ARTHUR PIC CLAIMS POLE PSOITION AT ROUND 1 OF MRF CHALLENGE 2013

 – TIO ELLINAS & HARRY TINCKNELL TO START 2ND & 3RD
 – PARTH GHORPADE HIGHEST INDIAN IN 10TH POSITION

October 25, 2013:  The MRF Challenge 2013 season kicked off in style today with Formula Renault 3.5 driver Arthur Pic claiming pole position at the Buddh International Circuit (BIC) in Greater Noida. The FIA sanctioned MRF Challenge,  which is the only support race for the Formula One Indian Grand Prix this year, saw a three way battle for pole position including Pic, Tio Ellinas and Harry Tincknell. At the end of the qualifying session there was less than two tenths separating the top three drivers as they constantly traded positions with 5 minutes to go in the session. Earlier in the day Pic had also been fastest in the sole practice session.

Sam Dejonghe and Yudai Jinkawa were the early pace–setters when the 30 minute session begun. Dejonghe set the ball rolling with a 1:57:101 before Jinkawa pipped him by 3 tenths off a second. Rupert Svendsen–Cook then went to the top of the times with a 1:56:698 as the lap times started to come down with more rubber on the circuit. GP3 race winner Ellinas became the first driver to go into the 1:55:745 and looked favourite to start on pole. British F3 driver Tincknell came close to beating him but just missed out by 1 tenth off a second and did a lap of 1:55:852. Pic managed to beat both of them with one minute to go as he posted a time of 1:55:684 to take a brilliant pole position. Dejonghe and Jinkawa will start in 4th & 5th places respectively. Young Indian driver Parth Ghorpade was on a quick lap on his last run and was poised for a top 6 position but got held up in traffic and had to settle for 10th position on the grid.

Pole position man Arthur Pic was thrilled to be on pole for his first ever MRF Challenge race. He commented, "It was a bit difficult on the first run as the track had changed quite a bit from the morning session. My first run in qualifying was not that great but the car kept getting better as the session went on. I was able to push on my final run and get the fastest lap. I am very happy to be on pole position for my first ever qualifying session in the MRF Challenge 2013."

GP3 driver Tio Ellinas was happy with his pace but felt he could have gone even faster in qualifying. He said, "It was a pretty good session with the car having good pace. I was in P1 –P2 for most of the session. My final run I was on a quick lap but got slowed down by traffic which affected my lap. Anyway I am confident for the race tomorrow and am sure I can be in a position to win."

Formula 3 driver Harry Tincknell was happy to be in the top 3 after suffering a gearbox problem in the morning session. He said "All credit to the MRF team for fixing the gearbox problem that we suffered earlier on. The team did an excellent job and the car felt great in qualifying. I finally managed to get some good laps in. The battle with Tio (Ellinas) and Arthur (Pic) was really close and I am looking forward to a close race tomorrow. I definitely have the pace to fight for the win tomorrow so look forward to the race tomorrow."

Earlier in the day in the sole practice session for the MRF Challenge Arthur Pic topped the times with a 1:56:575 ahead of Sean Walkinshaw and Rupert Svendsen–Cook. Most of the drivers have never driven here before and used the 50 minute session to get acclimatized to the new circuit.

The first race of the weekend will take place at 15:30pm on Saturday afternoon, after the Formula One qualifying session.

MRF Challenge 2013 Calendar:

Round 1: October 25–27, 2013, New Delhi, Buddh International Circuit (Formula One Support Race)

Round 2: November 28–30, 2013, Bahrain, Bahrain International Circuit (World Endurance Championship Support Race)

Round 3: December 19–21, 2013, Bahrain, Bahrain International Circuit (Gulf Racing Festival)

Round 4: February 14–16, 2013, Chennai, Madras Motor Race Trust