Armaan set for Renault World Series

India's emerging racing star Armaan Ebrahim has set his eyes on participating in the Renault World Series 2007 with hopes to finish among the top three in the seven-event Asian Formula Renault V6 Championship starting on May 5 in Malaysia.

Addressing a press conference here with his father and coach, Akbar Ebrahim, Armaan said "my aim is to finish in the top three positions as it will result in my getting into the World Series or Formula Atlantic.

"If my racing in Europe last year is considered as the bench mark, a good result in Renault V6 will help me move up to a higher platform, including Formula One at a later stage".

Armaan, who has an ongoing contract with JK Tyre and the sponsorship support of Amaron and Elf, would be driving for TRA-DTM team, based near Zuhai in China. The Chennai boy has had a great run with team TARA-DTM so far and has showcased his potential when he topped the testing time sheets in Malaysia.

Akbar said Armaan was able to obtain a reasonable deal with the team. "Armaan excelled in the tests and topped the official rankings and the team subsidised the fee to a great extent. Out of a total budget of USD 2,50,000, Armaan received a subsidy of USD 70,000' he said.

Stating that Armaan was quite confident and had set a goal to finishing among top three positions, Akbar said: "JK Tyre encouraged Armaan to go ahead initially and then we were able to get two more sponsors. Hopefully, we will be able to get sponsors to meet the budget for the whole season (seven events)".

"The season ahead looks to be very challenging and exciting. There are some very good drivers with a lot of experience in the championship and we are confident it would provide the ideal stage for me to showcase my abilities", Armaan said.

Fabien Fior, a well-known name in France and in world motor racing would be Armaan's team Director and Patrick Roberts of England, the team Engineer.

Karl Reindlinger of Australia, who finished third in the A1 GP championship last year, March Lee, former Formula BMW champion, Ananda Mikola of Indonesia and James Winslow, British Formula three driver and Asian formula three champion are the prominent drivers who are competing for honours with Armaan in the Asian Formula Renault V6 Championship.