Patel chooses to look at the brighter side

Saturday was a bad day at work, but it did little to unsettle Aditya Patel. Turning out at the Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup have taught him to rein in the mind. "I've taken out what I had to and thrown the rest out of the window," he told HT.

If the exposure gathered over two years of racing in Germany and other parts of central Europe have helped better his race craft and an understanding of rivals, the ability to focus on requisite areas is another outcome.

So, instead of the ninth spot in Race II of the JK Racing Asia Series here, Patel chose to come away with the tips on driving technique.

In fact, there is little time to fret. Up next week is a historic engagement at Nurburgring (Germany), which Patel terms the “biggest of his career”. The Audi R8 LMS Ultra will not only test his mettle, it will be an opportunity to put to use the lessons gathered by racing with former F1 champions in the Scirocco Cup. "They (the former greats) are extremely friendly and interactive, which is a boon for us," he said.

Though a part of 'Total 24hrs of Spa' as a guest driver, Patel took heart from the two appearances this week, Saturday being played out in rain-swept conditions. With little experience of handling the FB02 and hardly any time to familiarize with one of the most challenging F1 circuits, it was a case of, what he termed, "arrive and drive".

Hare has his revenge

Seven podiums in eight races speak of his talent, but even the win could not get Aston Hare to smile. A strong start had been eluding the 16-year-old South African for a while, but things fell in place. After Friday, when Hare had complained of Jeffri's "weaving" to prevent him from going past, the determination to get back was apparent.

Hare led through the race, and though it was tough, held on to shut out the Malaysian.The writer's trip has been sponsored by JK Tyre