Jehan Daruvala rounded off his maiden Toyota Racing Series New Zealand on a high finishing 2nd overall in the championship.
Jehan entered the fifth and final round lying fourth overall in the championship table. He started on pole for race one but got bogged down a bit as the lights went out. Jehan lost two places and fell to fourth at the restart, before the safety car was deployed once again. Jehan retained his position to fourth place.
Race two starting grid was based on the top eight finishers of race one being reversed. Jehan started fifth and had a good start to move into third. He soon made a good move on Antoni Ptak and moved into second. Leitch won less than a second ahead of Jehan, while Ptak was third.
Jehan started from third in race three, but was overtaken at the start by Markelov. On lap two, Jehan ran wide and fell down to ninth. A few laps before the end he managed to overtake Ferrari Academy racer Zhou to finish the race in eighth. Jehan benefited and moved up a position into seventh, after Piquet was handed a post-race penalty.
Jehan had a spectacular run in the series and finished runners-up overall.
Next week, Jehan will begin testing in Europe. He will be contending for two separate championship titles, the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup Series and the Formula Renault 2.0 NEC.
Final Championship Standings –
1. Lando Norris, England – 924 Points
2. Jehan Daruvala, India – 789 Points
3. Brendon Leitch, New Zealand – 754 Points
Indian racing star, Jehan Daruvala has picked up another win in his debut season of the Toyota Racing Series in New Zealand. The 17 year Indian lad has won race 2 of Round 4 at the Taupo International Circuit from 4th on the grid. Thats not all. He also broke the circuit record with the fastest laptime in race 2 which is a big achievement.
In qualifying Jehan, was unable to string along a perfect lap and hence qualified 5th on the grid for race 1. Jehan finished where he started taking the fifth slot while Lando Norris & Pedro Piquet finished first & second.
The grid for Race 2 was based on the top eight of race 1 being reversed. Jehan therefore started 4th 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 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 broke the record at the Taupo International Circuit with a lap time, 2 tenths of a second quicker than the next fastest time.
Race 3 did not go as well for Jehan. He started 6th 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 4th in the series will be hoping to finish on a high.
India's racing talent and promising driver, Jehan Daruvala had a perfect weekend in round 3 of the Toyota Racing Series, New Zealand. The Indian teenager grabbed two podiums out of 3 races. This also resulted for Jehan improve his championship standings from sixth to third.
Jehan qualified second, 0.17 seconds behind pole sitter Lando Norris and both racers had a good start as the lights went off. Lando had excellent pace in the first few laps as he opened up a gap on Jehan, who in turn opened a gap to the racers behind him. In the mid-section of the race, both lapped consistently and the gap remained unchanged. In the last few laps though, Jehan was on a charge and managed to close the gap considerably to Lando. Jehan’s pace saw him put in the fastest laptime of the race, but it was too late to catch Lando who won by a margin of 1.5 seconds to Jehan. Son of Formula 1 world champion Nelson Piquet, Pedro was third, 3.4 seconds behind Jehan.
The start order for race 2 was based on the top eight finishers in race 1 being reversed. Jehan therefore started 7th and had one of his best starts so far. He almost made it upto fourth, but was pushed wide by another racer into the grass. This dropped him down the order to tenth. Amidst two safety car restarts, Jehan overtook 3 cars and was soon 7th. He then benefited from a few cars crashing out, and overtook another car to finish the race in fourth position and earn some additional valuable points.
Qualifying for Race 3 was extremely close, as the top 3 were within 0.09 seconds! Pedro Piquet was on pole ahead of Lando Norris & Jehan. Lando was however demoted with a penalty and Jehan started second, but lost a place at the start. Jehan came third to ensure his second visit to the podium at a another good weekend for him.
“I have been consistent the entire weekend. It was unfortunate that I fell from fifth to tenth in race 2. Climbing back to fourth ensured the points. The championship is much closer now but I am going to stay focused and treat each race individually. I must thank the team for a good and consistent car as well.” Said Jehan.
Jehan heads for the next race to be held in Taupo.
It was proud moment for India as Jehan Daruvala cruised to his second consecutive victory in the Toyota Racing Series. The Indian teenager, had earlier set the fastest lap of the race and won ahead of Former World Karting Champion, Lando Norris of the United Kingdom.
Jehan, with his maiden victory the previous weekend, was confident at the Teretonga Park Raceway. Jehan improved through the practice sessions and was on top of the time sheets in the final practice.
Qualifying 1 was extremely close between Jehan and Lando Norris, with the latter winning pole position in a time of 53.325 seconds. Jehan was a mere 0.04 seconds behind him while Antoni Ptak of Poland was third.
Jehan made one of his best starts so far, as the lights went out under damp conditions. He overtook Lando into the first corner and managed to hold the lead for Lap 1. Lando was on a charge however, he overtook Jehan at the beginning of the second lap.
Soon the safety car came out and at the restart, Jehan just about managed to hold off local racer Brendon Leitch. Though Jehan and Lando were close, Jehan was unable to mount a challenge over the next few laps. The race then saw one incident after another causing the race to be red flagged twice. At the last re start, Jehan made a bold but excellent move around the outside of Lando, into the first corner. His move for the race lead stuck and Jehan was comfortable for the next two laps. On the final lap, Lando closed right up to the rear of Jehan’s car. Jehan won his 2nd consecutive race as he crossed the line just 0.3 seconds ahead of Lando.
"We have worked hard collectively as a team. The big difference for me was the start which I got right. It was a close race with Lando and I enjoyed fighting with him throughout. My grid positions for the next 2 races will be fourth & seventh which is not ideal, but I need to stay focused & make the most of the situation" said the elated Indian after the race.
Race 2 tomorrow will be based on the top 4 finishers in this race being reversed. Jehan will hence start fourth. And we are sure to see another podium finish for the Indian lad. Good luck!
