaan.

    Following the race weekend, Armaan will head to Munich – the headquarters of BMW AG, to mark the culmination of the Dynamic 1 contest run by BMW India. Armaan will join cricket legend and BMW brand ambassador Sachin Tendulkar, both racing the new BMW 1-series car and hosting the winners of the Dynamic 1 contest.

    ends

    File photo of Armaan Ebrahim. Photo by Meco Motorsport
    File photo of Armaan Ebrahim. Photo by Meco Motorsport

  • Toppo, Prabhu to take part in Asia Dream Cup

    Chennai, 5 July 2013: India’s Sumit Lucas Toppo and Arunagiri Prahbu could not feel more excited about racing at their home turf, Madras Motor Race Track (MMRT) in Chennai, India for the first time in the Asia Dream Cup that runs concurrently with the PETRONAS Asia Road Racing Championship next weekend.

    It’s second season running, this new class famous for its incredibly close racing and unpredictable results is conducted with the full support of Honda Motor Co Ltd Japan is a ‘scholarship programme aimed at producing world-class levels from within the Asian ranks.

    Riders will be racing astride the Honda CBR 250R, a production model that mirrors the Moto3 class in the world championship and in doing so, the Asia Dream Cup becomes the platform for hopeful riders to bridge the gap between Underbone racing to full-frame bikes either in the 600cc class, Moto3 or Moto2.

    Sumit and Arunagiri are the second batch of Indian riders to participate in the one-make series after Gautam Mayilvaganan and Deepak Papineni made their debut last year. Sumit was runner-up in the Group C category in the Indian National Motorcycle Championship last year.

    “Taking part in the Asia Dream Cup has been a an eye-opening experience. Not only do I get to compete along some of the most talented young riders in Asia and improve my riding skills but we are also constantly exposed to the technical side of racing from people who have deep knowledge of the sport,” said Sumit.

    He went on to talk about his expectations for the upcoming race and commented, “We feel highly motivated for our home-race because if there is any chance we can stamp our mark, the Madras Motor Race Track would be it. None of the other riders have been there before so our experience racing there will certainly be an advantage.”

    For more info please log on to the PETRONAS Asia Road Racing Championship official website, www.asiaroadracing.com

     

    ends

    Arunagiri Prahbu in action at Indonesia
    Arunagiri Prahbu in action at Indonesia

  • Hamilton takes pole; Paul to start on P5, Sutil P7

    Silverstone, 29 June 2013: Mercedes AMG Petronas’ Lewis Hamilton took pole position for the British Grand Prix with a stunning lap at Silverstone this afternoon to push his teammate Nico Rosberg to second place as Mercedes locked the front row again here on Saturday.

    Meanwhile, Sahara Force India came up with a stunning show with Paul Di Resta taking the fifth place and Adrian Sutil starting on P 7 with Daniel Ricciardo in between. Red Bulls were right behind the leaders with Sebastian Vettel beating Mark Webber for P3. Romain Grosjean of Lotus was ahead of his teammate in P8 and Ferrari completed the top 10 with Fernando Alonso on P10.

    • Lewis achieved the team’s fifth pole position in six races and the 28th pole of his career today
    • Nico’s second place secured the team’s third front-row lockout in the past four races
    • Both drivers used three sets of option tyres in qualifying, saving new hard tyres fortomorrow’s race.

    Quotes: Lewis Hamilton 
    It feels incredible to be on pole, just like it did back in 2007. We have the greatest Formula One fans in the world here in Britain and there was a great turnout today, which makes the atmosphere so special. My lap in Q3 was a lap for the fans out there around the circuit. I haven’t been feeling comfortable in the car all weekend, so I was really happy to find a good lap and this feels fantastic. The team has done a phenomenal job and it’s a great reward for the guys here at the track but also back at base, especially as our two factories are so close to the track. But we know that tomorrow is another day and our Sunday performance isn’t quite as strong right now. Our long run pace looked ok yesterday and we were able to manage the tyres quite well. It’s going to be tough to keep Seb behind but we will give it everything we’ve got. 

    Nico Rosberg 
    A fantastic team result today and it’s great to see how much progress we have made together since last year. The feeling of confidence that our car will be quick in qualifying is fantastic and I love going to a race knowing that we have a shot of a strong grid position. The team are doing a great job and we are keeping up the development so a big thank you to everyone at the factories, many of whom are here today watching. My lap was good and starting from the front row is great but Lewis did a fantastic job today. I hope we have improved our race pace; it will be all about tyre management tomorrow and keeping the others behind us. I’m confident that we can get a good result.

    Ross Brawn 
    The team has worked incredibly well over the past few months to achieve a result like today’s. We have been chipping away at the performance, quietly bringing new updates and continuing to push, while also focusing our efforts on how we could improve our tyre management issues, and it seems to be paying off. The engineers and drivers got the cars into the perfect place for qualifying and, as the wind dropped towards the end of the session, both Lewis and Nico were able to deliver strong performances. Lewis put in a stunning lap at the end of the session and it’s great to see him and Nico pushing each other so hard in every session. It will be more of a challenge to remain as competitive in the race but we gathered good information yesterday and hope to be able to build on that tomorrow.

    Toto Wolff 
    A fantastic result for the entire team to take our third front row lockout this year. Fair, sporting competition is what Mercedes stands for and, while a lot has been said and written this weekend, the only thing that really matters is what happens out on track. The focus this afternoon should be on our drivers, Lewis and Nico, and on this fantastic team who have pushed so hard to keep developing the car in tough times and solve our problems. Lewis put in a mega lap: I don’t know if it’s the Silverstone factor or something else, but that was an incredible performance. Nico has been strong all weekend and second position gives us a great platform for the race tomorrow. Tomorrow should be warmer and we have struggled with race pace at some circuits so far this year. But the trend is going in the right direction, and I hope we can continue that tomorrow.

    Sahara Force India delivered a strong showing at its local track as Paul Di Resta qualified in fifth place for the British Grand Prix with Adrian Sutil in seventh.
     
    P5        Paul Di Resta   VJM06-04
    Q1:       1:32.062
    Q2:       1:31.291
    Q3:       1:30.736
    Paul: “I’m over the moon with the qualifying result and I think the whole team can feel very satisfied with fifth on the grid. The morning practice session was quite difficult so it feels great to come through and end up just behind two Mercedes and two Red Bulls. This track takes a lot of commitment and you need to build up your speed, but I think we saved our best till last – and that’s when it mattered. For tomorrow our tyre wear looks healthy and we’ve given ourselves a good opportunity to get in some clean air during the race. I will sleep well tonight and hope that we can have a straightforward race, and come away with lots of points.”
    P7        Adrian Sutil      VJM06-03
    Q1:       1:32.002
    Q2:       1:31.079
    Q3:       1:30.908
    Adrian: “Seventh place is a great result today. The car was not easy to drive this morning, but we made some improvements before qualifying and found more speed with each session. If we can do our homework tonight then we have the potential to have a great race. There are still some unknowns with the tyres over long runs because I haven’t really done more than ten laps on a set of tyres, but I feel comfortable on both compounds. So we can be happy with the result, but we need to concentrate on tomorrow because that’s what counts. In terms of strategy we need to keep an open mind and have several options going into the race so that we can react as the race develops.”
    Vijay Mallya, Team Principal & Managing Director
    “I am delighted with today’s qualifying result. The sun was shining, the grandstands were full, and we put on a fantastic show. Fifth place for Paul at his home Grand Prix is a tremendous effort, especially on this high-speed track, which has not been our strongest race in previous years. Adrian’s seventh place confirms just how competitive we are this weekend and we know that we have good race pace. For tomorrow it’s important that we maximise these starting positions and hopefully give our supporters and partners something to celebrate at our local race.”

    ends