Podium finish is Armaan’s only aim

Pattaya: India’s Armaan Ebrahim came up with a solid performance to ensure himself a second row position on the grid for Rounds V and VI of the Formula BMW Asia Series here Saturday.

The 15-year-old, driving for Korean team E-Rain, finished third in the first qualifying but slipped one position in the second session and had to be satisfied on fourth at the Bira Racing Circuit here.

Australia’s Michael Tony Patrizi of Team Meritus took the pole for Sunday’s first race while Armaan’s teammate and competition leader Salman Rashid Al Khalifa of Bahrain secured his fifth pole in six qualifying races in the second session.

Armaan, JK Tyre national racing champion last year, had created history in the fourth round in Malaysia when he became the first ever rookie to win a race.

Though disappointed with his performance in the qualifying, the Chennai-based driver was upbeat about his chances. “I am not very happy with my performance today. It is a tight circuit with quick turns and no run off. There are very few corners for overtake. I will just try to pressurise the guy ahead of me and let’s see what happens. My first priority Sunday is to finish on the podium in both races,” Armaan said Saturday.

Armaan, who is also the youngest driver in the event, is currently second in overall standing behind Khalifa and is the joint leader in the rookie category with Charlie-ro Charlez of Malaysia.

In the first qualifying session this morning the team took a small gamble as it sent Armaan out only halfway through the 30-minute qualifying session since they were worried about the oil split on the track by a saloon car before the start.

The Indian, who had dominated the practice sessions on the last two days, took a while to settle down and could only register a best lap time of 1:01.938 to finish third fastest.

The second qualification session began a lot better as the Indian stayed at second position for most period but Khalifa and Patrizi Pipped him in the last 10 minutes to take the first and third positions, respectively.

The second spot for both the races Sunday was bagged by Hamed-al Fardan of Bahrain driving for Team Meritus.

Armaan has been working hard on his fitness ahead of the event and had six test sessions in the last two days to get used to the track and arrive at an optimum balance with the car.

The track in Thailand is a small but extremely dangerous and is frequently used for two-wheeler racing. With two very tricky and fast chicanes having no run off area makes this small track very difficult for overtaking and hence a qualifying session is very important for the fortunes of the drivers. Formula BMW is the world’s leading entry-level class in Formula racing in which up and coming drivers as young as 15-year-old are given the opportunity to enter motor racing. (PTI)