Racing Team India makes ALMS debut, on observe for Le Mans

Racing Team India gained its bid to change into the primary all-Indian squad to compete on the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a strong debut over the opening two rounds of the Asian Le Mans Series in Dubai this weekend.
The JK Tyres-backed workforce’s ORECA 07 LMP2 automobile, pushed by Narain Karthikeyan, Arjun Maini and Naveen Rao, with technical help from reigning ALMS champions Algarve Pro Racing, completed fifth and fourth within the two four-hour races held on the Dubai Autodrome on Saturday and Sunday respectively.
The workforce’s automobile confirmed promising tempo all through the weekend. But its problem was hampered by racing incidents and a penalty.
The workforce needed to make an additional precautionary pit-stop in Saturday’s opening race which dropped the automobile down the order.
A five-second time penalty for exceeding the pace restrict additional set it again, forcing the drivers to claw their means again as much as fifth, the place that they had certified.
The second race on Sunday bought off to a promising begin with Maini, who has loads of endurance racing expertise from his European Le Mans outings, setting aggressive lap instances and even main the race at one stage.
But any hopes of a maiden podium had been dashed after a collision with a slower GT automobile pressured the workforce to pit the automobile and perform a nostril change that value beneficial time.
Two Racing Team India automobiles in a follow run. (Twitter/@AutocarIndia)
Still, the 2 races in Dubai supplied an essential studying expertise for the workforce, which, on its debut, grew to become the primary outfit with an all-Indian driver line-up to compete on the worldwide endurance stage.
It additionally confirmed the tempo of the general package deal.
With the drivers additionally extra comfy within the automobile, the squad is seeking to maximise its potential on the remaining two races of the ALMS in Abu Dhabi on Friday and Saturday.
Racing Team India has entered the Asian Le Mans collection as a part of its bid to change into the primary Indian workforce to race on the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The workforce that wins the general Asian Le Mans championship will achieve an automated entry on this yr’s 24 Hours of Le Mans