LE CASTELLET (FRANCE): Indian racer Arjun Maini made a strong start to his highly-anticipated debut in the European LeMans Series, recording the second fastest lap time in the qualifying session of the race here.
The laptime set by Arjun was a mere 0.3 slower than the fastest lap time overall.
The RLR Msport team also made their debut in the hotly-contested LMP2 class and despite a damper issue preventing them from qualifying higher than 11th during the weekend's qualifying session, the team ended the weekend with a strong 8th overall.
The 21-year-old from Bengaluru raced along side Bruno Senna, nephew of the late great Ayrton Senna and gentleman driver John Ferano.
Arjun's pace throughout the weekend was quite remarkably as he managed an overall second during the weekend's free practice session.
The opening race was run for a duration of four hours with over 40 cars present and the JK Tyre backed driver coped well with the steep learning curve.
"It's the first time I've raced in this format (endurance racing) and I managed to adapt quite quickly. The team did a great job with the car and Bruno was very helpful in terms of adjusting my driving style from Formula cars to Prototypes," Arjun said.
"John drove a good stint as well and he is improving rapidly. 8th is definitely a strong foundation to build upon and if we can improve on a consistent basis, I have no doubt that we will be fighting towards the front of the grid."
The next round of the championship is scheduled for Monza in a month's time.