Round five of the British Super One Series Kart Championships took place last weekend in Rowrah, Cumbria as the Sahara Force India Formula One Team Academy drivers continued their racing apprenticeships.
The unpredictable British weather continued to deliver frequent rain showers, which made for tricky conditions across the weekend. Despite the unsettled weather, the three Indian racers showed good speed with Arjun Maini picking up his first European trophy as he was named ‘rookie of the meeting’. Another highlight was Jehan Daruvala’s strong drive to fifth place in the first final on Sunday morning.
The next race for the boys will be at Clay Pigeon Raceway in Dorset during the first weekend of September.
Academy driver coach and mentor, Terry Fullerton said: “A busy weekend in Rowrah with all the boys showing flashes of speed. I was pleased to see Arjun pick up his first trophy as the best rookie and this will undoubtedly give him a confidence boost. The other standout moment was Jehan’s drive in the final on Sunday morning. He was racing up at the front and finished in a well-deserved fifth place.”
Driver comments…
Jehan Daruvala: “I was matching the pace of the front-runners all through the weekend, but got stuck in traffic in qualifying at the critical moments. I lined up in seventh place for the first final and moved up to fifth place by the end of the race. In the second final, I managed to avoid the first lap accidents and ran in seventh place to begin with, but dropped back to eighth at the finish. I lost that position in the last corner after contact with another driver. In the end, we both got excluded from the final result. I learned a lot from the weekend and I recognise that I just need to string a weekend together to show my true pace.”
Arjun Maini: “This weekend was a big turning point for me. I was very quick during practice on Friday, but I was not able to repeat the speed in qualifying. The heats were fun and I made good progress, but I lost out after some contact with other drivers. The best moment of the weekend was the second final because I fought back from 21st place to finish ninth, which helped me win the award for best rookie. It’s great to pick up my first trophy in Europe and hopefully there will be plenty more in the future.”
Tarun Reddy: “The weekend started off very wet on Friday and unfortunately I struggled to find the pace to begin with. I didn’t maximise my speed in qualifying and that hurt my performance in the races. The first final on Sunday was held in the wet and despite starting at the back of the pack I managed to finish 13th. In the second final, I ended up 11th on the track, but I was docked a lap for cutting a corner during the race. While I had hoped for better results, I take confidence from my performance in the wet conditions.”
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