Podium for Ghorpade at Formula Pilota Championship

Shanghai – India’s Parth Ghorpade (Eurasia Motorsport) started his 2012 Formula Pilota Championship campaign on a bright note by finishing second in the opening race of Round 1 here Saturday while compatriot Raj Bharath (Meco Motorsport) finished eighth.

The 18-year-old from Kolhapur had qualified third for the race, but moved into the lead before pole sitter Shota Kiyohara regained the top spot after eight laps. Ghorpade then held off a strong challenge from Antonio Giovanni to finish second behind Kiyohara.

An overjoyed Ghorpade said: “This is a fantastic result anda great way for to start the championship. There was limited running during practice due to various reasons so feels good to be on the podium today.

“Qualifying went well this morning. So I was confident going into the race. I had a fantastic start and went into the lead and managed to hold it for eight laps before Kiyohara went past. I am still happy with my performance today and will hope to carry this momentum for the rest of the weekend,” said Ghorpade.

Ghorpade qualified eighth for Race 2 while the grid position for Race 3 was determined by fastest laps set during Race 1 which the Indian will start from the front row, having clocked the second fastest time.