🕊 On track
A guide to Jehan Daruvala, Mumbai City's AFC Champions League tryst & Ravi Dahia making history
Harshal Patel epitomises the quote ‘Still waters run deep’. Quench your BwC thirst this week with our episode with Mr. Purple. It’s the longest one of the season so far, so make sure you digest it properly.
7 Things you should know about Jehan Daruvala
Sunday was a good day for Red Bull. On Ferrari’s home turf in Emola, Max Verstappen got his 2nd win of the season and crucially, made up ground on LeClerc in the championship. But, we’re more interested in the Red Bull driver who came in 2nd at Imola. And no, we don’t mean you Sergio Perez.
Indian F-2 racer Jehan Daruvala secured his 3rd consecutive podium finish this season in Imola on Sunday. His showing takes him to 3rd on the driver leadership board and continues his push for his first F-2 title.
While Jehan Daruvala is a well-known entity to Indian motorsport enthusiasts, this segment is targeted towards the recent Drive to Survive converts. The ones who’ve got automobile engineering degrees overnight and have suddenly begun using words like G-force, oversteer and autoclave in conversation. Here’s what you need to know about India’s hottest driving prospect:
Daruvala’s journey began in 2011 when he was selected in Force India’s ‘One in a Billion’ program that was held to unearth racing talent in the country. Daruvala qualified by 1/100th of a second and went up against 100 other selected drivers which was then cut down to 50, then 25, 10 and eventually 3. Daruvala was one of the remaining three and at 13 year-old was also the youngest. The ‘One in a Billion’ program opened the doors to racing in Europe for him and he shifted to a boarding school in England.
In 2014, he became the first Indian to win a FIA Championship after coming in 2nd at the FIA CIK World Karting Championship. The trysts with history had a further chapter in New Zealand in 2017, when Daruvala became the first Indian to win a Grand Prix event.
He was on the same team as Lando Norris ( we have your attention now, don’t we?) in the 2017 European Formula 3 Championship. Barring Norris, Daruvala finished above all his other teammates in the championship that year.
The defining moment of his career came in February 2020 when he was signed by Red Bull for their junior racing program. The alumni from this program include Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo, Pierre Gasly and Alex Albon. Need we say more?
His inspiration is Fernando Alonso.
He made his F-2 debut that same year for Carlin where he won the last race of the season in Bahrain and finished 12th in the championship. The following year saw a marked improvement; he won two races, finished on the podium five times and finished seventh on the leaderboard.
For the ongoing 2022 season, Daruvala switched to the reigning champions of the F-2, Prema. This is his last year in the F-2 and also his last chance to secure a F-1 seat. He knows he needs to make this year count - "Charles (Leclerc) and Mick (Schumacher) clinched F2 titles for Prema Racing and went on to race in F1 the very next year. I hope to follow in their footsteps," he said.
So far, things appear to be on track for Daruvala. As he demonstrated when was a 13 year-old, he is one in a billion. Much like his qualification for the Force India talent-hunt program all those years ago, the road to F-1 will also come down to the smallest of margins. May timing be on his side.
Man City’s hand in Mumbai City’s success
For differing reasons, it’s been an unforgettable month for Mumbai franchises. Mumbai Indians are 0/8 in the IPL this year and look set to equal the record for the longest losing streak in a season in the league’s history. Mumbai City FC, on the other hand, scripted history by becoming the first Indian club to win a game in Asia’s premiere club football competition, the AFC Champions League.
Mumbai are only the 2nd Indian team after FC Goa to compete at this stage and in their debut campaign, have surpassed Goa’s points tally (3 points from 3 draws) from 2021. Their win over Iraq’s Air Force Club and hard-fought nil-all draw against UAE’s Al-Jazira raised hopes of progression to the next round but a humbling 6-0 defeat on Saturday to Al-Shabab knocked them out of contention. But, the Islanders have already achieved what they set out to do.
"The aim is to win a match. And then we'll take it from there,” Mumbai coach Des Buckingham had said on the eve of the tournament.
The learning curve of this Champions League experience will only further the club’s progression. Mumbai City’s graph has rocketed in the last couple of years and the foundations of success were first laid by the City Football Group.
In 2019, Mumbai City became the 10th addition to CFG’s footballing portfolio that already included clubs like Man City, New York City FC, Melbourne City and Girona. CFG executives spent years understanding the Indian footballing landscape and had been working with the club on a consultancy basis before eventually buying a 65% stake in November 2019.
The results were immediate; the Islanders won the ISL Shield and Trophy (a feat no team had achieved before) in the 20/21 season. It was the first time a CFG owned club won the league in its first year after acquisition.
The group’s obvious financial muscle helped put together a strong squad in the buildup to the season. Its brand value and reputation for professionalism helped attract players of the pedigree of Adam le Fondre, the former English Premier League striker.
Former coach Sergio Lobera too credited the CFG system for his decision to move to Mumbai City. There was a constant line of communication between management and coach. The Indian Express reported that he was taught how to use City’s performance analysis tools to dissect his team as well as the opposition. The expertise of specialist coaches, physiologists and mental health professionals were also made readily available.
Despite winning the league, Lobera stepped down from his post ahead of the 21/22 ISL season. His replacement, Buckingham, was roped in from CFG’s sister club Melbourne City. And therein lies the group’s strength; its network.
"I think the beauty of the group model that we've crafted and shaped is we have a number of clubs within the portfolio now and we have this depth of knowledge and expertise in how to operate and run football clubs," said Mumbai City CEO Damian Willoughby.
Take for example when it was announced that the 20/21 season would be held in a bio-bubble in Goa. The club were able to glean details on bubble life from New York City FC (another sister club) after their experience at the MLS is Back tournament held in Florida a few months prior.
This network again came in clutch during their preparations for the AFC Champions League as Yokohama F Marinos, the CFG owned Japanese club, has experience competing on that stage.
“There may be an advantage for us as we have teams already in the AFC environment. So, I think we have a good handle on the leagues, the competition, the quality across the different Asian markets. That probably gives us some additional support and help” Willoughby had said in the aftermath of their ISL triumph in 2021.
Mumbai City’s take on Air Force Club on Wednesday night in the last game of their Champions League campaign. It certainly isn’t going to be their last appearance on this stage.
Person of Interest
On Saturday, Ravi Dahiya won his 3rd gold medal in as many years at the Asian Championship in the 57kg category. In doing so, he became India’s first three-time champion in this competition.
Dahiya, who had fallen behind in every bout of the tournament, was down 2-0 before storming back to win 12-2 in the final against Kazakhstan’s Rakhat Kalzhan. In the semi-final, he defeated host nation's (Mongolia) Zanabazar Zandanbud 12-5 in another strong display.
Dahiya’s return to action post the Olympics has been strong; before the Asian Championship win, he won a silver medal at the Dan Kolov event in February.
Ravi Dahiya’s father tells an interesting story about the champion wrestler. Ravi was a quiet child who rarely raised his voice but after watching Sushil Kumar win a medal in the 2008 Olympics he got up and said that he too would do the same.
He proved to be a man of his word. And also, a man of many medals.
Direct Hits
Luckily for RR, Ashwin is with them this year because Mankading seems to be the only way to stop Jos Butler this season.
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In last week’s edition:
Umran Malik’s rapid rise
The Indian Women’s League finally kicking off
Pujara’s county exploits
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