Ahmed made up fast and finished in top 5 after being forced to start from outside the top 10
LONDON/DETROIT: British-Pakistani sports racer Enaam Ahmed has finished among the top five in the Detroit Grand Prix.
The 23-year-old racer took part in the fourth round of the 2023 IndyNXT by Firestone in Detroit, the auto-manufacturing capital of the United States. A suspension part failure in the qualifying round forced him to start from outside the top 10, but Ahmed made up fast and finished in the top five.
On the opening lap, Louis Foster's car was spun around by Hunter McElrea and Ahmed had to take evasive action to avoid crashing into him, and also avoiding the walls. Ahmed overtook two cars in one corner moving him up into the Top 5. His aggressive overtaking wowed American spectators who now call him the Pakistani Panther.
This is the second time in a month that Ahmed has ended up in the top five places, beating the most talented racing drivers the US and the world have to offer.
“The concrete canyon that is the Detroit Street circuit, I had to be careful as there was chaos all around at the start. I still managed to pass seven cars,” an excited Ahmed said after picking up several places and finishing fifth in the race.
This is his second top-five finish after a fourth-place finish at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama. The racer has now jumped to the eighth position in the championship standings.
“Championship success is a long game. Both my team and myself are rookies in the series and we are learning from each other. My goal is to be in the top five this year and gain experience in American ovals and the style of racing. If the opportunity is there I want to fight for the title this year,” explains Ahmed.
Ahmed's illustrious career flying under the Pakistani flag has seen him beat the records of Formula One driver's Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. Not only that, but he is also the British Formula 3 Champion, the first ever high-level Formula Championship winner in the history of Pakistan and has surpassed the record of Ayrton Senna by winning 13 races in one season.