Parth Ghorpade, 2nd for a flying start to Formula Pilota
Shanghai, 16 June 2012: Upcoming Indian racer Parth Ghorpade got his 2012 Formula Pilota Championship bid off to a flying start by finishing second in the opening race of Round 1 of the series in Shanghai. The young Indian did his country proud by finishing on the second step of the podium in only his first race in this series. Earlier in the day Ghorpade had qualified third on the grid for Race 1. 18 year old Ghorpade is a five-time National Karting Champion, runner-up in the inaugural 2010 Volkswagen Polo Cup India, and recently competed in the Renault F4 series in 2011, finishing in the top five multiple times.
In Race 1 Pole man Shota Kiyohara got bogged down on the line as Parth took advantage and jumped into the lead. He soon came under pressure from teammate Antonio Giovannani, who had qualified P2, but was able to open up a gap after 3 laps. Kiyohara was able to make up ground as his pace through the weekend has been almost a second up on the others and he finally went ahead on lap 8. Parth managed to stay close to him and finish comfortably in second position.
An overjoyed Ghorpade was extremely satisfied with this result after having tough practice sessions over the last couple of days. He said, “This is a fantastic result and a great way for to start the championship. There was limited running during practice due to various reasons so feels good to be on the podium today. I have been working really hard with the team over the last few days to get comfortable with the car and I must thank them for the great job they have done. Qualifying went well this morning so was confident going into the race. I had a fantastic start and went into the lead and managed to hold it for 8 laps before Kiyohara went past. Am still happy with my performance today and will hope to carry this momentum for the rest of the weekend.”
While qualifying for Race 2 was done earlier in the day, the grid position for Race 3 was determined by fastest laps set during Race 1. Ghorpade ran into traffic in qualifying for Race 2 and will only start from 8th on the grid. For Race 3, Ghorpade set the second fastest lap of the race with a 2:07:117 which gives him a front row start. Both Races 2&3 will be held on Sunday.
About Formula Pilota Championship
Following the extremely successful Formula Abarth in Europe, a new series – Formula Pilota Championship was established in Asia in 2011. Also known as Formula Pilota China, the series managed to keep the Asian entry level formula up-to date with Europe and provided the exact same platform & race cars at a more affordable price.
The 2011 season held 12 rounds (6 events) plus 1 FPC Final Master Race. The series gathered 8 teams & 26 drivers from 20 difference countries and regions. Having a strong connection with European motorsport has qualified FPC one of the best stepping stones for the young drivers to either move forward to the next level, or have a taste of single-seater right after graduation from Karting. The series has a great mix of young Asian, European and South American drivers and in 2011, FPC sent 2 young drivers (Champion & best Asian) to the Ferrari Drivers Academy (FDA) test. In 2012 season, FPC will have 6 triple-rounds events and 1 invitational race, which will sure to bring more excitement to the competition. The series will travel to Shanghai, Zhuhai, Taiwan and Sepang.
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