TheSportsCampus

Up and coming Indian racer Parth Ghorpade today confirmed his participation in the Formula Pilota 2012 Championship (Formula Abarth Asia), with races to be held in China, Taiwan and Malaysia. The Asian series established in 2011, will include 20 European and Asian drivers, with the championship winner getting a four day test at the Formula One Scuderia Ferrari Academy. Parth will be driving for Eurasia Motorsport, who is also running four cars in the JK Racing Asia Series 2012. With motorsport on a surge in India, Parth is optimistic that this step will prove crucial in his bid to reach the top of the motorsport ladder.

Parth Ghorpade at the age of 18, is a five-time National Karting Champion, runner-up in the inaugural 2010 Volkswagen Polo Cup India, and recently competed in the Renault F4 series in 2011, finishing in the top five multiple times. Parth was also one of 30 young drivers from 26 countries and the only Indian to be shortlisted for the prestigious FIA Institute Young Driver Academy last year.

The Pune-based Parth will become the first Indian to participate in the Formula Pilota championship and is keen to gain experience to further boost his racing career. He said, “I am very excited about my prospects in this championship and look forward to driving in this highly competitive series. I tested the car earlier this year and was really impressed with its power and feel. It is important to do well in the junior formulae in order to move up the motorsport ladder so my aim is to finish on the podium in as many races as possible. With 20 drivers vying for the top spot, learning the circuits quickly will be crucial.”

The Formula Pilota China Championship has become one of the best stepping stones for young drivers to move forward to the next level after it introduced the most up-to-date Formula Abarth race cars from Italy and established an affordable and cost effective formula platform for young aspiring drivers.  2011 was the debut season for the Championship with 26 drivers from 20 different countries and regions, travelling to the top racing venues in Asia as a support race for high-end international events such as FIA GT1 and FIA WTCC. Two outstanding graduateswere also rewarded with the evaluation programme held by Ferrari Drivers’ Academy in Italy.

Mark Goddard, Eurasia Motorsport, Team Principal, was highly impressed with Parth’s abilities and is confident of having a good season with him. He commented, “Eurasia Motorsport has undertaken pre-season testing with Parth at the Sepang F1 Circuit in Malaysia and Zhuhai International Circuit in China. The team won the final Formula Pilota event of 2011, held at Sepang Circuit, giving our new drivers a good benchmark lap time to aim for along with the winning driver's lap record setting data to help them improve. At the final Sepang test, Parth set a lap time significantly under the lap record demonstrating he will definately be a factor in this year's championship.

“The team moved to Zhuhai for testing in April and again Parth quickly got up to speed on a new circuit, setting competitive times in both wet and dry conditions. The opposition is going to be very tough this season but I am convinced Parth has what it takes to be a race winner."