Daruvala sets fastest lap in Teretonga testing

Jehan Daruvala (17) of India set an aggressive fastest lap time of 54.169 in the final test of the day ahead of Saturday’s official qualifying for this weekend’s second round of the Toyota Racing Series at Teretonga Park in Invercargill.

Meanwhile Lando Norris (16, Great Britain), the youngest ever winner of the World Karting Championship, was dominant throughout the day.

Daruvala commented: “It’s great that I have a competitive teammate (Lando Norris).  I am sure that we will be able to push each other to keep improving.”

Ferdinand Habsburg’s (18, Austria) experience from last year shone through and he kept pace through each session.

Kami Laliberte (16, Canada) and Artem Markelov (21, Russia) are both in the frame and within spitting distance of Daruvala's top time.

Local Invercargill racer Brendon Leitch (20, New Zealand) improved considerably as the day’s testing went on, winding up with a competitive 54.392 seconds lap in the final testing session for the day.

The changeable conditions today provided plenty of practice on wet tyres for the young racers and several spun out on the tight elbow heading into the long main straight, especially during rain showers in the second testing session.

Teretonga Park’s 2.57 km race track is located in New Zealand’s Southland and was pleasingly not affected today by the strong sea breeze which often forces gearbox and setup changes.  More attention had to be paid to tyres and getting the wets off quickly after heavy showers had cleared.

Tomorrow's qualifying schedule for Saturday 23 January:
11:00am - Qualifying Session 1 - 15 minutes
11.20am - Qualifying Session 2 - 15 minutes