Promising youngster Aditya Patel drove spectacularly to win the final race of the JK Racing Asia Series in the Sidvin Festival of Speed at the Buddh International Circuit (BIC) here on Sunday.
Patel clocked 20:13.116 to bag the season-ending race by a margin of nearly four seconds. Patel, who overtook a troubled Aston Hare two laps from the end and maintained the lead till the finish, said, “When I was leading the race, I was looking forward to seeing if there was anyone up ahead of me. Then it hit me that I was leading the race and I shouldn’t make any mistakes,” he said.
South African Hare, who came second after claiming the title earlier in the day, snatched the championship from his teammate Nabil Jeffri, who could not finish the final race after taking the third slot in the previous one.
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Akhil Khushlani gave another fine performance to bag the second place in the pre-lunch session before managing the fourth position (20:22.596).
Both Khushlani and Patel grabbed two podium finishes each in the last two days.
In the MRF Challenge, rookie Japanese driver Yuudai Jinkawa, who had to retire midway through the second race after his car crashed spectacularly on Saturday, made a strong comeback to win the last race of Round 2. Jinkawa returned a timing of 27:11.738 for 14 laps.
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In the absence of Jordan King, who did not participate on Sunday’s races due to prior engagements, American driver Conor Daly clocked 21:54.788 to bag the 10-lap race in the morning.
However, Daly had to retire in the afternoon contest after he spun off the track on the 13 lap.
Gaurav Gill (sixth with 22:07.336) was the best among the Indian drivers in the morning race. Parthiva Sureshwren, who was seventh in the third competition, finished at the sixth spot in the second with 27:38.772.
The results: MRF Challenge: Race 3 (10 laps): 1. Conor Daly 21:54.788; 2. Alice Powell 21:58.276; 3. Hector Hurst 22:02.304.
Race 4 (14 laps): 1. Yuudai Jinkawa 27:11.738; 2. Sam Dejonghe 27:16.697; 3. Hector Hurst 27:22.010.
JK Racing Asia Series: Race 3 (9 laps): 1. Aston Hare (Eurointernational) 18:08.935; 2. Akhil Khushlani (Eurointernational) 18:15.763; 3. Nabil Jeffri (Eurointernational) 18:16.375.
Race 4 (10 laps): 1. Aditya Patel (Eurointernational) 20:13.116; 2. Hare 20:18.697; 3. Aidan Wright (Meritus.GP) 20:19.569.
LGB Formula 4 (six laps): Race 2: 1. Saran Vikram 16:19.153; 2. Sarosh Hataria 16:19.8; 3. Diljith 16:20.062.
Indian Touring Cars (six laps): Race 2: 1. N. Leelakrishnan 14:51.489; 2. B. Balavijay 14:52.670; 3. Sunny Sidhu 14:58.210.
Indian Junior Touring Cars (six laps): Race 2: 1. Fahad Kutty 16:36.084; 2. S. Feroze Khan 16:37.254; 3. S. Sreeram 16:46.745.
Volkswagen Polo-R Cup (six laps): 1. Ameya Walavalkar 14:48.856; 2. Jeffrey John Kruger 14:49.601; 3. Avdumber Hede 14:50.132.
JK National racing championship standings (after Round 6):LGB Formula 4: 1. Ashwin Sundar 186 points; 2. Sarosh Hataria 175; 3. Saran Vikram 146.
Indian Touring Cars: 1. Arjun Balu 168; 2. N Leelakrishnan 167; 3. B. Balavijay 123.
Indian Junior Touring Cars: 1. Feroze Khan 197; 2. Fahad Kutty 187; 3. Diljith 172.
Volkswagen Polo-R Cup: 1. Ameya Walavalkar 440; 2. Sandeep Kumar 342; 3. Rahil Noorani 221.