Misano Adriatico (Italy), July 20 (IANS): Sahara Force India Academy's Jehan Daruvala from Mumbai enjoyed a fruitful weekend here at the Marco Simoncelli circuit with two pole positions, followed by a third and fourth place finishes in the Formula Renault 2.0 Alps Series.
Racing in only his second event as a guest driver, 16-year-old Jehan was quickest in practice and went on to earn two pole positions before finishing third in the first race and fourth in the next outing on Sunday.
In Free Practice-1 Jehan was fourth, but went better in Free Practice-2 to emerge as the quickest. Continuing his form, Jehan waited in the pits initially for the first qualifying session before going out on track with just nine minutes left on the clock. He was third quickest before putting in a scorching lap to bag pole position.
The races were a different story altogether. Jehan's inexperience amongst the seasoned and highly competitive grid showed up as he made a cautious start to fall to third.
By the end of lap 1, Jehan had further fallen to fourth. After settling into a good rhythm, Jehan mounted an attack on the third placed Romanov of Russia. He soon passed him and sealed the final podium position behind British race winner Jack Aitken and Russian Matevos Isaakyan.
Qualifying for race 2 once again saw Jehan extracting the best out of his car as he took his second pole position.
However, Jehan was not able to capitalise on his pole once again in the race. After the lights went out, the teenager from Mumbai fell to third. A brief safety car period followed and Jehan remained in third before slipping to fourth after committing a mistake. He could not make any headway and settled for fourth.
"I am really happy with my pace this weekend and a big thank you to the team for a fantastic car. It has been tough racing against the very best racers at the top.
"I still have a lot to learn and also need to improve my race starts. I am positive about how things are working out and would like to thank Sahara Force India Academy and my family as well," said Jehan.