By IANAS,
Kuala Lumpur : Armaan Ebrahim, the 19-year old from Chennai, capped a great weekend by winning the feature motor race and finishing second in the sprint event in the Formula Renault V6 Asia series at the Sepang International Circuit here Sunday.
Starting second on the grid for the 15-lap feature race, Armaan made a storming start and shot into the lead into the first corner. From there on, it was a very tight race with James Grunwell and Earl Bamber on Armaan’s gear box for the first few laps.
Armaan opened up a two-second lead after the fourth lap and managed to keep the two red cars behind him. The Chennai lad, runner-up in the championship last year, did come under some pressure even as Grunwell and Bamber exchanged positions, but hung on to his lead to emerge winner.
Armaan would make time under braking into the corners and also through the two high-speed corners. However, he did not make a single mistake despite coming under constant pressure.
It was a very deserving win for young Armaan as the race was close for the entire 15 laps. All the more credit to the win was because Armaan is driving with a one-year-old engine and thus the lack of straightline speed.
On Saturday, Armaan, who had qualified second for the sprint race, held on to that position, unable to get past pole-sitter Grunwell.
Armaan said: “I had a perfect car and it was a perfect race. Yes, I knew that I was down on straightline speed, but was confident enough as I had a lot more speed than Grunwell into the faster corners and under braking into the slower corners. It was just a question of not making a mistake and at the same time keep driving flat out, so that I gave them both no room at all.
“The team did a great job as usual and I really enjoyed a close race. I hope I can find some sponsorships that will enable me to get a fresh engine as the one I am using now is a year old and not been rebuilt.”