Jordan King maintained his grip on Indias 2012 MRF Challenge with a dominant double victory in the second outing around the Buddh International Circuitand so consummately did he wipe the floor with his rivals, that the gifted young Warwickshire ace missed two races and still returned home ensconced at the top of the title standings.
King travelled to the Indian Grand Prix venue on the outskirts of New Delhi eager to shine in the inaugural MMSC-Sidvin Festival of Speed, for which the MRF Challenge topped the bill. With all drivers competing in identical Dallara-designed, Renault-powered single-seaters, raw talent was always going to come to the foreand having clinched a victory and a second-place finish in the curtain-raiser at the same circuit five weeks earlier, the reigning series champion was bullish about his prospects of sustained success.
After the pace wed demonstrated in the opening round, I felt really confident, affirmed the highly-rated Stoneleigh-based speed demon. I knew the track and the car, and entering a race meeting as the championship leader always gives you a psychological boost.
Qualifying comfortably on pole position, King explained that its a long lap, and little gains through each corner quickly add upbut he was nonetheless somewhat surprised by the margin of his supremacy. To put the achievement into perspective, his adversaries included the recently-crowned FIA Formula Two Champion, a GP3 Series race-winner and a former GP2 Series contender, all of whom are accustomed to racing somewhat higher up the motorsport ladder and none of whom has a reputation as a slouch.
I didnt get the best of starts in race one and fell back to third, related the 18-year-old British Racing Drivers Club (BRDC) Rising Star and MSA Academy member. The MRF car has less power than the Formula Renault Ive been used to all year, and its a tricky balance to strike in terms of knowing when to release the clutch.
Several drivers were struggling with it and making mistakes, and as I knew we had the pace to win and that there are a number of passing spots around the lap, I reasoned that it wasnt worth risking a jump-start. The car felt almost perfect and I regained second place on lap two before closing down and overtaking the leader. After that, I could hold a steady gap and control the race as I wanted.
With the top six finishers reversed to determine the grid for race two, King began the weekends second encounter from sixthand needing to score as many points as possible in the knowledge that he would be missing the two outings the following day in order to fly home for the prestigious AUTOSPORT Awards ceremony in London, at which he was honoured as one of five runners-up in the McLaren AUTOSPORT Young Driver of the Year category. The pressure to perform, he acknowledged, was on with a vengeance.
I knew it would be tough from sixth, although I was optimistic that the podium would be within reach, mused the 2012 Formula Renault Northern European Cup Vice-Champion. It was an eventful first lap and I was mindful of not wanting to get caught up in any trouble as we knew we had the speed to progress once everything settled down, but I was up to fourth when the red flags came out for an accident.
When the race re-started, I snatched third place pretty quickly, and then shortly after, I took advantage of the two leaders fighting ahead of me. They both ran wide on the exit of the first corner, which allowed me to dart past. They stuck to my tail for the next half-a-lap, but once I had broken their tow, I focussed on pushing as hard as I could to establish a gap. By the time the chequered flag appeared, I was more than nine seconds ahead...
With characteristic understatement, King revealed that he was pretty satisfied with his efforts, and considering the calibre of the oppositiontwo of whom have experience of driving an F1 carto simply waltz away from the chasing pack was impressive indeed.
Whats more, despite missing out on the opportunity to reassert his authority on Sunday, the Hugo Boss brand ambassador incredibly retained his championship lead for the loss of just a single point, making the weekend an expert lesson in damage limitation and meaning he will head to Chennai for the final round in February still five markers clear of his closest pursuer in the defence of his hard-fought crown.
Id feared I would be really up against it there, he confessed, so this is an absolutely mega outcomeI couldnt have asked for much more! It was disappointing not to be able to race on the second day, because Im pretty convinced we could have taken another double win and it would have been nice to have a greater cushion, but I guess it makes the championship battle a bit more interesting with the points the way they areand given the form weve shown so far, I think we can go to Chennai in optimistic mood...
