04 Sep 2012

The Sahara Force India Formula One Team Academy racers were back in action last weekend for round six of the British Super One Series Kart Championships at Clay Piegoen Raceway in Dorset.

Jehan Daruvala continued to shine as he just missed out on a podium in the first final on Sunday. Arjun Maini and Tarun Reddy were also battling inside the top ten for most of the weekend and picked up encouraging results in the heats and finals.

The next race for the boys will be the final round of the series at Shenington, Oxfordshire at the end of September.

Academy driver coach and mentor, Terry Fullerton said: “All three drivers were inside the top ten for most of the weekend, including qualifying and the grid for the first final. Jehan had another strong final, finishing in fourth and lapping at the same pace as the winner. Arjun ran well all weekend with good speed, but spun on the first corner of the final, which spoilt a potentially good result. Tarun crashed out of first final and finished a reasonable 12th in the second.”

Driver comments…

Jehan Daruvala: “I started the first final from fifth place and made a really good start. I was able to overtake George Russell and move up to third place. Then I got ahead of Nathan Aston and was running second. We had a good battle but he and George managed to get back ahead of me. So I just missed out on the podium. The second final on Sunday was wet and I didn’t make a great start and dropped from fourth to seventh. It was a tough race with lots of battles and I came home ninth in the end. It was a bit disappointing because I was running on the leaders' pace all weekend. I’m now looking forward to getting back on the podium in the last round at Shenington.”

Arjun Maini: “I had my strongest qualifying of the season when I went seventh fastest. But the heats didn’t go my way and I picked up damage to my kart. So I was not in a great position for the first final where I started P15, but I had good pace in the race and recovered to finish seventh. Then, for the second final, it started to rain and I got caught up in the first corner accident. That dropped me to the back of the pack and I could only recover to P13.”

Tarun Reddy: “I think my pace was very consistent over the weekend. Things went well in qualifying and I finished sixth in the second heat. In the opening final I was running well in the top ten but I had some issues with the brakes and had to retire. That meant I started last for the second final, but I was able to fight my way back into the top ten and had some good battles. I dropped back to P12 at the finish, but I was pleased with my pace.”

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