Parth wins in China: Formula Pilota
Guangdong (China), 15 Sept 2012: Young Indian racer Parth Ghorpade continued his great start to Round 4 of the 2012 Formula Pilota Championship when he won Race 1 at the Guangdong International Circuit. This was his first win in an international series and moves him to third in the championship. Parth finished only in 8th position in Race 2 when he was hit from the back by Ren Nagabuchi in the first corner and had to recover after that.
Starting P4, Parth had a terrific start and was able to make his way through to P1 at the end of the first lap. He crossed the first lap in the lead which he was able to control till the end of the 18 lap race. He came under pressure from Ren Nagabuchi in the middle half of the race, but was able to pull away in the last 4 laps to secure his maiden win in Formula Pilota. The two front runners were able to establish a considerable lead over the rest of the pack and by lap 6 it had become a two-way battle for the win. The win was Parths 3rd consecutive podium in the overall class and 4th in the Asian class.
In Race 2, Parth started P3 , but was hit from behind in the first corner by Nagabuchi whom he had got past off the start line. The collsion launched him into the lead car of Dan Wells, who recovered without major damage, but the damage to Parth’s car was severe and he had to nurse it home to 8th place. It was a dissappointing end to the day as he just had to clear the first corner and could have cruised to a podium in the short 10 lap race.
After winning his first race from 4th on the grid a delighted Parth commented, “This is probably the biggest achievement in my international racing career and hope it is the first of many. We have been close in many races but have not managed to step on the top step of the podium. I had one of my best starts of the season and managed to end the first lap in front. It was a good battle with Ren but managed to stay ahead of him. It was a shame that I got hit in Race 2 as the car was really good. This win is down to all the hard work put in so happy that it has paid off. I would like to thank my family and sponsors for making this possible. I will now turn my focus to the rest of the weekend and try to gain as many points as possible.”
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.
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