Circuit Record, Race win for Jehan in Taupo

 Taupo, New Zealand : Sahara Force India Academy Racer, Jehan Daruvala picked up another win in his debut season of the Toyota Racing Series in New Zealand. The 17 year old Indian won race 2 of Round 4 at the Taupo International Circuit from 4^th on the grid. He also broke the circuit record with the fastest laptime in race 2.

 In qualifying Jehan, was unable to string along a perfect lap and hence qualified 5^th on the grid for race 1. In a relatively uneventful race, all the top racers made similar starts & very few positions were exchanged in the top ten. Jehan too, was unable to make up any positions and he finished fifth, while Lando Norris & Pedro Piquet finished where they started, in first & second.

 The grid for Race 2 was based on the top eight of race 1 being reversed. Jehan therefore started 4^th on the grid and made a good start, overtaking two cars to move into second. Italy based Ferrari Academy racer, Guanyu Zhou of China soon managed to overtake Jehan relegating him to third. A brief safety car period followed and the restart was dramatic, as Jehan made an excellent start and was one of four cars, entering corner 1 side by side. Jehan bravely decided to stick to the inside and his move paid off as he out braked the others to grab the lead. Jehan, a former Vice Runner Up in the World Karting Championship, then put in some very quick lap times and managed to pull away from championship leader Lando Norris.

Jehan won the race after it ended 2 laps early, due to another on track incident. Lando who was 1.3 seconds behind Jehan finished second ahead of Ferrari Academy racer Zhou. Jehan’s blistering pace in the last few laps as he pulled away meant he not only had the fastest lap of the race & weekend, but also broke the record at the Taupo International Circuit with a lap time, 2 tenths of a second quicker than the next fastest time.

“Qualifying here was not good for me. In the last sequence of corners I made a couple of mistakes on my good laps. Race 2 was fantastic. I made the right decision to go down the inside, at the restart. It was very close with 4 of us abreast and after taking the lead, I manage to nail a few consistent & quick laps. I am now looking forward to the last round.” said Jehan after picking up his third win in his formula racing career.

Race 3 did not go as well for Jehan. He started 6^th and held the position for a few laps. A couple of safety car periods saw Jehan lose a place at each restart. Unable to make up ground again, he eventually finished in eighth.

The final round of the Toyota Racing Series will be held at the Manfeild Autocourse in Feilding, New Zealand. Jehan now running 4^th in the series will be hoping to finish on a high.