Please close this new browser to return to indmotorsport.com

Armaan Ebrahim all set for Formula Renault – UK Championship

4th April 2006

Armaan Ebrahim is all set for one of the toughest racing championships in the world and that is the Formula Renault-UK Championship. Armaan will be racing for "Position 1 Racing" who finished 1st in the Graduate Cup and 2nd in the Overall championship in the Formula Renault UK Championship in 2005.

Ian Barnwell, the CEO of Position 1 Racing has gone out of his way to secure Armaan as one of his two drivers in the team by subsidizing his drive quite heavily. Andy Welch, one of the most respected engineers in the British Formula Ford and the Formula Renault Championships in UK and USA will be Armaan’s chief engineer.

Armaan did 8 official tests in 4 different circuits in the UK with the team to become familiar with the circuits that he has never driven on before. Armaan has also had to re adjust himself to the 200 BHP Formula Renault as against the 550 BHP A1 GP car that he drove in the year 2005.

Despite more than half the tests being washed out due to heavy rain and snow, Armaan coped well in testing on circuits not at all familiar to him and was consistently in the top 10 out of the 32 cars that were testing. Armaan will be contesting for 2 cups in the championship. One is the graduate cup which is for drivers who are 19 years and below and the other is for the overall cup of the Formula Renault UK championship.

Once again Armaan at the age of 16 is by far the youngest driver on the circuit with most drivers repeating the championship for the 2nd and 3rd year. As the competition is so stiff most drivers do it at least twice to gain good finishes, as the first year always happens to be a learning curve for the fresh drivers. This is because of lack of circuit knowledge and also difficulties in adapting to the extreme climatic conditions in the UK.

Drivers of the caliber of Kimi Raikkonen have gone straight to Formula 1 from the Formula Renault championship. In 2005 the championship winner was decided in the 20th race which was the last race of the season. More than 20 cars are always within half a second and this is exactly why Armaan has chosen to drive in the Formula Renault UK championship. Not only will it make him fight for every mile second and every yard, but it will also teach him how to compete in real wheel to wheel racing. A small mistake could cost a driver 10 places on the grid and this is something that one never finds in most other championships.

To win a championship with 4 or 8 cars on the grid is not my cup of tea, quoted Akbar Ebrahim, father of Armaan. To win amongst the toughest and the best is something that I want to do because that is what will tell me that I am going somewhere in this sport - quoted Armaan Ebrahim.

Armaan who is the brand ambassador for his main sponsor JK Tyres will also have two more sponsors on board for the 2006 Formula Renault season. They are Amaron and the Speed brand of BPCL. Armaan is also currently in discussions with a few more companies to secure his budget for the 2006 Formula Renault UK championship.

Armaan, who had come down to India from the UK for a few days to do a modeling assignment for the Gatsby collection of clothes and also to receive the Rotary Youth Merit Award from the Rotary Club of Madras, Temple City, left for the UK yesterday to prepare himself for his first race which is on the 9th of April at the Brands Hatch circuit in the UK.


The Formula Renault UK calendar (provisional) :

Apr 8th/9th :: Brands Hatch (Indy)
May 13th/14th : Oulton Park (Island)
Jun 3rd/4th : Thruxton
Jun 17th/18th : Knockhill
Jul 15th/16th : Croft
Jul 29th/30th : Donington Park (National)
Aug 12th/13th : Snetterton
Sept 9th/10th : World Series by Renault - Donington International Park
Sept 23rd/24th : Brands Hatch Indy
Oct 14th/15th : Silverstone (National)

** END **