Zaamin Jaffer - Photo Credit: Jakob Ebrey Photography
Protyre Formula Renault BARC racer Zaamin Jaffer has confirmed his appearance in the brand new i1 Super Series in the Middle East this New Year.
The i1 Super Series will feature eighteen identical Radical SR3 racers, split into nine teams each representing a different Indian city 'franchise'. A huge prize purse of two million US dollars has attracted some major names, with Jaffer to compete against several ex-Formula One stars including Jacques Villeneuve, Jean Alesi, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Mika Salo, Giancarlo Fisichella and Vitantonio Liuzzi.
21 year old Jaffer, who will be enjoying his first taste of sportscar racing, will be one of nine 'Indian International' class drivers, with two other classes for non-Indian racers with international experience and less experienced racers from the sub-continent.
The new championship was launched at a special event at Yas Marina in Abu Dhabi this week, which also saw competitors test the Radicals for the first time. Jaffer lapped within 0.6 seconds of pace-setter Frentzen, putting him in the top ten ahead of experienced racers like Salo, Alex Yoong and Sakon Yamamoto.
Jaffer said: “We've been working really hard to try and be involved in the first season of the i1 Super Series so I'm absolutely delighted to have been announced as one of the Indian drivers. I can't wait for the first race, it's going to be incredible competing on track with so many top drivers and it'll be the highlight of my career so far for sure.
“The championship has been eagerly awaited for a long time and it's going to be massive for Indian motorsport, it's really exciting to be part of it from the inception and a huge opportunity. Having an F1 Champion like Villeneuve and Grand Prix winners like Frentzen and Alesi involved is fantastic. The first test went really well – to have been faster than someone like Mika Salo is a great feeling.”
The opening event will take place in Malaysia in late January, followed by events in Bahrain, Losail in Qatar and the Buddh International Circuit in India during February, before the season finale in early March at Yas Marina.
