INDIA in F1

Tag: Indian

  • Spa is a happy hunting ground for Force India: Mallya

    Spa, 22 Aug 2017: Sahara Force India returns from its summer break and looks ahead to the Belgian Grand Prix.

    Vijay Mallya: “Spa is always a special weekend for Formula One. It’s one of the greatest circuits in the world and a marvellous venue to appreciate the best drivers in the fastest cars. It’s been a happy hunting ground for this team too and I’d like to think we have a good chance of adding some more memories this weekend.

    “We’re over the half-way point of the season now and feeling upbeat about the remaining nine races. Along with Spa, there are some other tracks coming up that should allow us to show the speed of the VJM10. We are pushing hard with the development of this car and there are some further steps we will introduce over the next few events.

    “Our consistency has been our strength this year. We’ve scored points in ten of the eleven races so far and had double points finishes in nine of those races. I’m proud of the team for this achievement and it shows that all our hard work is paying off. We’ve still got our sights on the podium for this year and if the opportunity arises I believe we are ready to take it.”

     

    Sergio: “I’m feeling fresh and relaxed after the summer break and really looking forward to getting back to racing. I had a very nice break with my family, but now I can’t wait to be back on track.

    “Belgium is the one of the best circuits to experience an F1 car. I love the high-speed layout, the history of the place and you get to meet some very passionate fans there. It’s just a great weekend and there is also the question mark over the weather. It nearly always rains at least one of the days.

    “Pouhon is one of my favourite corners of the year. It’s so quick and satisfying when you get it just right. The 2017 cars will feel extra special through this part of the lap, as well as through Eau Rouge.

    “As we begin the second part of the season, I want to improve on what we have done so far. We have been competitive, but we also lost a few chances to score more points than we did. Hopefully we will make up for those lost points in the races to come.”

    Esteban: “I had a great summer holiday in the south of Spain. My batteries are fully recharged and I’m looking forward to getting back in the car. It’s now a year for me as a Formula One driver and the time has gone by really quickly. So I’m no longer a rookie!

    “Spa is where I made my debut last year. It’s a great track, but it’s not necessarily one of my favourites. There are some special corners, especially through sector two, which has a nice rhythm. It’s a circuit where you have to be totally at one with the car because you need to be really committed through the high-speed corners.

    “Spa is usually a good track for racing because it’s easier to overtake there compared to some other tracks. There’s also the famous Spa weather which brings unpredictability. I don’t mind if it rains because it could bring some more opportunities our way.

    “I think we can be competitive this weekend regardless of whether it’s dry or wet. The layout of the track should suit our car quite well. Everybody loves driving through Eau Rouge and it’s certainly the most famous part of the lap. In these cars it will be an amazing experience. Maybe the first lap of the race will be a bit of a challenge, but after that I think we should be able to take it easily flat.”

    Sahara Force India’s Chief Race Engineer, Tom McCullough, analyses the challenges of Spa-Francorchamps.

    “Spa is an iconic circuit and a great test for Formula One machinery, even more so this season. It’s the longest lap of the season with a mix of slow and quick corners, long straights and elevation changes: finding the right setup is always a challenge. There are some unique corners, like the Eau Rouge/Raidillon complex with its rapid compression and decompression, which will be asking a lot from the driver, the car and the tyres. There are also many long and fast corners putting big loads through the tyres: it will be important to understand how the compounds on offer, the three softest of the range, work in these conditions. Usually, races in Spa are very entertaining: there are many overtaking opportunities, mistakes are easily punished and the weather can play a big part. It often rains and the extended nature of the circuit means you could be driving on a completely soaked track in one sector and on bone dry tarmac in another. Choosing the right strategy and being ready to adapt to the changing circumstances is crucial.”

    eom/Sahara Force India Press Release

  • Double delight for Anindith, Arjun: FMSCI Racing Nationals

    Double delight for Anindith, Arjun: FMSCI Racing Nationals

    Chennai, 20 Aug 2017: Winning both the races today, Hyderabad’s Anindith Reddy extended his domination in the MRF FF1600 class while Arjun Narendran, the Coimbatore-based defending champion in the Indian Touring Cars category also completed a double as the fourth round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Racing Championship concluded at the MMRT track on Sunday.

    With the fifth and concluding round to be run on September 16-17, Reddy, who leads Chennai’s Sandeep Kumar by 29 points, is well placed in the championship whose winner earns a ticket to the Mazda Road To Indy shootout in the United States later this year.

    It was smooth sailing for Reddy in both the races today as he put in a flawless performance to destroy the opposition as he more than made up for a disappointing outing on Saturday when he finished fifth after being forced to pit early in the race for repairs on the nose cone.

    Similarly, Narendran of Red Rooster Performance, with the two wins this weekend, narrowed the leeway to just seven points after championship leader Bengaluru’s Deepak Paul Chinnappa (Race Concepts) dropped crucial points with a non-finish in Saturday’s first race and third place finish in the next outing today. Narendran won both races virtually unchallenged, after the initial jostling for track positions.

    “I had a good weekend. The car felt great, no problems at all. I am happy that my campaign is back on track with the two wins this weekend after the sort of start I had to the season when I failed to score a win in two rounds,” said Narendran.

    Mikhail Merchant from Mumbai (Team Game Over) also scored a double in the Indian Junior Touring Cars category as did Bengaluru’s Varun Anekar (Race Concepts) in the Super Stock class.

    In the Esteem Cup, Mumbai’s Anant Pithawalla (Team N1) consolidated his position at the top of the leaderboard with three podium finishes on the weekend while Mamallapuram’s Raghul Rangasamy, who won two races in the triple-header, completed a fine double.

    Delhi’s Karminder Singh stamped his authority in the Volkswagen Ameo Cup by winning both the races today to enjoy a lead of 104 points going into the concluding round next month when the remaining three races are to be run.

    The results (Provisional):

    MRF FF1600 – Race 2 (15 laps): 1. Anindith Reddy (Hyderabad) (14: 57.509); 2. Sandeep Kumar (Chennai) (15: 01.399); 3. Chetan Korada (Chennai) (15:15.305). Race 3 (15 laps): 1. Anindith Reddy (14: 58.193); 2. Sandeep Kumar (14: 58.410); 3. Chetan Korada (15:10.826).

    Indian Touring Cars – Race 2 (15 laps): 1.Arjun Narendran (Red Rooster Performance) (16:52.608); 2. Ashish Ramaswamy (Red Rooster Performance) (16:58.568); 3. Deepak Paul Chinnappa (Race Concepts) (17: 08.741).

    Saloon Cars – Super Stock (Race 2, 12 laps): 1. RP Rajarajan (Performance Racing) (14:30.913); 2. Varun V Anekar (Race Concepts) (14: 31.640); 3. Bala Vijay B (Performance Racing) (14: 49.918). Race 3 (12 laps): 1. Varun V Anekar (14:25.775); 2. RP Rajarajan (14:37.434); 3. Bala Vijay B (14:40.081).

    Indian Junior Touring Cars (Race 2, 12 laps): 1. Mikhail Merchant (Team Game Over) (15:27.157); 2.  Hisham EKP (DTS Racing) (14:27.335+1 lap); 3. Kamlesh Parmer (Team N1) (14:28.859+1 lap). Race 3 (12 laps): 1. Mikhail Merchant (15:20.098); 2. Hisham EKP (14:17.583+1 lap); 3. Prabu AS (Red Rooster Performance) (14:28.191+1 lap).

    Esteem Cup (Race 2, 12 laps): 1. Narendran Sankaran (RAD Racing) (14: 19.391); 2. Sidharth Balakrishnan (Red Rooster Performance) (14: 24.264); 3. Anant Pithawala (Team N1) (14:25.896). Race 3 (12 laps): 1. Raghul Rangasamy (Performance Racing) (14:15.558); 2. Anant Pithawalla (Team N1) (14:22.634); 3. Narendran Sankaran (RAD Racing) (14:29.254).

    Volkswagen Ameo Cup – Race 2 (15 laps): 1. Karminder Singh (Delhi) (17:05.639); 2. Jeet Jhabakh (Hyderabad) (17:19.305); 3. Dhruv Mohite (Kolhapur) (17:20.487). Race 3 (15 laps): 1. Karminder Singh (17:06.047); 2. Saurav Bandyopadhyay (Mumbai) (17:08.962); 3. Dhruv Mohite (Kolhapur) (17:15.446).

    Top honours for Tharani, Jayant in Drag races

    Chennai, August 20: Local racer Karthik Tharani, driving the Volkswagen Ameo, and V Jayant in a Maruti Esteem, topped in the Unrestricted and Indian Open categories, respectively, in the third round of the MMSC fmsci Indian Drag Racing Championship at the MMRT track, here on Sunday.

    Tharani clocked 14.130 seconds while V Jayant, piloting the Maruti Esteem, was the fastest with a timing of 14.049.

     

    The results (Provisional):

    Unrestricted: 1. Karthik Tharani (Volkswagen Ameo) (14.130secs); 2. D Vidyaprakash (Maruti Zen) (14.210); 3. Siddharth Singh Jhala (Maruti Zen) (14.210). Esteem Cup: 1. Fahad Kutty (Team Game Over) (16.394); 2. Imran Majid (Game Over) (16.478).

    Indian Open: 1. V Jayant (Maruti Esteem, 14.049); 2. D Vidyaprakash (Maruti Zen, 14.345); 3. Siddharth Singh Jhala (Maruti Zen, 14.760).

    Indian Touring Cars: 1. Sivaramakrishnan (Maruti Esteem, 15.845); 2. Tharun Kumar (Maruti Zen, 15.957).

    Super Stock: 1. Imran Majid (Game Over, Honda City) (16.410); 2. Swajit (Team N1, Honda City) (16.498); 3. Kashif Kapadia (Game Over) (Honda City) (16.550).

    Indian Junior Touring Cars: 1. Kamlesh Parmar (Honda Jazz) (17.718); 2. Imran Majid (Team Game Over, Honda Brio) (18.014); 3. Kashif Kapadia (Game Over, Honda Brio) (18.177).

    MMSC Support Races – Pro-Stock (Petrol, Up to 1150cc): Fahad Kutty (Team Game Over) (16.737); 2. Arjun Zaveri (Game Over, Maruti Zen) (16.771); 3. Mohammed Ali (Game Over, Maruti Zen) (17.122). 1151-1650cc: 1. Mikhail Merchant (Team Game Over, Honda City) (16.463); 2. Fahad Kutty (Game Over, Honda City) (16.499); 3. Swajit (Team N1, Honda City) (16.752). Petrol (2051-3060cc combined): 1. V Jayant (Maruti Esteem, 14.613); 2. Kasha Sai (Honda Accord, 17.014); 3. Sanjay Madhavan (Mazda Miata, 18.960).

    Pro-Stock (Diesel, 1151-1450cc): 1. Mikhail Merchant (Team Game Over, Ford Figo) (17.995); 2. Uday Nerulkar (Game Over, Hyundai Getz) (18.384); 3. Arjun Zaveri (Team Game Over, Ford Figo) (18.475). 1651-2051cc: 1. Vivek Ramachander (Skoda Laura) (15.010); 2. Rayomand Banajee (Volkswagen Vento) (17.575).

    eom/AP Media Comm. release

  • Mathana takes maiden win; Jagan crashes in the last lap, recovers

    Chennai, 6 Aug 2017: Mathana Kumar of Honda Ten10 Racing finally emerged from the shadows of his peers while chalking up his maiden win of the season in the premier Super Sport Indian (up to 165cc) class as the third round of the MRF MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship concluded at the MMRT track here on Sunday.

    Mathana, 25-year old from Trichy, with three second-place finishes in five outings this season, came good in Race-2 and the 25 points he garnered took him 91 points, just 14 behind team-mate Rajiv Sethu even as defending champion Jagan Kumar (TVS Racing) squandered a double by crashing on the last lap.

    Aravind Balakrishnan, also of Honda Ten10 Racing, dominated the Pro-Stock (up to 165cc) class by completing a fine double which took him to the top of the leaderboard while Gusto Racing’s Amarnath Menon from Kozhikode scored his fifth win in six outings in the Super Sport Indian (300-400cc) class.

    Anup Kumar M of RACR team took the honours in the highly-competitive Novice (Stock up to 165cc) race in a near-photo finish ahead of Sparks Racing duo of Satyanarayana Raju (Sparks Racing) and Sri Rahil Pillarishetty.

    The Super Sport Indian (up to 165cc) race was one of fluctuating fortunes. Jagan, winner of the first race on Saturday, initially led a tightly-packed bunch of five riders that also included Sethu, Mathana, and TVS Racing mates KY Ahamed and Sylvester.

    Jagan looked good for another win until a problem with his bike saw him drop down the grid and later crashed on the last lap, but picked himself up to finish fifth. By then, Mathana had moved to the front with Sylvester in hot pursuit. Sethu survived a contact with Ahamed who fell and retired, to come in third.

    “I am very happy to score my first win of this season. I have had issues with the bike, but I was determined to win today. I kept myself in the front-running bunch and then passed Jagan, Rajiv and Ahamed, and then led all the way to the finish,” said Mathana.

    The Super Sport Indian 300-400cc race was as dramatic with front-runner Dinesh Kumar (Team Alisha Abdullah) went into a water puddle at Turn-1 and crashed. It allowed Menon to move ahead along with Anthony Peter. The pair traded positions once before Menon took a decisive lead on the last lap and win a close race.

    “I had a bad start, but I managed to stay with Dinesh until he crashed at Turn-1. Thereafter, it was a close fight with Anthony Peter who overtook me once, but I regained my track position. It was very tight when we crossed the finish line. It is a huge relief for me after having crashed during practice, qualifying and the first race yesterday. So, I was keen to bring the bike home safely and glad that I did it,” said Menon.

    The results (Provisional):

    Super Sport Indian (up to 165cc) Race 2, 9 laps: 1: Mathana Kumar (Honda Ten 10 Racing) (18:06.287); 2. Harry Sylvester (TVS Racing) (18:06.744); 3. Rajiv Sethu (Honda Ten 10 Racing) (18:15.142).

    Super Sport Indian (300-400cc) 9 laps: 1. Amarnath Menon (Gusto Racing) (17:51.839); 2, Antony Peter (Kingdom Motorsports) (17:51.945); 3. Deepak Ravi Kumar (Moto-Rev) (17:52.117).

    Pro-Stock (up to 165cc) Race 2, 9 laps: 1. Aravind Balakrishnan (Honda Ten 10 Racing) (18:56.859); 2. Aravind Ganesh (pvt.) (19:04.364); 3. Naresh Babu (RACR) (19:08.598).

    Stock (up to 165cc) Novice  – Final (6 laps): 1: Anup Kumar M (RACR) (13:15.938); 2. Satyanarayana Raju (Sparks Racing) (13:15.940); 3. Sri Rahil Pillarishetty (Sparks Racing) (13:16.195).

    One-Make Championship – Honda CBR250 (Open) Race 1, 6 laps: 1: Harikrishnan Rajagopal (Honda Ten 10Racing) (12: 27.667); 2. Rajiv Sethu (Honda Ten 10Racing) (12: 27.808); 3. Abhishek Vasudev (pvt.) (12:28.253). Race 2 (9 laps): 1. Rajiv Sethu (Honda Ten 10 Racing) (18:37.642); 2. Harikrishnan Rajagopal (Honda Ten 10 Racing) (18:37.738); 3. Amit Richard Topno (Pro Lap Racing) (18:38.064).

    CBR 150 (Novice) Race 2, 6 laps: 1. Satyanarayana Raju (Hyderabad) (13:27.240); 2. Vysakh Sobhan (Kerala) (13:27.560); 3. Amala Jerald A (Chennai) (13:28.413).

    TVS Apache RTR200 (Open) Race 2, 6 laps: 1: Sivanesan S (Chennai) (13:13.935); 2. Kannan Karnan (Chennai) (13:14.000); 3. Yuvaraj S (Chennai) (13:14.020). Novice (Race 2, 6 laps): 1. Anup Kumar M (Chennai) (13:19.447); 2. Romario J (Chennai) (13:23.279); 3. Shankar Guru A (Chennai) (13:24.762).

    eom/AP Media Communications release

  • Aishwarya Pissay wins historic first National Championship race for ladies in a thrilling duel

    Aishwarya Pissay wins historic first National Championship race for ladies in a thrilling duel

    Aishwarya Pissay of Bengaluru tops the maiden ladies class National Championship race to complete a double. Image by Sriharsha Nadiger, Special Arrangement with INDIAinF1.

    Coimbatore, 10 June 2017: The girls race in the Rolon round of the MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship lit up an overcast day marked by intermittent showers with Bengaluru’s Aishwarya Pissay of Apex Racing Academy team winning a thrilling battle at the Kari Motor Speedway, here on Saturday.

    The day’s programme was truncated due to rains in the evening and two scheduled races will be run on Sunday that will have an early start at 9 am, it was officially announced.

    In a very close and thrilling eight-lap race, pole-sitter Aishwarya was off to a bad start and briefly slid to third before recovering to take the lead. However, she got embroiled in a tight battle with Kalyani Potekar (Madhya Pradesh, Speed Up Racing) who nosed ahead in the last lap before committing an error at Turns 3 and 4 where Aishwarya got a jump on her to win the race.

    While Kalyani was left to rue her riding errors in the last lap to finish second, Chennai’s Alisha Abdullah (Alisha Abdullah Racing Academy) came in third.

    “I had a very bad start. I don’t know what happened but I managed to regain my track position. I had a tough battle with Kalyani and in the last lap, I managed to close the door on her and it gave me just enough breathing space to win the race,” said Aishwarya who later won the TVS girls race, a support event, for a creditable double.

    Another impressive winner on the day was Kerala’s Amarnath Menon of Gusto Racing who topped in the Super Sport Indian 300-400cc after front-runner Antony Peter (Kingdom Motorsport) packed up after the first lap.

    Finishing second behind Menon, who faced little competition after he took the lead, was his team-mate Arun Muthukrishnan with Vivek Pillai (Rockers Racing) completing the podium.

    One of the highlights of Sunday’s programme will be a 40-rider grid in the Stock (up to 165cc, Novice) race. The initial 58 entrants went through a process of qualifying and heats in two batches to make the grid for the race.

    The results (Provisional):

    National Championship – Super Sport Indian (300-400cc, 10 laps): 1. Amarnath Menon (Gusto Racing) (12mins, 49.080secs); 2. Arun Muthukrishnan (Gusto Racing) (12:56.517); 3. Vivek Pillai (Rockers Racing) (12:57.274).

    Stock (Novice, up to 165cc) – Heat 1 (8 laps): 1. Aditya Rao (Sparks Racing) (11:34.049); 3. Satyanarayana Raju (Sparks Racing) (11:38.535); 3. Nithish Kumar N (Sparks Racing) (11:40.161). Heat 2: 1. Akshay VM (Palghat) (11:35.275); 2. Navin A (Salem) (11:40.414); 3. AS Alexander (Chennai) (11:45.644).

    GIRLS – (Stock, up to 165cc, 8 laps): 1. Aishwarya Pissay (Bengaluru, Apex Racing Academy) (12:13.213); 2. Kalyani Potekar (Madhya Pradesh,  Speed Up Racing) (12:13.467); 3. Alisha Abdullah (Chennai, Alisha Abdullah Racing Academy) (12:15.613).

    One-Make Championship – Honda CBR150 (Novice, 8 laps): 1. Satya Narayana (Hyderabad) (14:27.445); 2. Bharath BS (Erode) (14:38.111); 3. Syed Nawas N (Chennai) (14:39.523).

    TVS Apache RTR 200 (Novice, 8 laps): 1. Peddu Sriharsha (Chennai) (14:22.692); 2. Shankar Guru (Chennai) (14:28.962); 3. Anup Kumar M (Chennai) (14:42.639).

    Support Race – TVS Girls race (8 laps): 1. Aishwarya Pisay (Bengaluru) (12:20.723); 2.Soundari (Chennai) (12:43.922); 3.Kokila Shiva Shankar (Banglaore) (12:59.397).

    eom/AP Media Comm. Press Release

  • Sarath, Sethu gear up for Suzuka challenge: ARRC

    Sarath, Sethu gear up for Suzuka challenge: ARRC

    Suzuka, 1 June 2017: Having scored points in the previous two rounds, India’s Shankar Sarath Kumar along with his RAMA Honda Racing team by NTS T.Pro Ten10 team-mate Rajiv Sethu hope to put in improved performance in the third round of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship at the historic circuit here this weekend.

    Chennai-based Sarath and young Sethu are part of the five-member team spearheaded by Japanese ace Tiga Hada, and backed by John Sudheer of the RAMA Group of companies. The Indian duo is also supported by Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India and Honda Motorsports Japan,

    Sarath, in his second season in the SuperSport 600cc class, said: “Last year, I did not have a good outing in Suzuka as I was able to participate in only Race 1 and had to sit out of Race 2 due to injury. This circuit is very demanding on bikes and I feel I am much fitter this year and I want to improve my timing and position for sure.

    “On this circuit, it is important to get into a rhythm and from the very first session, our goal is going to get the flow and have the right setup rfor the race, My target it to stay within 1.5 seconds of the top lap time so that I can finish in top 15.”

    Sethu, in his debut season in the highly competitive Asia Production 250cc class astride a Honda CBR 250, had a forgettable second round in Buriram , Thailand, in April, following a crash in the pre-race practice session and is eager to make up for it.

    “Yes, Buriram was a big disappointment for me, but I hope I will do far better at Suzuka. The track here is one of the most technical in the calendar. Since I have already raced the 2-hour endurance in 2016 , I know about the track . So for me, the goal for this round is going to be a top-8 result in both races though there is much more to learn the competition and fight,” said Sethu.

    John Sudheer, Chairman, RAMA Group of Companies, said: “The first two rounds this season have been pretty exciting with some good results for our team. We are in good position in the championship. I am very satisfied with the performance and I hope we continue similar performance with some podium finishes in Japan also.

    “We are close to middle of the season and I think we have good chance this year to once again fight on the top spot. Tiga Hada is doing very well. However, I want to see our Indian riders finish on top soon. They have to put in a lot of hard work and I am sure they will come up soon.

    Ramji Govindarajan, Team Manager, said: “In such a competitive and short championship, we have to understand the machine and the competition quickly to adapt and perform which I feel both the riders are doing as compared the previous years.

    “They are able to understand the bikes and the competition well and now and based on that, we have set realistic goals for them for Suzuka and I hope we see a good improvement in their lap times and position.”

    eom/AP Media Comm Release

    File photo of Sarath Kumar by Anand Philar.
  • Ruhaan misses another win by a whisker

    Ruhaan misses another win by a whisker

    Siena (Italy), 16 May 2017: Ruhaan Alva, a 10-year old schoolboy from Bengaluru, India, missed a second consecutive win in the 60cc class by a whisker and settled for second spot in the third round of the Italian Easykart Championship here on Sunday.

    In a thrilling 14-lap final, Ruhaan, supported by Italian kart manufacturer Birel Art, started second on the grid, but moved to the front of the 23-kart field on the second lap and held position despite close attention from his MLG Racing team-mate Lorenzo Patrese and Andrea Pirovano.

    The trio was bunched tight after 12 laps before Ruhaan was pushed wide on a right-hander which effectively cost him a possible victory as he had to rest content with second place at the finish behind a late-charging Daniele D’Urso who now heads the championship.

    The podium spot took Ruhaan to fourth in the championship with 48 points having missed the first round when he competed in the 60Mini category before opting for the for the more competitive higher class.

    Earlier, Ruhaan topped the pre-Final race starting from fifth as he led eight of the 11 laps to make up for a disappointing Heats outing when he finished fifth. The points from these two outings put him second on the grid for the Final.

    Ruhaan’s next outing in the championship is on June 10-11 in Lonato where the fourth round is scheduled to be held.

    eom/Press Release

  • Impressive sprint gets Maini a victory in Race 2: GP3

    Impressive sprint gets Maini a victory in Race 2: GP3

    Arjun becomes first Indian to win a GP3 race as he claims maiden win in Barcelona for Jenzer Motorsport team

    Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain.
    Sunday 14 May 2017
    Arjun Maini (IND, Jenzer Motorsport)
    Photo: Zak Mauger/GP3 Series Media Service
    Barcelona, 14 May 2017: Ace Indian racer Arjun Maini dominated Sunday morning’s race 2 at the Circuit de Catalunya here, easily grabbing the lead into turn one when the lights went out before leaving his rivals floundering with a mature and impressive sprint all the way to the flag to win by 6 seconds from Dorian Boccolacci and Alessio Lorandi.
    The 19-year-old Bengaluru boy was signed by HAAS F1 team as Development Driver last week and is competing in the GP3 series, which is being organised as a support race on the Formula One Sunday.

    One of the only two Indian drivers who raced in Formula One, Karun Chandhok tweeted saying A great start to the day,' as Arjun won his race while Haas F1 team too tweeted `Congratulations to our Development Driver, Arjun Maini, winner of Sunday morning’s GP3 Series race.”

    The victory was set up at the start, which opened under clear but cool conditions with the grid lying in the shadow of the giant front straight stadium: poleman Raoul Hyman made a poor getaway with Boccolacci in P3 making a strong start but being stuck behind the South African, handing Maini a clear run to the first corner. The Frenchman pushed the Indian hard for the lead but Maini was equal to the challenge, while behind them Hyman was looking in his mirrors at the coming menace of the ART threat looming there.
    Anthoine Hubert soon disposed of Hyman and was looking to get into the mix of the fight for the lead, but in front of him Maini and Boccolacci were running side by side all around the circuit, which was only resolved when a small touch saw the Frenchman stumble, falling back towards his countryman and allowing the Indian to scamper away.
    Further back and Lorandi was on a charge: the Italian was repeating his impressive speed from yesterday’s race to easily dispatch Hyman before focussing on Hubert, easing by the Frenchman at turn 1 with 5 laps to go and was looking towards Boccolacci, although he was running out of time to make a real challenge.
    At the flag all the applause was for Maini, who celebrated his new alliance with Haas F1 by bringing home Jenzer’s first win since 2012 and easily dominated his rivals all race long. Boccolacci held off the Lorandi charge to grab P2 by a second, with Hubert joined in the closing stages by teammates George Russell and Nirei Fukuzumi, with Hyman holding on for P7 ahead of Santino Ferrucci in the final points position.
    Fukuzumi leads the drivers’ title fight after Round 1 on 29 points ahead of Lorandi on 25, Maini on 21 with Boccolacci, Russell and Hubert all on 20 points ahead of Leonardo Pulcini on 18, while the teams’ fight has ART Grand Prix stake an early lead on 73 points ahead of Jenzer Motorsport on 46, Trident on 20 and Arden International on 18 points ahead of Round 2 of the series at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.
    Race 2 Provisional Classification 
                                             
    Driver
    Team
    Gap
     
    1.
    Arjun Maini
    Jenzer Motorsport
    2.
    Dorian Boccolacci
    Trident
    6.060
    3.
    Alessio Lorandi
    Jenzer Motorsport
    7.171
    4.
    Anthoine Hubert
    ART Grand Prix
    8.268
    5.
    George Russell
    ART Grand Prix
    9.335
    6.
    Nirei Fukuzumi
    ART Grand Prix
    11.309
    7.
    Raoul Hyman
    Campos Racing
    14.085
    8.
    Santino Ferrucci
    DAMS
    16.638
    9.
    Kevin Jörg
    Trident
    17.813
    10.
    Julien Falchero
    Campos Racing
    20.265
    11.
    Giuliano Alesi
    Trident
    23.251
    12.
    Jack Aitken
    ART Grand Prix
    23.511
    13.
    Bruno Baptista
    DAMS
    26.863
    14.
    Niko Kari
    Arden International
    27.888
    15.
    Steijn Schothorst
    Arden International
    29.709
    16.
    Marcos Siebert
    DAMS
    31.093
    17.
    Leonardo Pulcini
    Arden International
    66.654
    18.
    Ryan Tveter
    Trident
    1 LAP
    Not classified
    Tatiana Calderon
    DAMS

  • Maiden win for Fukuzumi; Maini finishes 7th: GP3

    Japanese driver victorious in Barcelona
    Nirei Fukuzumi has dominated his rivals for his first GP3 Series win this afternoon at the Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona, leading a close fight with ART teammate Jack Aitken before the Briton suffered a mechanical gremlin which eased the pressure on the Japanese driver, who then flew to a 7 second victory over Leonardo Pulcini and Alessio Lorandi.
    The race took place under scorching conditions, with front row starters Aitken and Fukuzumi storming off when the lights went out towards turn one: the Honda development driver had the outside line as they ran three abreast with Dorian Boccolacci and nabbed the lead into turn two, with the Frenchman running wide at turn two and allowing Pulcini a run through to P3.
    Aitken and Fukuzumi were swapping fastest laps as they looked for any advantage over the other, pulling away from the rest of the field as they did, while further back Lorandi was on a charge: moving up a spot to P6 off the line, the Italian mugged Arjun Maini for 5th on lap 9 and ran through Boccolacci 4 laps later as the battle for the lead intensified.
    But the fight came to an end on lap 16 as Aitken stuttered on track before being slowly swallowed up by his pursuers as he limped back to the pits and retirement: with the pressure now off Fukuzumi soared to the flag, while the battle shifted to the two Italian rivals behind him. Lorandi was all over the rear wing of his countryman for the closing laps, but to no avail: Pulcini was impervious to attack and punched the air as he crossed the line in P2.
    Behind them George Russell had stayed out of trouble and preserved his tyres to push up to 4th place at the flag, just holding off teammate Anthoine Hubert as he did so, while Boccolacci will have picked up a lot of lessons on his way to P6, denying Maini at the end of the race. Further back Campos pair Raoul Hyman and Marcos Siebert had a huge fight over the closing laps for team bragging rights, with the South African just holding on for 8th and reverse pole when Santino Ferrucci got in the mix, nicking P9 from Siebert at the final corner.
    Race 1 Provisional Classification
    Driver
    Team
    Gap
     
    1.
    Nirei Fukuzumi
    ART Grand Prix
    2.
    Leonardo Pulcini
    Arden International
    7.433
    3.
    Alessio Lorandi
    Jenzer Motorsport
    7.889
    4.
    George Russell
    ART Grand Prix
    11.807
    5.
    Anthoine Hubert
    ART Grand Prix
    12.159
    6.
    Dorian Boccolacci
    Trident
    14.364
    7.
    Arjun Maini
    Jenzer Motorsport
    14.906
    8.
    Raoul Hyman
    Campos Racing
    30.986
    9.
    Santino Ferrucci
    DAMS
    31.314
    10.
    Marcos Siebert
    Campos Racing
    31.357
    11.
    Julien Falchero
    Campos Racing
    31.912
    12.
    Ryan Tveter
    Trident
    32.228
    13.
    Kevin Jörg
    Trident
    32.916
    14.
    Tatiana Calderon
    DAMS
    33.288
    15.
    Niko Kari
    Arden International
    35.996
    16.
    Bruno Baptista
    DAMS
    37.783
    17.
    Giuliano Alesi
    Trident
    38.240
    18.
    Steijn Schothorst
    Arden International
    39.412
    Not classified
    Jack Aitken
    ART Grand Prix

  • Aitken flies to Barcelona pole; Arjun Maini P6

    Barcelona,  13 May 2017: Jack Aitken emerged on top of this morning’s season-opening qualifying session at the Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona, finding a gap in traffic and soaring to pole in the closing minutes of the session to deny teammate Nirei Fukuzumi and Dorian Boccolacci by just over a tenth.
    The Briton squeezed onto the top of the timesheets with a stunning lap of 1:34.187, nailing his lap at just the right time to claim the first GP3 pole position of 2017 in a qualifying session that saw the times tumble throughout the 30 minute period, right up until the chequered flag.
    The session opened to dry and sunny conditions, with all of the grid heading straight out on track to make the most of them. Giuliano Alesi set the first competitive time, with his rivals soon on the attack: Santino Ferrucci, Boccolacci, Aitken and Fukuzumi all spent time on the top spot before Boccolacci laid down a challenge just before everyone returned to the pits for fresh tyres, giving his rivals one last time to target.
    The field re-emerged for the final 10 minutes and built up enough heat in the tyres for a final push: in the final 2 minutes George Russell struck before ART teammate Aitken displaced him in P1, with first Boccolacci and then Fukuzumi slotting in just behind him as the clock rolled down to zero.
    Russell, Leonardo Pulcini, Arjun Maini, Alesi and Alessio Lorandi all improved on their final lap to fill out the top 8, with 15 drivers finishing the session within a second of the pole time: the battle recommences in this afternoon’s race 1.
    Provisional Qualifying Results
    Driver
    Team
    Laptime
    Laps
    1.
    Jack Aitken
    ART Grand Prix
    1:34.187
    12
    2.
    Nirei Fukuzumi
    ART Grand Prix
    1:34.358
    12
    3.
    Dorian Boccolacci
    Trident
    1:34.380
    13
    4.
    George Russell
    ART Grand Prix
    1:34.468
    13
    5.
    Leonardo Pulcini
    Arden International
    1:34.602
    13
    6.
    Arjun Maini
    Jenzer Motorsport
    1:34.685
    13
    7.
    Giuliano Alesi
    Trident
    1:34.708
    13
    8.
    Alessio Lorandi
    Jenzer Motorsport
    1:34.720
    13
    9.
    Marcos Siebert
    Campos Racing
    1:34.788
    14
    10.
    Anthoine Hubert
    ART Grand Prix
    1:34.866
    12
    11.
    Niko Kari
    Arden International
    1:34.964
    13
    12.
    Raoul Hyman
    Campos Racing
    1:35.031
    14
    13.
    Steijn Schothorst
    Arden International
    1:35.041
    13
    14.
    Santino Ferrucci
    DAMS
    1:35.070
    12
    15.
    Julien Falchero
    Campos Racing
    1:35.088
    12
    16.
    Ryan Tveter
    Trident
    1:35.224
    14
    17.
    Kevin Jörg
    Trident
    1:35.423
    12
    18.
    Tatiana Calderon
    DAMS
    1:35.613
    13
    19.
    Bruno Baptista
    DAMS
    1:35.851
    12

  • Arjun Maini second fastest in Free Practice: GP3

    Barcelona 12 May 2017: Nirei Fukuzumi has nabbed the top spot in the opening free practice session of the 2017 GP3 Series this afternoon at the Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona, leading the way for almost the entire session with a lap of 1:35.933 despite a last minute challenge from Arjun Maini and Marcos Seibert.
    With the session opening under scorching conditions the lessons learned at the recent 2 day test, held in much colder conditions, were not going to help as much as was hoped, leading the entire grid to head out onto the circuit as soon as the lights went green. Ryan Tveter and Maini set the initial pace before Fukuzumi grabbed the top spot just 8 minutes into the session, holding on all the way to the flag.
    With the top 4 places held by the Honda development driver and his ART Grand Prix teammates, attention turned to race simulations in preparation for tomorrow’s Race 1 for the majority of the session. It was only in the final 5 minutes that the drivers were let off the leash, with Tveter and Niko Kari pushing hard but struggling in the final sector.
    With Fukuzumi more than four tenths ahead of George Russell the rest of the field was effectively fighting for P2, with the competition heating up as the clock wound down: Leonardo Pulcini grabbed 2nd with 2 minutes remaining, only to be usurped as the chequered flag dropped by first Seibert and then Maini on the last lap of the day.
    Despite the Japanese driver’s strong push there were 13 drivers within a second of his best time, suggesting the fight for pole position in tomorrow morning’s qualifying session will be as fierce as ever.
    Free Practice Classification
    Driver
    Team
    Laptime
    Laps
    1.
    Nirei Fukuzumi
    ART Grand Prix
    1:35.933
    17
    2.
    Arjun Maini
    Jenzer Motorsport
    1:36.286
    20
    3.
    Marcos Siebert
    Campos Racing
    1:36.293
    18
    4.
    Leonardo Pulcini
    Arden International
    1:36.352
    17
    5.
    George Russell
    ART Grand Prix
    1:36.382
    17
    6.
    Jack Aitken
    ART Grand Prix
    1:36.386
    17
    7.
    Niko Kari
    Arden International
    1:36.431
    17
    8.
    Ryan Tveter
    Trident
    1:36.441
    14
    9.
    Steijn Schothorst
    Arden International
    1:36.455
    17
    10.
    Raoul Hyman
    Campos Racing
    1:36.517
    20
    11.
    Santino Ferrucci
    DAMS
    1:36.521
    18
    12.
    Anthoine Hubert
    ART Grand Prix
    1:36.619
    18
    13.
    Kevin Jörg
    Trident
    1:36.669
    16
    14.
    Bruno Baptista
    DAMS
    1:37.047
    17
    15.
    Giuliano Alesi
    Trident
    1:37.254
    14
    16.
    Dorian Boccolacci
    Trident
    1:37.488
    18
    17.
    Julien Falchero
    Campos Racing
    1:37.570
    20
    18.
    Tatiana Calderon
    DAMS
    1:37.606
    19
    19.
    Alessio Lorandi
    Jenzer Motorsport
    1:38.227
    16
     eom/GP3 release