Shahaan Engineer created a sensation at last weekend’s (3/4 July 2010) sixth round of the Formula Kart Stars championship, with a superb performance on his debut in the Formula One Management-backed series.

Driving for the appropriately named Shox Motorsport team, the Dubai-based Indian teenager – who had been granted a late entry - travelled to the picturesque Glan Y Gors circuit in North Wales to pit himself against Britain’s best drivers in the Junior Rotax Max category. What made his performance all the more remarkable, was the fact that this was his first race outside Dubai in fifteen months and, as Shahaan’s Shox team driver coach and mentor Oli Oakes observed, “The last racing vehicle he drove wasn’t a kart but a Formula Renault - and that was three months ago!”

In Timed Qualifying, Shahaan recorded the 3^rd fastest lap as rain began to fall, catching many of the far more experienced competitors out.

He said "All the other drivers put in their best times on the fifth and sixth laps, but mine was on the third. I felt that I still had a few tenths (of a second) left in me and with my pace, believed pole would have been easy to achieve. Unfortunately, I came across slower traffic and had to slow down to create a gap. By then it had also started to drizzle and everyone’s lap times took a dive. However, I was happy with P3 because I did not know the (racing) lines of the track in the wet, and it would be easier for me to follow someone else in the heats so I guess it worked out.”

2005 World Kart Champion, Oakes added, “He did a sensational job to qualify 3^rd. Shahaan’s fifth lap was good enough for pole, until he caught a slower kart in the final sector. This was all the more remarkable given he had driven no laps in the morning warm-up session, due to being driven over by another driver and his chassis was damaged a result of this.”

The first of the day’s two heats was a bruising encounter, but Shahaan battled gamely to finish in 11^th place. In the second, he crossed the finishing line in a creditable 5^th to secure an excellent fourth row grid position for the main final.

As the starter released the 26-strong field, Mumbai-born Engineer found himself bottled up in the congestion as the drivers jockeyed for the vital inside line at the first corner. Once the opening exchanges had settled down, Shahaan was in 11^th position - but quickly worked his way back up the order. A series of brave, incisive passing manoeuvres saw the 14-year old carve his way up 5^th place, which he successfully held to the chequered flag.

"I knew I had to move forward as quickly as possible because the longer you wait, the pack in front gets away,” Shahaan explained. “I did all my overtaking in the first lap but that slowed me down, and by then the top three - who I was gunning for - had formed a breakaway and were towing each other away from the rest of us.  At GYG, slipstreaming in a three kart train gives drivers an advantage of about two tenths of a second per lap, so I could not catch them.  For sure, if I had been closer I would have tried my best to win because I had a lot of speed, thanks to my mechanic Glenn.”

Oli hailed his young protégé’s stirring drive, “He held his nerve brilliantly in the aggressive opening laps and although he initially dropped down the order, caused by a bump going into turn three, he got his head down and fought his way through the field, setting some impressive lap times on the way. Had he not been held up in the early part of the race, Shahaan would certainly have been battling for the podium.

It’s an incredible feat - given that he had just rocked-up from Dubai, jetlagged, having never seen the track before and had to adjust to working with a new team, etc - he was quite remarkable and definitely delivered the Drive of the Day!”

Keep up to speed with India’s rising star and his journey towards Formula One by visiting www.shahaan.com