Armaan second in Lamborghini series
Sebring (Florida – USA), 21 Nov 2015: India’s Armaan Ebrahim ended the 2015 Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo Asia Series on a high as he finished second in the championship after earning podium and fourth position in the concluding round’s double-header at the historic Sebring International Raceway here on Friday.
Armaan, the 26-year old from Chennai along with his Sri Lankan team-mate Dilantha Malagamuwa, came up with two stunning drives while overcoming gearbox issues which led to a pitlane start for the second race as the duo picked up valuable points to finish creditable second in the championship.
Armaan, the JK Tyre Brand Ambassador, will be participating in the Super Trofeo World Final, a double-header that will conclude on Sunday at the same venue.
Despite the late arrival of the car, Armaan and Dilantha qualified third for both the races, but gearbox problems plagued them through the day while denying them a possible higher finishes.
As part of strategy, Dilantha went out first in Race One, but he struggled with an errant gearbox before handing over the car to Armaan who drove a brilliant second half of the race to come in third.
Amraan all but missed the second race as the team decided to change the gearbox. The work was still in progress when the rest of the cars lined up on the start grid. However, providence smiled on Armaan by way of rains which delayed the start while forcing the cars back to the pits for a change of tyres. The delay provided just enough time for Amraan’s car to be readied for a pitlane start. The pair then carved through the field to finish fourth.
Summing up the final round of the series, Armaan said: “Our car arrived only at 5 am on Thursday. So, there was literally no time to do any work on the car. The three Free Practice sessions went off quite decently for us and we qualified third for both races.
“In Race One, we went with a different strategy and sent out Dilantha first. Right from the start, we had a gearbox problem with inconsistent shifts and sometimes, loss of gears. Soon as the pit window was open, we made our stop. I got in and made my way up to third.
“Our gears were getting worse as it even struggled to go up the box and not only down. The race finished behind safety car which came out with 10 minutes left.
“Race Two was even more stressful. After the first race, by the time the car came into the garage from Parc Ferme, we had lost a bit of time. It was decided that the gearbox needed to be changed. At first, it looked like we will miss the race, but thanks to God literally, as it strated raining when the rest of the field was on the grid.
“The rains forced a delay in the start and the whole field had to get back to the pits to change tyres. This brought us loads of time and we still only just made for a pitlane start. It meant, we had to get through again and we did most of it to finish fourth.”
eom/AP M
edia Communications release
