India’s Armaan Ebrahim marked his debut at the world’s most famous racetrack by clocking the sixth fastest timing in the Firestone Indy lights series test session at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, also known as the “Brickyard”.
After a couple of strong oval tests, Armaan was just three-tenths of a second shy of the top spot Saturday, netting an average lap speed of 189.049 Mph while clocking a best of 47.0666 seconds over the 2.5 mile circuit.
With 48 laps completed on the day, Armaan, sponsored by JK Tyre and driving for Fan Force United team, served notice that he will most certainly be a contender for victory in the Freedom 100 May 25.
As many as 17 cars participated in the test session and all were within a second of each other.
Armaan said: “It’s way different from any other oval. We’ve tested at Fontana and Iowa, but those two tracks are totally different from each other.
“Every oval has a totally different reaction, but so far, that has gone well. I’m enjoying the ovals, and it’s going to a whole different story when you have 20 other guys out there with you.”
Commenting on the on-track traffic, Armaan said: “Actually it was fine. I was behind a couple of cars and it felt fine, no problem at all. The only thing to do is watch for cars beside you and stay in your lane.”
Further elaborating on his day and emphasising the unique challenge of oval tracks in general and Indianapolis in particular, Armaan said: “It was a good day. We were up to speed quickly. It was only my third time on an oval and I’m more relaxed and comfortable, just trying to be smooth and get it right.
“The speed here is so nice. This is definitely a special place, and it is a great feeling just to be able to drive on the track. We’re going to keep working hard, preparing for all possibilities because we know it could be completely different when we get back here in a couple of weeks.”
Armaan’s teammate, Emerson Newton-John, who was also experiencing the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the first time, completed Flaps, clocking a top average speed of 187.455 Mph.
Armaan Ebrahim  is a car racer from Chennai, India. He is the son of the ex-Indian F3 champion Akbar Ebrahim.Armaan is popular in the Indian media and featured on a special programme on national television with former F1 superstar David Coulthard, during the latter’s visit to India in October, 2009