Arjun Maini suffers cruel end to Belgian Race weekend

Maini,
who
is
backed
by
Omega
Seiki
and
JK
Tyre,
made
a
stellar
start
during
the
first
race
of
the
weekend
in
Belgium.
The
23-year-old
overtook
four
cars,
moving
up
to
11th
before
ultimately
becoming
a
victim
of
circumstance
as
the
pack
made
their
way
into
Turn
5.

The
DTM
rookie,
who
at
the
time
was
locked
in
a
battle
with
title
protagonist
Liam
Lawson,
as
well
as
experienced
campaigner
Daniel
Juncadella,
was
battling
for
10th
place
before
Juncadella
made
an
uncharacteristic
error,
missing
his
braking
point
and
hitting
Arjun
from
the
rear.

The
cascading
result
meant
that
both
Maini
and
Lawson
were
taken
out
too,
with
ensuing
carnage
forcing
all
three
drivers
to
retire
before
they
could
complete
a
single
lap.

To
rub
salt
into
Maini’s
wounds
the
damage
sustained
to
his
chassis
was
deemed
so
severe
that
the
Indian
had
to
miss
the
second
race
of
the
weekend
entirely.
Despite
Juncadella’s
public
apology,
the
Mercedes-AMG
driver
was
left
bitterly
disappointed
after
suffering
yet
another
DNF.

“I’m
obviously
very
disappointed
by
the
end
result
as
it
means
my
weekend
ended
before
even
it
started,”
a
palpably
upset
Maini
stated.

“I
made
a
great
start
and
was
able
to
make
my
way
up
to
11th,
if
it
wasn’t
for
the
incident,
I’m
sure
I
could
have
scored
my
first
points
of
the
season
as
I
clearly
had
momentum
on
my
side.

“Fair
play
to
Daniel
Juncadella
for
apologizing
both
privately
and
publicly.
We
all
make
errors
at
some
point
and
it
was
unfortunate
that
I
was
caught
up
in
an
incident
that
had
very
little
to
do
with
me.

“There
really
isn’t
much
else
to
say
and
I’m
looking
forward
to
racing
at
the
Nürburgring.”

Maini’s
debut
in
DTM
has
proved
to
be
anything
but
smooth.
The
Indian
driver
has
shown
flashes
of
pace
but
has
simultaneously
had
a
large
helping
of
bad
luck
thrown
his
way
during
the
races
so
far.

The
latest
incident
has
to
hurt
the
most
as
the
Mercedes-AMG
driver
will
leave
Belgium
without
even
having
completed
a
lap
of
racing.
However,
with
more
than
half
a
season
of
racing
to
go,
Maini
is
more
than
capable
of
securing
a
few
strong
results
to
round
out
his
championship.

The
next
race
of
the
2021
season
is
scheduled
to
take
place
at
the
legendary
Nürburgring
circuit
in
Germany
on
August
20-22.