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ZAAMIN CONFIRMED FOR NEW STAR-STUDDED i1 SUPER SERIES

Mumbai racing driver Zaamin Jaffer (1999-2008; Edgarley and Butleigh) has been confirmed as one of India’s leading competitors for the brand new i1 Super Series which will blast into action early in the New Year with a star-studded entry list – headed by none other than 1997 FIA Formula One World Champion Jacques Villeneuve.

 Beginning an exciting new chapter in Zaamin’s young career, his participation in the i1 Super Series will mark the 21-year-old’s first experience of racing sportscars; the category featuring 18 identical Radical SR3 racers. Nine teams, each representing a different Indian city ‘franchise’ will field two cars and the mouth-watering prize purse of two million US dollars has attracted some major names.

Joining the Indian ace on the entry list for the opening round at Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia on 21st/22nd January will be several ex-Formula One stars including Villeneuve, Jean Alesi, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Mika Salo, Giancarlo Fisichella and Vitantonio Liuzzi.

The new championship was officially launched during a specially organised event at Yas Marina in Abu Dhabi on Monday, 19th December, where Zaamin was named as one of nine ‘Indian International’ class drivers. In addition, there are two further classes – one for non-Indian racers with international experience and another for less experienced racers from the sub-continent.

On Tuesday, 20th December, competitors had their first taste of the Radical SR3 which will be utilised in the five-event championship during a brief 20-minute test at Yas Marina. Immediately proving his worth, Zaamin – who has most recently been winning races in the Dubai-based Formula Gulf 1000 Championship – lapped within just 0.6 seconds of outright pace-setter Frentzen.

Posting a best time of 1m01.153 seconds, the talented rising star of Indian motorsport broke into the top 10 overall just 0.3 seconds shy of Liuzzi and ahead of vastly experienced international racers such as Salo, Alex Yoong and Sakon Yamamoto.

“We’ve been working really hard to try and be involved in the first season of the i1 Super Series so I’m absolutely delighted to have been announced as one of the Indian drivers”, said Zaamin, “I can’t wait for the first race, it’s going to be incredible competing on track with so many top drivers and it’ll be the highlight of my career so far for sure.

“The championship has been eagerly awaited for a long time and it’s going to be massive for Indian motorsport, it’s really exciting to be part of it from the inception and a huge opportunity. Having an F1 Champion like Villeneuve and Grand Prix winners like Frentzen and Alesi involved is fantastic. The first test went really well – to have been faster than someone like Mika Salo is a great feeling.”

Following the opening event in Malaysia in late January, round two will take place in the Gulf state of Bahrain on 3rd/4th February with round three scheduled for a week later, 10th/11th February, at Losail in Qatar. The ‘home’ event for the i1 Super Series will take place on 25th/26th February at the Buddh International Circuit in New Delhi with the finale set for 9th/10th March at Yas Marina in the UAE.

Team line-ups are expected to be confirmed very soon – for more information visit the official championship website

 Read more about Zaamin here

Sam tests Mercedes to the limit

OM Sam Bird (2003-05; Kingweston)  impressed Mercedes boss, Ross Brawn, sufficiently to be chosen to test drive for the Formula One team in Abu Dhabi in November.

Sam, who finished fifth in this season’s GP2 series, completed 104 laps of the Yas Marina Circuit ahead of the Grand Prix, delighting Braun and recording the second-fastest time of all the drivers who took part in the session.

For more on Sam, go to his website by clicking here

Zaamin top Indian driver in Formula 1 support races at Buddh

India’s Zaamin Jaffer starred as the best of the homegrown talent in the Delhi Championship with MRF races at the brand new Buddh International Circuit over the weekend, 29th/30th October, with a fantastic showing as part of the support package to the inaugural Airtel Grand Prix of India.

Accompanying the FIA Formula One World Championship for its first visit to the sub-continent, the 21-year-old had to battle severe sickness throughout the weekend but performed superbly to attain a sixth place finish in race one on Saturday and an even better top five result on Sunday.

Mumbai-born Zaamin, in only his first year of ‘slicks and wings’ action, returned to his homeland off the back of an encouraging debut season in Formula Renault in the UK and quickly got to grips with the 1.6-litre Ford-engined Van Diemen car utilised in Delhi Championship with MRF.

Despite being struck down with illness during practice and into qualifying, he was still able to post the ninth fastest time in both sessions. Faced with a tough challenge to make strong progress through the cosmopolitan field from the fifth row of the grid, the ever-improving Indian ace drove impressively with excellent pace to fight through into a deserved top six finish.

For Sunday’s encounter around the 5.1-kilometre New Delhi track, Zaamin lined-up ninth on the grid again but delivered an even more competitive drive than on Saturday to shine once again with the partisan support of the tens of thousands of spectators in attendance.

Initially moving up into the top six early on, he spent the majority of the race in that position but out of the final corner on the last lap he was able to get terrific drive on the run to the finishing line and took fifth place at the chequered flag – once more the highest placed Indian driver. Further to that, Zaamin also posted the fourth fastest lap of the race to confirm his superb pace.

“It’s been an amazing weekend”, he commented, “The whole event has been fantastic, it’s been such a privilege to be part of the first ever Grand Prix weekend in India and to be the top Indian driver in the MRF Formula races is really special and a great result – especially when you factor in I was ill most of the weekend!

“Practice and qualifying didn’t go as we wanted for that reason, so we were left with a lot of hard work in the races but I had good pace and knew we’d be able to fight through. The highlight for me was pulling off a move at the last corner of the last lap in race two, that sealed a great weekend. I’m sure we could have challenged for the podium if we’d qualified in the top six but sixth and fifth place from ninth on the grid in both races is a good return.”

Zaamin added: “I’d like to congratulate everyone involved in creating the Buddh International Circuit as it’s a fantastic track to drive and a great facility. This weekend has been so important for our sport in India, I’m really happy to have been part of it all.”

 Zaamin Jaffer (1999-2008; Edgarley and Butleigh)  is studying at Cardiff University but has every intention of making it into the big time of motor racing, having graduated to the British Auto Racing Club's Formula Renault Championships. This follows two seasons in Formula Ford and previous experience in karting in the United Arab Emirates.

He is now looking for sponsors to back what could prove to be the UAE's first Grand Prix star.