The JK Tyre supported driver now has 32 points in the driver championship standings
31st July, 2016, Hockenheim: 18-year-old Arjun Maini goes into the summer break with his head held high as he secured points finishes in both his races in Hockenheim in his third race in GP3.
The qualifying session showed the pace that has impressed many in his rookie GP3 season. Towards the end of qualifying, Arjun put in a fantastic lap where he posted green timings in all three sectors but the lap was not counted due to track limits. His final lap which clocked 1:29.076 pushed him to P8 but with other drivers going faster, he finally qualified P13 for Race 1 as he was blocked by Konstantinos who was then hands a 3 grid penalty. His start in Race 1 wasn't ideal and after a lap, he was P16 and needed to make sufficient ground to secure a good finishing spot for Race 2. But the youngster made a brilliant recovery and for the last four laps, he was lapping faster than everyone else on the track. This saw him finish P7 and a points finish to boot which meant that he would start P2 in Race 2 alongside former BRDC teammate Jake Hughes.
His start in Race 2 was much better with Arjun overtaking Hughes in the opening lap to lead the pack until a crash forced the deployment of the Virtual Safety Car. Upon restart, there was confusion and Arjun wasn't able to hold on to the lead and slipped down to 6 th position. But determined to close his weekend out on a high, Arjun doggedly pursued Matt Parry who was ahead of him, for a good two laps until he made the overtaking move stick. Ultimately, he passed the chequered flag in P5 to secure another points finish.
Arjun was happy with his progress and feels that in a short time he has been able to Better understand the Car and the tyres. "It's been a hectic month and I've made a lot of progress ever since my debut at Silverstone. I'm happy with my results in Germany and will strive to do even better in the future."
File photo of Arjun Maini racing in GP3