Patel leads LMS Cup after podium finish

Indian racing driver Aditya Patel enjoyed a successful weekend in the Audi R8 LMS Cup championship with top-10 finishes, including a second place, in the three races run here at the Penbay International Circuit.

The 27-year-old from Chennai finished fourth, second and sixth in the triple-header to top the championship points table in his class.

Being a three-race weekend, Patel had his work cut out. After starting sixth in Race 1, Patel managed to move his way up to fourth and bring the car home to collect valuable points.

Race 2 was the highlight of Patel's weekend. Starting fourth on the grid, he moved up to second behind Edoardo Mortara, who was later penalised for an incident.

Soon, Patel was challenged by Frankie Cheng, a former DTM driver, for the lead of the race. Running on better tyres, Chang made full use of the advantage and moved past Patel, who had to settle for second place.

The third and final race of the weekend saw Patel start from pole position. However, he was at a disadvantage right from the beginning as he started the race on used tyres unlike his competitors. After a tussle on Lap 1, Patel lost the lead and slowly dropped to sixth, owing to damage from an incident on the first lap.

"It was a tough weekend both in terms of conditions as well as competition. It still feels good to lead the championship after the halfway mark. I did make some wrong decisions in terms of strategy, but I guess I won't make the same mistakes again," said Patel.

"I now look forward to the second half of the season which commences in Malaysia in September. I would like to take the opportunity to thank my sponsors Audi India, JK Tyre, Jubilant Motorworks and Oris Watches."