MRF Wrap up 2013 Copy

Daly wins another Championship – this time in India It came down to a two man shootout; America versus England, Conor Daly against Jordan King. The ten race Indian MRF Challenge Championship would run the Cinal four races at the Madras Motorsports circuit in Chennai, India. It would be a no holds barred, winner take all shootout. but Daly would start the inal race fourteen points in arrears. Expert mechanics and engineers a r r i v e d f r o m England to make sure that all the Italian built Dallara chassis were ready to go. Indian newspapers and television channels followed the progress with full page and top billing stories each day. Within hours of Daly arriving in Chennai, he drew irst blood by being fastest in the opening practice session on Wednesday. King was second, just a tenth of a second behind. The track was bumpy and fast, with constant radius corners that made it very difCicult to pass. Things went wrong for Daly in qualifying when he ran almost two seconds off the pace, qualifying a lowly 13th for race one on Saturday, and 8th for race one on Sunday. The problem was traced to a signiCicant mechanical issue that was rectiCied for the races but Daly would have to come from deep in the Cield. The highly rated King had the upper hand and qualiCied fourth for race one on Saturday and second for race one on Sunday. The grid for race two on each day would be based on the morning race results, with the top six inverted. So the battle lines were drawn between the two main soldiers. Added to the mix was the fact that every other driver in the Cield still wanted their share of the glory by taking on the two championship protagonists in their own personal on track Cight, if they were close enough. Race morning Saturday dawned hot and humid. The engineers would send their respective cars to the start line with their collective best guess of chassis set up based on the input and needs of their drivers. When the Clag dropped Daly got a great start slicing past cars initially but then it got more difCicult. Throughout the race he could see King ahead running just like he was, on the outer edges of what might be possible, but never tipping over the edge. The laps counted down and Daly started making calculated passes creeping closer to King and closer to the front. When the checkered Clag dropped King was fourth and Daly an impressive sixth (from 13th on grid). With the inverted top six grid, Daly would start race two from the pole – very aware that King had stretched his points advantage. Daly shot from the pole in race two and dominated winning by almost ten seconds. King Cinished on the podium in third place. Daly’s head hit the pillow that night knowing that despite his win, King had further stretched his points advantage after the irst two races. Sunday’s tension grew. The Indian script was playing out. The battle would continue and no one had blinked yet. King would enjoy a front row start for race one,with Daly languishing in eight place. As the laps wound down Daly could see King leading but he had difCiculty passing cars ahead of him and wound up Cifth. King was on the podium for the second time and was now a full fourteen points ahead of Daly. There was a collective deep breath drawn by Daly’s team and a resolve to turn the heat up. The inal race of the championship on Sunday afternoon turned chaotic at the irst corner with cars spinning and drivers desperately taking avoiding action. Daly had made another stellar start and out of the chaos he grabbed second place with King lurking. If Daly won King knew that he only had to inish fourth to win the championship. Daly mused that if he had lown half way around the world he was going to pile the pressure on at every corner and try to pro actively make things happen rather than wait and see. A Belgian was leading but his mirrors were full of Daly and he eventually cracked and spun. Daly now controlled the Cield but not the outcome. He needed to keep pushing as hard as possible and let the chasers decide their fate. Lap after lap went by with King running in second place, effectively positioned to end Daly’s hopes. And then it happened. The slow motion of silence Cilled the paddock and the reality of gasp crept through the King team. The edges of adhesion were explored by the champions many times but on this occasion King stepped over the line. He spun. His team gasped in disbelief. He would resume the race in tenth place. He had lost his grip on the championship with the pendulum now swinging in Daly’s favor. The Daly team heartbeat suddenly quickened. Could the Indian sponsored team win it all. The points swing suddenly favored Daly. At the height of the pressure and commotion, Daly rolled off the Cinal laps in digital fashion; precise and mistake free. King could not recover. Daly’s team celebrated in style when he crossed the Cinish line as champion. He had taken two race wins out of four but more importantly he had executed to perfection a Clawless mistake free weekend with the pressure up to the red line. He would therefore take home the trophy and the $55,000 winners check. Sahara Force India Formula One congratulated their aero test driver. The celebrations went deep into the night and the MRF Challenge 2012 was chuffed that they had invited an American who Cilled their newspapers and televisions with a human drama story that played out to right to the very last lap..

Load more