Jehan Daruvala Bags Double Podium In Toyota Racing Series 2017

Mumbai-based Jehan Daruvala grabbed the first two pole positions in the Toyota Racing Series Cars in Christchurch, New Zealand. The Sahara Force India Academy racer also managed to break the circuit record in the series, kickstarting the new year with a bang.

By Sameer Contractor

1 mins read

Published on January 15, 2017

Highlights

The broke the Ruapuna Park circuit record with a lapt time of 1.16.800 s
Jehan finished second in Race 1, with a gap of less than 1 second
Race 3 saw Jehan grab pole with a gap of just thousandth of second

Making the country proud once again, Mumbai-based Jehan Daruvala grabbed the first two pole positions in the Toyota Racing Series Cars in Christchurch, New Zealand. The Sahara Force India Academy racer also managed to break the circuit record in the series, kickstarting the new year with a bang. Ruapuna Park incidentally is the same venue where Jehan won his maiden race in Formula Cars last year. Jehan Daruvala was quick throughout practice amongst a grid of 20 cars. The 18-year-old Indian dominated the first qualifying session and grabbed the pole position for Race 1 with a lap time of 1:17.424 seconds around the 3.33 km Ruapuna Park Circuit. Ferrari Academy racer - Marcus Armstrong was a close second behind Jehan, with a gap of just 0.158 seconds, while Austrian racer Ferdinand Habsburg finished third. Jehan Daruvala at the starting grid Other promising drivers from the world over included RedBull Academy Racer - Richard Verschoor, Pedro Piquet - Son of Former F1 World Champion, Nelson Piquet among many others. Race 1 saw Jehan start from pole position and soon pulled away opening a comfortable gap of over one second to maintain his lead. However, a safety car period soon ensued and during the restart down the extremely long straight, Marcus who was right behind Jehan took advantage of the excellent slip-stream. Jehan could do nothing about the situation, as the car behind was able to build up a lot more speed and overtake easily. The positions remained the same then and the limited overtaking opportunities ensured that Marcus won the race less than a second ahead of Jehan. Richard Verschoor came in third, a further 1.1 second behind Jehan. Jehan managed to break the circuit record with a lap time of 1:16.800 seconds. While Race 2 starting positions are based on the reverse grid of Race 1 finish and saw Jehan start fifth, the qualifying session 2 had Jehan bag pole for Race 3. The driver also broke the circuit record with a lap time of 1:16.800 seconds, which was well under the earlier record of 1:17.062 seconds. Marcus continued to remain hot on Jehan's tail for most of the race, finishing just one thousandth of a second slower than him. Meanwhile, Briton racer Enaam Ahmed finished third, also within just one-tenth of a second of Jehan. Jehan at the podium Speaking on the win, Jehan said, "It has been an excellent start to the season. I was quick straightaway and I am happy with the double pole earlier today. There was nothing I could do at the restart due to the slip-stream that Marcus had from my car and I had to settle for second."