A fighting Advait Deodhar misses overall 3rd narrowly in the 2019 Euro Nascar Championship

David Bodapati October 8, 2019

1,168 1 minute read

Advait Deodhar fights in the rain in the last round at Zoldar and finishes 4th overall in the Euro NASCAR series. Photo for INDIAinF1

Zoldar, 8 Oct 2019: The London-based Indian racing driver Advait Deodhar started the weekend in contention for overall third place in the 2019 NASCAR Whelen Euro Championship Elite 2 class but missed out narrowly and had to settle for the overall fourth after a thrilling final race here in Belgium on Sunday, the 6th of October.

In Race 1, after some stellar performance, sitting in 3rd and fighting for a win, Advait lost out on the very last lap, 2 corners before the finish line. The last 300 meters of Race 1 impacted the outcome of P3 in the Championship as Advait was also given a 60-second time penalty.

Race 2 started under extremely wet conditions. After a good start and on the pace, the rain stopped and the extreme wet setup the team opted for, started working against the changing track conditions. With the car being a handful to drive, Advait brought home his Chevrolet SS in a lonely 6th place clocking 37:51.569.

Advait Deodhar poses with Gian Luca Guiglia, his CAAL Racing team manager.

After the successful end of a long season where Advait had to struggle for every race looking for sponsors, he managed admirably to complete the season fighting for a top-three place despite missing a round. Looking back at the season, the racer who works as a Yacht broker to fund his racing activity, said: “It’s been a surreal journey and racing this year has happened against all odds. I have not been able to raise sponsorship but managed to race this year with no sponsorship by working extremely hard on my day job and risked it all to fund it through my earnings, and using up all credit and savings. I drove for three teams due to budget constraints, missed one round, lived in uncertainty and confirmed each round only a few days before each race weekend.”

Advait drove against a very competitive grid and managed to somehow make it all work and the fact that he was fighting for overall third till the last corner is a great achievement when compared to the support and resources enjoyed by the other drivers. “A top-3 should have been possible under different circumstances but I’m very proud of the achievement this year,” he quipped.

“I think it’s about time I secure a sponsor and get some support from Indian companies as I race on the international stage,” said Advait even as he looks at 2020. “I want to come back to the Championship in 2020 with a full budget and race seat confirmed. I will fight for the title and accept nothing less,” he concluded with conviction. It is time Indian corporates and many sports-loving promoters look at this rare talent and support him in his journey. Last year Advait Deodhar won the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series in October.