Kourosh Khani Put In A Strong Performance On His F2 Debut - Photo Credit: James Bearne
Kourosh Khani enjoyed a promising debut in the FIA Formula Two Championship at Silverstone, the Iranian taking points in his maiden race in the series.
A strong performance in Friday testing put Formula Renault BARC graduate Khani in positive mood for the weekend, however a puncture in qualifying left him a disappointing thirteenth on the grid.
The 22 year old made a good start to the opening race and made his way up to seventh on the grid after the opening lap, however he slipped back to ninth on lap two. Charging onto the rear of his former Scorpio Motorsport team-mate Hector Hurst, Khani looked to make a challenge for eighth, however he ended up losing to Markus Pommer and ended the race tenth.
Khani said:“I'm quite disappointed with the day overall. Especially as we were much quicker in testing, we had the pace, but unfortunately qualifying didn't go as expected, that's racing for you.”
“It was nice to finish in the top ten and get some Championship points in my first F2 race however.”
Round two would prove to be much more challenging for Khani, who started the race from the back of the grid after a penalty in qualifying. Another good opening lap saw him gain two positions to move into fifteenth, before passing Plamen Kralev on the next lap for fourteenth.
The Sports Tracker backed driver gradually began to close in on the car ahead and made a move on Jose Luis Acadin, however contact with the Spanish driver forced Khani wide at Brooklands corner. Straight back on the offence, Khani closed in on Parthiva Sureshwaren and overtook the Indian around the new Arena section to take thirteenth for the finish.
Khani added:“Unfortunately we had an unlucky weekend. We had the pace to be at the front but seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“I feel very positive leaving Silverstone, I know that I can do it and will focus on getting a strong qualifying for the next round. I did lots of overtaking moves, which I know I can do and will look forward to getting back up the front of the grid in Portugal in just two weeks time.”
