Ameo Cup Round 4 Report: Dhruv Mohite wins Championship as Saurav Bandhopadhyay lands podium finish

The final round of Volkswagon Ameo Cup concluded at the Formula One track of Buddh International Circuit (BIC), Greater Noida. The event saw drivers of great potential challenging their limits. The first race started with Dhruv Mohite, the championship leader overtaking the poleman Pratik Sonawane at turn 1, however. his lead was shortlived as Pratik spun Dhruv sending him way down in the order.

The incident encouraged guest driver Dhruv Behl to take the lead from Pratik promoting Saurav Bandyopadhyay into a podium position. On the very first lap, Arefeen Raafi Ahmed had a dangerous crash, the crash was huge and there was no sign of movement from the driver so the race was red flagged and restarted.

Shortly after the restart, Shubhomoy Ball went off following a collision from Jeet Jhabakh at Turn 3 forcing the safety car to come out once more. The order remained unaltered as Dhruv Behl took the checkered flag to end the race

Dhruv Behl at T1

Shortly after the race, we spoke to Dhruv Behl and he said, "Shortly after the race start, Dhruv Mohite and Pratik Sonawane were fighting for the lead when Pratik spun Dhruv at the chicane of turn 5. I went inside the line and took the lead."

The drivers lined for Race 2 with the reverse grid which meant Dhruv B would swap places with Jeet J, Pratiek would swap places with the seventh number Dhruv Mohite, Saurav would swap places with the sixth number Anmol Singh. rest everyone was allocated to where they finished the race.

Jeet leading from the front

Second race began off with Jeet in the pole, Dhruv Mohite in the second position and Anmol Singh in the third position. On the second lap of the race, Akshay Bhivshet and Tauhid Anwar spun off in the main corner to draw out the Safety Car. Unlike the main race, however, the Safety Car returned in after two laps and the drivers got on to race pace.

On the fifth lap, Affan challenged Anmol for the third position, overtook him and held his position until the last lap. Anmol didn't surrender till the end and made his signature move on Affan on the last lap to secure the third step on the podium.

Saurav with his trophy

After the race, we spoke to Saurav Bandyopadhyay who was happy with his podium spot.

Following is the conversation we had with Saurav:

Me: Saurav luck or faith?

Saurav: Well I am not a person of faith which I think sometimes is a problem. I think fortune did favour me for sure. Every day morning I used to go to give blood and after every two hours, I used to call them to know my reports. Every day my report was going down. My family and friends supported me a lot.

Me: How did you prepare for the race? It's so complicated after the formation lap, so much pressure in your head.

Saurav: This time I had no pressure, I prepare a lot for the race. I work out two-three scenarios at lap 1. This time I said I will see what's happening around and make the best out of the situation.

Me: Who is your inspiration?

Saurav: Lewis Hamilton

Me: Are you Ayrton Senna by mindset and Prost by heart?

Saurav: I believe I can be both.

Championship winner Dhruv Mohite in action

With Dhruv completing second in the race, he had enough points to win the Ameo Cup 2018 title with a solid lead over Saurav Bandyopadhyay. The fight for the second position in the last standings was a tight one among Saurav and Jeet with Jeet settling in the third position ultimately.

The Junior star of the Ameo Cup 2018 was Shubhomoy Ball who showed massive commitment all through the season. With a difference of more than 92 points in the last standings of the Junior classification, it was a reasonable win for Shubhomoy.

Shubhomoy in action