2015 Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo Asia: Armaan Ebrahim wins in Japan
First round of the third Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo Asia concluded on Sunday, June 21. Indian racer Armaan Ebrahim and his team-mate Dilantha Malagamuwa were placed first overall at the end of the round that took place in Fuji, Japan.
The Dilango Racing duo, which started at third place during Race 1 on Saturday, slid further down the grid to 12th, after a jammed wheel nut during the tyre change proved to be a spanner in the works. But Ebrahim and Malagamuwa were able to take their Lamborghini Huracan past seven cars and finish the race at fifth overall.
However, Race 2 proved to be the real gamechanger for the duo as they took first place despite the heavy downpour that had rendered the track wet.
Speaking of his win in Japan, JK Tyre ambassador Armaan Ebrahim said, "The team did a great job and got the car ready for Practice on Thursday and Friday which is all the testing that I could manage. Having never driven the Lamborghini Huracan before, I had to understand the dynamics of the car and still need to find some more track time to really get on top of the car. The car is really quick and stands out for itself. . . Dilantha, my team-mate from Sri Lanka and team owner did a great job in getting the team together and also drove well to hold on to the lead which I had built up."
The series will now head to other Asian tracks like Shanghai, Sepang, Sentul and Okayama. Between November 21-22, the Super Trofeo World Final, that brings together the grid from Europe, America and Asia will be held at Sebring as a seventh round of sorts.
2015 Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia Championship Calendar:Round 2 Shanghai July 11-12
Round 3 Kuala Lumpur August 8-9
Round 4 Sentul September 5-6
Round 5 Okayama October 10-11
Round 6 Sebring November 19-20
Round 7 Sebring (Super Trofeo World Final) November 21-22
| JK Tyre Brand Ambassador, Armaan Ebrahim along with team mate Dilantha Malagam dominated the main race in Fuji, Japan. Starting 5th on the grid after a heavy downpour, Armaan took the start and steadily moved up the ladder on a wet track. Twenty minutes into the race , Armaan took the lead after passing Yudai Uchida from Japan and Davide Rizzo from Italy and built a sizeable lead before handing over the car to team mate Dilantha who drove well and kept the lead to finally take the chequered flag and a well deserved victory. With the Indian National anthem in full flow, Armaan and Dilantha went on to the Podium to take the Overall 1st place trophy along with 1st in their Class. In Race 1 on Saturday, Armaan had a big setback during the pit stop when the wheel nut got jammed during the tyre change which put them back to 12th place from running in 3rd place.. The pair fought back strongly to pass 7 cars and finish 5th overall and 2nd in Class. Commented Armaan : Its great to take a win and though I have been getting several podiums in the last couple of years an overall 1st place was always eluding me. It was a tough weekend to start with as our car was delivered to us only on the Tuesday of the race weekend. We were further hampered when our race engineer took unwell and could not make it for the race. After having a setback in the pit stop in race 1, we more than made up for it in Race 2. While we still need to find some more time in the dry, we were very quick in the wet and hopefully before the next race we will have our race engineer back in form. The team did a great job and got the car ready for Practice on Thursday and Friday which is all the testing that I could manage. Having never driven the Lamborghini Huracan before, I had to understand the dynamics of the car and still need to find some more track time to really get on top of the car. The car is really quick and stands out for itself. Dilantha, my team mate from Sri Lanka and Team owner did a great job in getting the team together and also drove well to hold on to the lead which I had built up. I now look forward to Rd 2 in Shanghai next month. I would also like to thank my childhood sponsor JK Tyres without whom I would not have been here. | |