Top six feature race finish for 16-year-old in extreme conditions on TRS debutCar racing rookie Shahaan Engineer made a huge impact during the opening event of the Toyota Racing Series at Teretonga Park in New Zealand over the weekend, 14th/15th January, the youngest driver in the category taking a best result so far of sixth in the ‘Spirit of a Nation’ feature race.At just 16-years-of-age and with only a handful of races in last November’s Protyre Formula Renault UK ‘Finals Series’ under his belt, the Indian’s high level of maturity and skill in some extremely poor weather – including hail and high winds – stood out against vastly experienced global opposition, several competitors coming from the ranks of Formula 3 and Formula Renault 3.5. The highlight of the weekend for Shahaan was undoubtedly the second of the three races at the 2.62 kilometre track where he calmly and assuredly steered his 215bhp Toyota-engined, ETEC Motorsport run car to a fantastic sixth place finish.Of the 15 international drivers taking part in the southern hemisphere championship, the youngster from Mumbai belied his position as the least experienced racer to be classified the third highest placed of the visiting competitors. With the local New Zealand contingent having a clear advantage where car and circuit knowledge is concerned, Shahaan’s performance was all the more impressive.Sunday’s ‘Spirit of a Nation Trophy’ feature race started with a track wet from earlier rain but drivers chose to run with slick tyres in the expectation the surface would dry sufficiently. Lapping with a fastest time just 0.5 seconds shy of the best of the race, Shahaan handled the conditions superbly but the race was declared after 15 of the scheduled 20 laps due to the onset of more rain and hail.“The track was damp and drying so everyone chose slicks”, explained Shahaan, “After it dried there were several Safety Car periods, tricky restarts and halfway through the race it began to rain – with hail stones on one side of the track, while the other side was completely dry! From that point on the Safety Car remained on track until the officials decided to end the race early.”Added to this great result, Shahaan finished in 11th position in race one – an outing in which another potential top six was prevented due to a throttle problem. When resolved for the feature race his lap times improved to within just 0.5 seconds of the leader, meaning the newcomer takes a lot of confidence into the third and final race of the weekend where he will start from pole position.“I’m really pleased so far, this series has given me so much experience already in extreme conditions with wet starts and Safety Car periods and the tracks have really challenged us all”, he added, “I had great support from my engineer Michael and mechanic Murray, they were vital in prepping me for the races. I can’t wait to be back in the car.”This year’s Toyota Racing Series has the most international flavor of any in the championship’s history with 15 drivers from 11 countries, and four continents, forming the bulk of the 19-strong field. The standard, therefore, is incredibly high.Reflecting on Shahaan’s great progress so far, ETEC Motorsport team principal Trevor Sheumack said: “Despite being the youngest and least experienced driver on the grid of this, the most concentrated racing series in the world, Shahaan remained focused and brought the car home under severe weather conditions.”Following the third race of the opening event, round two of the back-to-back five weekend Toyota Racing Series will take place on 21st/22nd January at Timaru International Raceway. At the conclusion of the New Zealand championship, Shahaan will return to Britain where he will prepare for his first full season in the Certina Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship with reigning champion team Fortec Motorsports.

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