Invicta Racing took a points finish in the Sprint Race at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit on Friday.
Friday’s 20-lap race began under the floodlights in Saudi Arabia, with Kush Maini in ninth on the grid and Gabriel Bortoleto 12th after the withdrawal of Prema Racing’s Oliver Bearman from the remainder of the weekend.
Gabriel had a slow start due to avoiding a stalled car and dropped down to 14th, but Kush had a great getaway and vaulted up to fifth position before the Safety Car was called for the start-line issues.
Racing resumed on lap five and the Invicta Racing drivers found themselves in battles throughout the remainder of the race in the close field.
Gabriel battled race-long with the PHM AIX duo of Joshua Dürksen and Taylor Barnard while Kush was racing over the points-paying positions.
As the laps ticked by, Kush lost a few positions and slipped just outside of the points, while Gabriel’s progress was limited up the order.
At the chequered flag, Gabriel had climbed up to 12th, less than a second away from the top 10, while Kush finished in his starting spot of ninth.
After the race, Trident pair Richard Verschoor and Roman Stanek was disqualified for a technical infringement. The results bring Kush into the points in eighth and Gabriel into 10th place.
The team now shifts focus to Saturday’s Feature race, where Kush is set to start from the front of the pack following Bearman’s withdrawal and Gabriel from 14th.
SPRINT RACE RESULTS:
- Kush Maini: P08, one point
- Gabriel Bortoleto: P10
KUSH MAINI:
It was a bit of a tough Sprint Race today. We made a good start and it looked positive, but we struggled a bit with the Safety Car restarts and we lost a few positions. Anyway, I am positive for tomorrow’s Feature Race. Today was more about collecting data and we will aim to use it in the right way. We all know what to do for tomorrow and I am looking forward to it.
GABRIEL BORTOLETO:
It was not the easiest race today. I needed to brake to avoid the car in front at the start to avoid crashing into him which compromised us from the beginning. Being stuck in a DRS train limited our progress in the race today. We will keep pushing for tomorrow as that is where the big points will be.
