Tio Ellinas secures double pole for MRF Challenge Round 2

Sakhir (Bahrain), 28 Nov 2013:  Championship contender Tio Ellinas secured pole position for Race 1 & 3 at Round 2 of the MRF Challenge 2013 at the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) in Sakhir, Bahrain. Renault sponsored driver Arthur Pic, who currently leads the championship, will start second ahead of British driver Rupert Svendsen-Cook. Earlier in the day, Sam Dejonghe and Arthur Pic were fastest in the Free Practice sessions 1& 2. The FIA sanctioned MRF Challenge will serve as one of the main support races for the FIA World Endurance Championship round.

In the 30 minute qualifying session, Japanese driver Shinya Michimi was the first to set a competitive time and went to top of the time sheets with a 2:04:610. Pic came out next and went faster by three-tenths to go fastest, but that was soon eclipsed by Svendsen-Cook, who did a 2:03:551. Ellinas kept his run late and set a 2:02:983 to go provisional pole. His next lap was even faster as he became the first man to dip under the 2:03:00 mark to set a 2:02:960 and cement his pole position. As he set the second fastest lap as well in the qualifying session, he will start Race 3 from the front of the grid. Pic and Svendsen-Cook will start in second and third place again for Race 3. 

Pole sitter Tio Ellinas was thrilled to be on pole after finding the perfect balance in practice. He commented, “It was a good session for me. We used the practice sessions to find the right balance and it worked well in qualifying. I did my fastest laps in succession and am confident going into to the race tomorrow. Getting pole here is very important so I will try to use this to my advantage at the start.”

Second placed man Arthur Pic commented, “I am happy with second place on the grid. We used a set of old tyres so could not match Tio for pole position. I am close to Tio with regard to race pace and I think the start will be important as whoever leads into turn 1 will have the advantage for the race.”

The Indian challenge had a tough day with Parth Ghorpade and Raj Bharath both suffering from mechanical problems. While Parth suffered a drive-shaft failure in qualifying, Bharath managed to get in a total of 5 laps the whole day after his car gave trouble. Ghorpade will start from 13th on the grid with Bharath and Vikash Anand further back.

Sam Dejonghe was the fastest man in Free Practice 1 as the drivers spent time learning the circuit. He set a fastest time of 2:03:390 with Svendsen-Cook behind him with a 2:03:427. In Free Practice 2, Arthur Pic topped the time sheets with a 2:03:491 ahead of Japanese driver Shinya Michimi, who was half a second off his pace. 

About MRF Challenge 2013

The four round calendar will include 14 races, and will see the leading single-seater racing category in India go international with two rounds to be held in Bahrain in November and December. The final round of the championship will be held in Chennai in February. MRF also confirmed a prize money of Rs. 6,500,000 for the winners of the Championship.

In its second year, the MRF Challenge 2013 will feature 18 MRF Formula 2000 race cars, which have been made in India by JA Motorsport based in Coimbatore, in collaboration with Dallara, world’s largest racing car manufacturer and also Jayem Automotives Ltd, which is a strategic partner for Tata Motors Ltd. The Formula 3 style car has been built by JA Motorsport in technical collaboration with Dallara, and is considered to be the fastest of its kind in Asia. The MRF Formula 2000 is powered by a 2.0 litre 210 BHP Renault Sport Engine and will have a Hewland 6-Speed sequential gearbox. The race car has also been crash tested to FIA F3 safety standards and will race with MRF ZLO slick and wet tyres.

Please go to www.mrfracing.in for information on Championship Standings.

MRF Challenge 2013 Calendar:

Round 1: October 25-27, 2013, New Delhi, Buddh International Circuit (Formula One Support Race)

Round 2: November 28-30, 2013, Bahrain, Bahrain International Circuit (World Endurance Championship Support Race)

Round 3: December 19-21, 2013, Bahrain, Bahrain International Circuit (Gulf Racing Festival)

Round 4: February 14-16, 2013, Chennai, Madras Motor Race Trust

eom