Sarosh clinches pole for Dark Don Racing, Team on brink of championship glory

New Delhi, November 30: Dark Don Racing’s Sarosh Hataria clinched the pole position in the premier LGB Formula 4 class at the grand finale of the JK Tyre National Racing Championship on Friday. The experienced Sarosh clocked 2:27.297s in his third hot lap on 5.14km Buddh International Circuit to qualify on top for Saturday’s opening race. Saran Vikram, who was almost four–tenth of a second behind Sarosh, will start along side him in the front row.

With Sarosh taking the pole, Dark Don are bullish about sealing the team championship in Saturday’s race and reducing the second race on Sunday into a dead rubber. Dark Don lead the table with 301 points followed by another Chennai–based team Wallace Sports and Research Foundation with 236.

S. Diljith, who replaced Ashwin Sundar in the second Dark Don car, was fifth fastest with a timing of 2:28.438. “Diljith was drafted into the team at the last minute as our ace driver Ashwin, who has already sealed the drivers’ title, has been out with a wrist injury. It didn’t take much time for Diljith, a saloon car driver, to get used to the Formula 4 cars. He proved his talent in the Free Practice earlier by finishing second,” said Afsar Riyaz E, the team owner of the Dark Don Racing.

The first race starts on Saturday at 12:55hrs

Qualifying (provisional Top–5):

1.   Sarosh Hataria (Dark Don) 2:27.297
2.   Saran Vikram 2:27.679
3.   S. Narendran (WSRF) 2:27.851
4.   Jigar Muni (WSRF) 2:27.994
S. Diljith (Dark Don) 2:28.438