New Delhi: After being away from racing for a year, Indian racing superstar Akhil Khushlani made a fantastic comeback by claiming second place in Round 10 of the JK Racing Asia Series at the Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit.
Driving for US Formula Project, a sister team of Eurointernational, Khushlani started the race sixth on the grid and after a good start, was able to pass fifth placed starter Irfan Ilyas at the end of the first turn. From there he pushed ahead and began to make his move on Hiqmar Danial, who by then was in third after being overtaken by Nabil Jeffri after a bad start. Khushlani found a way past Danial on the second last turn at the end of the first lap.
Jeffri was ahead and pushing on to catch up to Ikhwan, but by the end of lap two, Khushlani caught up to the Eurointernational driver and took him, once again at the second last turn. The Indian driver managed to maintain a good pace, setting the fastest lap on lap 5.
Akhil came back strong after a slow start with a troubled practice session on Friday. “It feels good. I feel confident now, especially after a bad practice and not such a great qualifying. It feels really nice to be back on the podium. I am happy with myself because I had a year’s gap and I am back on the pace with the fastest lap and going from sixth to second. I can’t ask for anything more” he said with a big smile during the Post Race Press Conference.
“I had a very good start. I gained one position by the end of the first corner and I saw the others making mistakes and took advantage of it. I saw opportunities coming so I planned my overtaking accordingly and I played safe, as I did not want a DNF.
“This result is probably the best way to make a comeback. I can’t ask for anything more. Podium and racing at Silverstone, feels really nice and I hope to keep the performance up from now’ he ended.
Afiq Ikhwan has returned to form, making a clean sweep of wins. Ikhwan claimed his second win, once again from pole, setting the record straight that he is still very much a fierce competitor in the Series. “Firstly thank you to my sponsors and my team for working hard for me this weekend. It’s good to win two races here at Silverstone. It has been a good weekend for us and all the hard work has been worth it. Like yesterday, I started in pole and I had a good car and a good pace and setup.
“It is fantastic to win here, I am speechless. I am happy with my team and its been a great weekend”. Looking forward to the next race, Ikhwan says, “India is one of my favourite tracks. I think we are good enough and I am confident for the next event as we have a good car. For sure I am going to work on my fitness again and try to stay focused to win the next two races during the Formula 1.
“We are quite confident as we have put in 100% effort, so it will not be a problem for us. We just need to stay focused to set the car well for the next event” he ended.
There was nothing that Jeffri could do but to maintain a steady pace and to finish the race collecting the most points for him and his team. The Championship leader now heads the points table with 164points collected.
Disappointment was clearly seen in Jeffri’s expression, but at the end he knows that the points is the most important. “Firstly I’d like to thank my team, even though the car wasn’t great, finishing on the podium twice at Silverstone is really great. Not the best results but there was nothing much I could do about it.
“I am disappointed for sure, because I expected more from the car and from myself. I think I drove my best, this was the best I could do and other than making a few mistakes running wide here and there”.
Speaking about the next race in India, Jeffri is once again positive of a good outcome. “I am not worried at all, in India I know I will be strong. I know the track better than anyone else, I’ve been there a couple of times more than the other drivers, so in India I am definitely coming back stronger.
“Right now, what is important is the Championship points. For sure, every year there will be ups and downs, I guess this is one of my downs, even though it is not that bad”.
The JK Racing Asia Series will return to Asia for Rounds 11 & 12 scheduled to be held during the 2012 Formula 1 AIRTEL Indian Grand Prix at Buddh International Circuit on 26th to 28th October 2012.
By Indian Sports News Network
