Jeffrey Kruger capitalized on his pole position to maintain a gigantic lead throughout and finished the race by winning it. He put up a stellar performance yet again by winning with a lead of 10.970 second, claiming his 3rd win and 5th podium in 5 races of this season. Mumbai driver Rahil, started and finished 2nd, stood on the podium for the 4th time this season. The Chandigarh boy, Angad Singh Matharoo, who started 4th on the grid for this race, finally made it to the podium after finishing 4th for three times in the previous 4 races.
As soon as the race started, Jeffrey took off and never looked back. His racing line was perfect and with no competition he won easily. Rahil had an action-packed lap 1 when he was overtaken and lost 2 spots. He drove hard and within few seconds he reclaimed his 2ndposition and this time he maintained it till the end. Angad Singh Matharoo had his best race of the season. He had a good qualifying and started the race at the 4th position on the grid. His 2 years of Polo R Cup experience showed when he was able to move up to the 3rd spot during the race and successfully ward off competition that was vying for his place throughout the race. Surprisingly, in the past 4 races he had finished 4th, 3 times and only this time he made it to the podium.
Prithviraj Siddappa, Head of Motorsports, said, “The races on Buddh International Circuit are always special and exciting as this is a world-class Formula 1 track. The drivers are always looking forward to races here as the challenge and learning here is immense. Unlike last 2 rounds, this round comprises of 3 races where the second race will follow the reverse grid rule. For Race 3, the second best lap time of each driver from the qualifying session will be considered for the grid.”
Jeffrey Kruger, winner of Race 1, commented, “I was on podium here at the Buddh International Circuit last year and it’s great to be back. Last 2 podium wins made me hungry to win the race this time. I was confident of winning the race after I clinched the pole position earlier in the day. I was able to maintain the distance between myself and the rest of the pack. I am hoping to be on the podium for the next 2 races to be held here at the F1 track as it has proved to be lucky for me so far.”
Race 1 result:
|
Pos. |
Car No. |
Driver Name (City) |
Best Lap |
Total Time |
Gap |
|
1 |
8 |
Jeffrey Kruger (Johannesburg) |
2:32.013 |
20:15.281 |
8 laps |
|
2 |
1 | Rahil Noorani (Mumbai) |
2:32.218 |
20:26.251 |
10.970 |
|
3 |
2 | Angad Singh Matharoo (Chandigarh) |
2:32.310 |
20:27.352 |
12.071 |
|
4 |
4 | Kartik Tharani (Chennai) |
2:33.122 |
20:33.115 |
17.834 |
|
5 |
10 | Yatin Magu (New Delhi) |
2:34.443 |
20:41:389 |
26.108 |
|
6 |
17 | Hanoosh Surapaneni (Hyderabad) |
2:34.394 |
20:42.547 |
27.266 |
|
7 |
6 |
Lee Keshav Gupta (New Delhi) |
2:34.663 |
20:44.402 |
29.121 |
|
8 |
7 |
Samarth Jaiswal (Mumbai) |
2:34.704 |
20:46.908 |
31.627 |
|
9 |
18 | Niranjan Todkari (Aurangabad) |
2:34.857 |
20:47.394 |
32.113 |
|
10 |
14 | Anshul Shah (Nagpur) |
2:36.391 |
21:00.681 |
45.400 |
|
11 |
3 | M S Prince (New Delhi) | 2:35.698 | 21:00.775 | 45.494 |
|
12 |
20 | Gaurav Mehta (Pune) | 2:36.575 | 21:03.826 | 48.545 |
|
13 |
12 | Divijraj Thakran (Gurgaon) | 2:36.667 | 21:08.046 | 52.765 |
|
14 |
5 | Gowdham Raj (Coimbatore) |
2:36.619 |
21:14.145 |
58.864 |
|
15 |
11 | Shivjeet Malik (Gurgaon) |
2:37.489 |
21:16.927 |
1:01.646 |
|
16 |
21 | Adnan Lehry (Chennai) |
2:36.717 |
21:18.568 |
1:03.287 |
| 17 | 16 | Venkatesh Shreyas(Coimbatore) | 2:42.399 | 21:54.717 | 1:39.436 |
| 18 | 15 | Tanmay Ugale (Pune) | 2:40.052 | 20:42.613 (7 laps) | – |
| 19 | 23 | Rakesh Ramkunar (Chennai) | 2:38.336 | 22:41.034 (7 laps) | – |