17 year Bahraini teenager Ezra Idafar finished off his 2009/2010 Chevrolet Supercars ME Championship with his sixth podium of the Championship in the Formula One support event at the 6.3km Sakhir circuit in Bahrain.
Idafar battled through a number of car problems during the weekend to secure a fifth place in race 1 and a second place in the second race, his sixth class podium of the season at the wheel of his 6.0l Chevrolet Lumina.
The problems started during the free practice session, where Idafar's track time was compromised due to a broken fan belt and braking issues, but the teenager bounced back in qualifying by setting the third fastest time in the SC06 class.
The opening 7 lap encounter saw a reoccurrence of the brake trouble for the Gulf Computer Services backed driver, however Idafar was able to fight back and finished fifth in class, but was awarded points for fourth as the class runner up, guest driver Isa Kooheji, wasn't eligible for points.
The second race saw Idafar suffer the same braking problems, and backed off to secure second in class instead of chasing after the SC06 class leader, and to conserve the car as much as possible. This plan worked for Idafar as he claimed his sixth class podium of the season.
Idafar won't complete in the final event of the 2009/2010 Chevrolet Supercars ME Championship, which is being held out in Saudi Arabia in just over 2 weeks time.
“Finishing my last race of the season on the podium is a great way for my championship to end, especially at home in Bahrain”, he said, We had a lot of problems with the brakes all weekend and although I was pretty disappointed after Saturday's race, the podium in race two made up for it.
“I did have to back off to make sure we finished in second place as the brakes started to go again from about lap three. In the end it was ok and I was able to get the car to the finish. I've enjoyed the racing and it was great to be part of a Formula One race weekend once again.”
Photo credit Lex Akehurst/X-Sport Media
