DARK DON ASHWIN SEALS F4 TITLE

Chennai, 14^th day of October: Ashwin Sundar gave Dark Don Racing the first taste of a major success in the JK Tyre National Racing Championship on Sunday as the Chennai driver sealed the Formula 4 drivers’ title with a round to spare. Ashwin reigned supreme in all the three races this weekend to clinch the inaugural edition of the F4 having amassed 186 points – an unassailable lead of 54 points over his Dark Don teammate Sarosh Hataria.

With Ashwin and Sarosh, who finished second in all the three races, making a clean sweep in the fifth and penultimate round, Dark Don Racing are on the verge of claiming the team championship on debut season. With a round to go, two races, Dark Don are comfortably place on top with 301 points, 65 ahead of Wallace Sports and Research Foundation.

Sunday’s dramatic race saw Ashwin leading from pole to flag. The 10-lap race had to be red-flagged after the first lap following an accident at Turn 2. Towards the fag end of the race, another accident brought in the Safety Car to the track, raising Sarosh’s hopes of bridging the gap on Ashwin. But when the safety car dived back into the pit-lane, Ashwin brilliantly pulled away from the rest of the pack to take the chequered flag in style. It was Ashwin’s fourth race victory on the trot and sixth in 10 races this season.

Race Result (Top-3):

1. Ashwin Sundar Total time: 20m:57.155s Best lap: 1:57.120
2. Sarosh Hataria Total time: 20m:58.236 Best lap: 1:57.592
3. Chitesh Mandody Total time: 21m:04.345 Best lap: 1:59.229

Ashwin Sundar, driver: Going into the race, everyone was talking about the possibility of sealing the championship. I think, it required just four points to win the title, but my focus was only on winning the race. It was fantastic to win all the three races this weekend. My job is not done yet as I want guide Dark Don to team championship. I take this opportunity to thank all the team members, especially team principal Afsar Riyaz E for giving me a well-tuned machine to race.

Sarosh Hataria, driver: I had an issue with the throttle, so I couldn’t drive the way I wanted. However, I am happy with the outcome. It feels great to contribute to the team who have immense faith in me. I would like to congratulate my teammate Ashwin who came out with a brilliant drive throughout the weekend. He was simply unstoppable. I enjoyed competing with him, though we are teammates. 

Afsar Riyaz E, Team Principal: It feels great to achieve the drivers’ title on our first year in national championship. When we launched the team earlier this year, we never thought we would achieve all this in a short time. We were expecting to be competitive and finish in top3. But, both our drivers have performed beyond our expectations. At this juncture, I would like to thank Mr Akbar Ebrahim, who has been a mentor to me, and Mr N. Leela Krishnan, who has been our engine assembling and building partner. Without their support, we wouldn’t have achieved all this.