Sebastian Eskandari-Marandi wanted to make 2021 his season in the Australian Kart Championship.
Sebastian, a young driver in the Cadet 9 category, made his Australian Kart Championship debut in 2020 at the Newcastle kart club round. Eskandari-Marandi burst on the Australian Kart Championship scene by setting a lap record to take pole position, winning three out of four heats and taking the final.
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Sebastian running out of the Parolin Australia stable was looking to take out the title in 2021! Eskandari-Marandi started out his championship hunt at the opening round out of the Ipswich Kart Club in Febuary. The Parolin Australia driver showed strong pace on Friday and in a blistering effort put himself on pole position by a massive four tenths in a dominate display.
Heat one didn’t quite go the way of Sebastian dropping back to position five off pole position. From here Eskandari-Marandi took out the final three heat races putting himself off pole position for the all important final. Sebastian dropped back to position three off the start with the pressure on the young driver. On lap seven the young driver moved to second and the following lap he retook the lead. From there it was a sensational display of pace and consistency with Eskandari-Marandi taking out the final and the opening round of the Australian Kart Championship by over two seconds! Sebastian took four out of five race wins and four out of five fastest laps putting him in a commanding championship lead leaving the opening round.
In March the team headed down to Victoria for the second round of the series out of the Go Kart Club of Victoria. Sebastian started the weekend off in a hotly contested qualifying session. The top five was only separate by three tenths of a second with the young driver putting himself on the front row in second spot. The Next Level Racing sponsored entry turned his front row qualifying effort into victory in heat one and two making it six out of seven wins to start the Australian Kart Championship. In incident out of Eskandari-Marandi control had him finish down in position seventeen in heat three with work to do going into Sunday. Sebastian fought his way back up to position three in heat four setting up an exciting final. Sebastian got a great start in the final slotting into position two and was now right behind the race leader. The young driver took the lead on lap three and didn’t look back to take out back to back round wins. Sebastian was in a dominate position in the championship and had won seven of the ten races on offer!
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The third round of the Australian Kart Championship headed to South Australia at the Bolivar Kart circuit. Sebastian took out his second pole position of the championship and was to start the opening heat from pole position. What was to come next was one of the most dominate performances in Australian Kart Championship history. The Advanced Sports Clinic backed entry took out the opening two heats by over five seconds, the third heat by three seconds and the fourth by four seconds in pure domination. Eskandari-Marandi left his best until last winning the final by a destructive eight and half seconds in a statement of domination from the young driver. Sebastian set a new lap record in qualifying, won all five races and set all five fastest laps in one of the most polished performances in recent memory.
Sebastian headed back to the final round of the championship last weekend after a near six month enforced COVID break to the Australian Kart Championship. This was the weekend that the young driver had the opportunity to do what he dreamed off, win an Australia Kart Championship. The Parolin Australia driver made it his third pole position of the series. Eskandari-Marandi then went on to take all four heat wins in more supreme driver effectively making him Australian Champion in waiting. Unfortunately, the young driver’s final went badly wrong of the start, being spun and dropping back to seventeenth position. In a true champions drive Sebastian never gave up and was able to drive back up through the field to finish sixth. With his results throughout the year and points gained, Sebastian was the Cadet 9 Australian Champion for the very first time!
Sebastian spoke post-race of his disappointing start to the final, but also being able to live a dream. “I was upset and sad after I was hit and spun. But I told myself to focus and push hard and try to catch them. I’m really happy that I have achieved my dream of getting a green plate”.
Sebastian’s father Babak couldn’t be prouder of his newly crowned Australian Champion. “We are proud of this little man. He is mature beyond his years with integrity, strength and character to match. When he puts his helmet on, he drives with passion, conviction and determination, giving it his all”.
In what was one of the most dominate victories in Australian Kart Championship history, Sebastian Eskandari-Marandi is a young driver to watch, through the motorsport ranks!
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