Chris Dittmann Racing has announced Indian racer Divy Nandan will join the team’s ROKiT F4 British Championship certified by FIA line-up, starting with this weekend’s visit to Snetterton (12-14 August).
Nandan, a product of the Narain Karthikeyan Racing Academy through karting from the age of 17, has also enjoyed success in both the MRF Saloons and FF1600 categories, including a podium finish on his maiden weekend of car racing.
The 19-year-old who hails from Gurgaon, in the northern Indian state of Haryana, and has identified CDR’s track record and setup for driver development as the perfect environment to continue learning his craft.
“I wanted to join a team which focuses on driver development, not lap times, as I am here to develop myself behind the wheel,” explains Nandan.
“Chris Dittmann Racing has been really good with Joel [Pearson] this year, and they have been working hard to help me progress to become a better driver.”
Nandan has already had the opportunity to visit CDR’s Tewkesbury HQ and use their simulator facilities to get better acquainted with the new-for-2022 Tatuus T-421, before he hits the track for real this weekend at Snetterton.
“I’ve been doing sessions on the team’s simulator to help familiarise myself before I get to the racetrack, because there is a good relationship between both the car and the sim, so the techniques are quite similar,” he adds.
“It has been nice to use a top-quality simulator to understand how to drive the circuit when you get there. The environment is quite jolly, but they are keen to help drivers learn, progress, and become competitive on track.”
Team Principal Chris Dittmann welcomed Nandan into the fold, and underlined his team’s ambition to help bring him up to speed in a competitive field, with over half of the drivers in Britain’s FIA Formula 4 series having enjoyed race-winning success in 2022 to-date.
“We had some contact from Divy’s manager recently as he wants to get a taste of the new F4 car and has liked what we have done with Joel so far this year,” commented Dittmann. “We put together a proposal for some testing and a few rounds of the season and we’re really excited to work with him and help him progress as a driver.
“It will be a big step for him in the two rounds he will do, jumping in at this late stage of the season, but he’s keen to learn and see how things go at the end of it. Our focus is on making Divy as comfortable as we can behind the wheel so he can gain a better understanding of how the car works and performs.”
Nandan will get his first outing during Friday’s free practice sessions at the 2.06-mile Norfolk circuit, with qualifying (10:30) and two races (14:05 and 17:50) to follow on Saturday.
Sunday brings one more, ITV4-televised race, scheduled to begin at 15:05 (all times BST).
