British Karting: Jehan Daruvala mounts title charge

File Photo – Jehan Daruvala

Young Indian driver Jehan Daruvala produced one of the most dominant displays of his career in the fourth round of the British MSA KF3 Championships held here over the weekend.

The Indian driver emerged victorious in both finals and one heat at Clay Pidgeon Raceway here and only a broken exhaust bracket in Heat 1 prevented him from executing a clean sweep of the weekend.

Having added 150 points to his season tally, Daruvala is firmly in second place in the standings, just 13 points behind leader Daniel Ticktum.

With two rounds remaining in the Championship, the Sahara Force India Academy driver will aim to be in contention until the very end to claim the title.

The next race for the 14-year-old will be at the PF International circuit, Lincolnshire Sep 21-22.

“I was only 0.02s off pole position in qualifying, which was good enough for third place – a good place to start both my heats. Unfortunately my exhaust broke in the first race when I was in second and catching the leader. I had to retire and was classified second last,” said Daruvala.

“In the second heat I built on a good start to move into second and chased down the leader. Once I had passed him and was in the clear I opened a gap and set the fastest lap on the way to winning.

“Starting in fifth for the first final, I made my way through my rivals and caught the leaders, who were in a battle; I passed Ticktum at the chicane for second and the leader in the same place before opening a five-second gap and setting the fastest lap once more.

“In the second final I started on pole and kept the lead with a good start. Ticktum was on my bumber, but I just put my head down and started edging away – after 24 laps I had almost a second on everyone else, a safe lead. I am happy with my weekend as my wins on Sunday helped me recover some crucial points,” he added.