Dark Don keen to stay on top at JKNRC Round 5 in Chennai

Wednesday, the 10th of October 2012: Dark Don Racing is bullish about consolidating its spot on top of the LGB Formula 4 leaderboard as the fifth and penultimate round of the 15th JK Tyre National Racing Championship begins in Chennai this weekend (12 to 14 October). The Chennai–based Dark Don, the new entrant in the country´s premier single–seater racing championship, has been dominating the Formula 4 class, the showpiece category, with 172 points – eight points adrift of another Chennai team, Wallace Sports and Research Foundation.

In the previous round in Chennai, Dark Don grabbed 106 points to storm into the lead, thanks to drivers Ashwin Sundar and Sarosh Hataria. Young gun Ashwin achieved podium finishes in all the three races (two victories and a second place), while experienced Sarosh chipped in with two third–place finishes. With three victories in seven races, Ashwin is leading the drivers´ championship with 111 points. He is 25 points ahead of another Chennai racer Saran Vikram.

The weekend will witness three races in the Formula 4 category. Apart from Ashwin (Chennai) and Sarosh (Coimbatore), development drivers Dheeraj Hari Kumar (Bengaluru) and Advait Deodhar (Mumbai) will be behind the wheel of the silver–liveried Dark Don machines.

Ashwin Sundar, driver: My objective for this weekend is to collect as many points as possible. As I am fighting for the championship with Saran, the last two rounds are really crucial and I am determined to not make any mistakes. The gap between the top two, in terms of lap timings, is really close. Having won numerous races on my favourite Chennai circuit, I am looking forward to yet another good outing.

Sarosh Hataria, driver: It turned out to be an eventful outing in the previous round with two podium finishes. I had issues during the qualifying session, but during the races I was able to get the best out of my car as I finished third after starting sixth in a reverse grid race. I was glad to contribute to my new team with more points. Now, I am keen to improve my performance.

Afsar Riyaz E., Team Principal: We are thrilled to be leading the national championship on our debut season. It´s been a team effort as mechanics and drivers have been working in tandem. This weekend is crucial for the team with three races scheduled. We are looking forward to extend the championship lead so that we can seal it comfortably in the final round which has only two races. Our Team will try out various setups on the car during practice sessions. I hope it will help our drivers to achieve the target.

Weekend Schedule
Friday FP1: 11:55 to 12:40
Friday FP2: 15:50 to 16:20
Saturday warm–up: 9:55 to 10:10
Saturday Qualifying: 11:50 to 12:10
Saturday Race 1: 13:15 to 14:00
Saturday Race 2: 16:25 to 17:10
Sunday Race 3: 12:00 to 12:50

For live timing log on to http://www.madrasmotorsports.in/livetiming/live.html

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