Jehan Daruvala in title contention
Currently fourth in Formula Renault NEC series
AAFTER PROGRESSING to formula racing from karting in 2015, Jehan Daruvala has had strong results in the Formula Renault 2.0 NEC series with the Josef Kaufmann Racing team for the second year running.
The series began at Monza where Jehan bagged his first podium of the season. Jehan challenged for the podium in race one but just fell shy only to go one better in the next race.
He looked to erase the horrors of his 2015 Silverstone crash as he converted a P6 start to a fifth place finish in the first race and a fourth in the next one with a spectacular overtaking move round the outside in to the Maggots corner.
At the Hungaroring in Hungary he could only qualify eighth after his fastest laps were excluded for exceeding track limits. He had a bad start and on the last lap of the race, he was on the receiving end of a nudge that forced him into a spin only to recover and finish 13th.
Norris made an error and collided into the barriers in race two, while leading the race from Jehan, necessitating the safety car. Jehan eased in to his first win of the series upon restart. The win also put him atop the championship board.
The following round at Spa in Belgium was a weekend to forget. He was sixth in the first qualifying session and couldn’t set a time in the second as the session was ended prematurely. Jehan lost a place in race one and was part of a collision in race two that had him air-borne for a brief moment. The results seriously hampered his championship claim as he fell to fifth.
At Assen, Jehan was able to secure front row starts in both races. Wheelspinning at the start of the first race didn’t help his cause as he fell to fourth but managed to claw back one spot on the final lap to finish third. Jehan was fighting Norris for the win in race two when both the Kaufmann racing cars developed a technical snag which allowed Max Defourny to ease past them and take victory, relegating Jehan to third.
Jehan heads in to the summer break fourth in the championship with 166 points while Norris leads with 211 points. Jehan’s season will resume at the end of August at the legendary Nurgburgring circuit.