Fifteen-year-old Armaan Ebrahim got his first big jolt on the fast lane. During Round Five on the tricky Bria international track of the Formula BMW Asia series here, the Indian driver hit a kerb that saw him get his first DNF (Did Not Finish) tag of the season.But not quite stunned by the mishap, Armaan returned to the track in the next round to finish fourth. But these contrasting results in the two races meant Armaan slipped to the fourth place in the overall championship and also conceded the top spot in the race for the Rookies Championship. After the race Armaan blamed himself for faltering on the notorious second chicane. ‘‘It was totally my fault,’’ he said.With Round Five just a lap old, Armaan, who began third on the grid, was fighting hard to shrug off teammate Salman Khalifa’s challenge. Approaching the chicane, Armaan steered a bit early to hit the left kerb. This resulted in his car spinning sideways before grinding to a halt on the edge of the track. Dazed by the jolt he sat in his car staring at his rivals who zipping past him. That certainly was an anti-climax for Armaan, who had finished at the top of the podium in last round at Malaysia.The buzz around the circuit was that these are the harsh realities of motor racing which every driver has to face. ‘‘He is young and he will learn,’’ said one of the mechanics. World series driver Karun Chandok, who at hand on the track, too emphasised the same point. ‘‘It happens in those initial years. The fall-out needs to be positive. One shouldn’t carry these things to the next race’’, he said.And Armaan just proved that as he drove in the next round. Round Six saw the E-Rain Indian driver finish a creditable fourth.
