Promising Indian driver Jehan Daruvala created history by finishing third in the CIK FIA World Karting Championship in Essay, France while his countrymate Kush Maini finished a creditable fourth in the junior category.
According to information received here, Jehan, the 15-year-old Sahara Force India Academy driver bagged the second runner-up position in the most prestigious event in the world of Karting, where 72 of the world's top drivers battled for glory.
In practice Jehan was as good as a 10th of a second of the pace, but was a bit disappointed with an 18th place out of 72 in qualifying. The competition levels were so high that 68 drivers qualified within one second.
In the heats, Jehan had to battle it out in four separate heats where he faced with mixed fortunes. His first heat saw him finish sixth while the second heat proved disastrous as he was pushed off track where he unfortunately collected dirt on his tyres.
Thanks to this, he was not able to brake properly and collided with another driver. An ensuing penalty, meant he finished 22nd. Heat 3 and 4 saw Jehan consolidate his position with fifth and seventh places respectively.
His total points from the heats meant that he would start 15th in the pre-finals. A new twist was added when it rained heavily, but Jehan showed his true capabilities, pushed hard and made a blinder of a start. Lap by lap he overtook drivers and by lap 13, he moved into fifth position, where he stayed till the end of the 17th lap.
British driver Tom Joyner won the race.
Starting the final of the World Championship in fifth spot, Jehan made a fantastic start to grab the lead by the end of the first lap. He started opening up a small lead and by lap six he had a half second margin to another British driver Lando Norris.
However a few laps later the British driver upped the ante and overtook Jehan on lap nine.
Unfortunately for Jehan, on the last lap he was overtaken by Russian driver Nikita Mazepin.
