01 Oct 2012

Jehan Daruvala delivered a dominant performance in the final round of the British Super One Series at Shenington as he took a clean sweep of victories in the KF3 class. After claiming pole on Saturday, the 14-year-old Indian racer won both heats and both finals to round off the season in style.

The victories confirmed the speed that brought Jehan to the attention of Sahara Force India when he finished as a runner-up in the team’s ‘One From A Billion’ hunt. With the support and guidance of the Academy, Jehan has developed into one of the most competitive drivers in European karting. With his victories on Sunday, Jehan finished ahead of the reigning CIK-FIA European KF3 champion, George Russell.

Fellow Academy racers Tarun Reddy and Arjun Maini also showed well in the final round of the series, although Arjun’s weekend was compromised by a high fever. Tarun delivered one of his strongest weekends and was able to race on the leaders’ pace in the first final.

Academy driver coach and mentor, Terry Fullerton said: “Jehan delivered a stunning performance at the final round of the British Championships – winning all his races. It was a dominant weekend, which showed how far he has come this season. His teammate Tarun also raced well with the leaders until he was forced off the track in the first final, otherwise he could have been celebrating a top five result. Arjun was under the weather with a virus and high temperature, but he chose to race on Sunday and battled hard in the midfield.”

Driver comments…

Jehan Daruvala: “I was really looking forward to this weekend at Shenington and determined to do well because it was the last race of the championship. I was quick on Saturday when I took pole position – my second pole of the season. The heats went well and I was able to deliver consistent lap times to pull a gap from my rivals. The finals were great because I made clean starts and led from start to finish. Hopefully there will be many more wins to come in the future. Overall I’ve had a great year with the Sahara Force India Formula One Team Academy. Everyone in the team has done all they can to ensure we have the best equipment and advice. I also want to thank Ricky Flynn Motorsport and Terry Fullerton for their help this year and for making me a better driver.”

Tarun Reddy: “My weekend started quite well on Friday. I was two tenths off the pace so I knew that I had some catching up to do before qualifying. I managed to qualify ninth, but the heat on Saturday didn’t go well and I could only finish tenth. Things were better on Sunday and in the second heat I managed to make a good start and finished seventh. So I lined up sixth for the first final and moved up to fourth place in the first half of the race. Unfortunately I was hit by another driver and that ended my chances of fighting for the podium. I’m feeling sad that it’s the end of the season because I’ve enjoyed an amazing journey with the Academy. The support of everyone involved and the guidance has been extremely valuable.”

Arjun Maini: “The Shenington weekend was a mixture of highs and lows. I was not feeling very well and was suffering with a high fever so I had to sit out the test sessions on Friday and most of Saturday. I chose to race on Sunday because it was the last race of the season, even though I had to start from the back of the grid. I gave my all in the races and finished 14th in the first final and 11th in the second. It’s not the way I wanted to end my first year in the Academy, but completing the season has still been a massive milestone in my career. The team gave me the best people and equipment to work with and I have enjoyed it immensely. I’ve improved as a driver and learned a lot about the sport.”

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