Dubai-based speedster Zaamin Jaffer is determined to get his season back on track when the next round of the Dunlop Formula Ford Championship gets under way on Saturday.

The Indian driver, who grew up in Mumbai before moving to the emirate four years ago, endured a torrid time in the season opener last month, crashing twice at Oulton Park in Cheshire, England.

The disappointment was compounded considering Jaffer’s fine performances in winter testing - form the 20-year-old took into the first meeting when he’d qualified in 15th for all three races.

However, a broken drive shaft meant he didn’t even make the grid for race one and then a collision in the second forced him off the track and into the barriers.

The final race of the weekend didn’t go much better, with Jaffer again leaving the tarmac and hurting his back in the process.

But the racer has vowed the step things up a gear for round two at Fife’s Knockhill circuit on May 8. “It was a pretty terrible weekend,” he said. “The championship leader has 85 points now and I’ve got two, so it wasn’t exactly the start we were hoping for, especially with the good winter we had.

“I have to score points every single round now just to cut away at the advantage. It’s a big gap, but not impossible to make up. “And I had a great testing session last week at Silverstone. So my pace shows I’m quick enough to be up there. I just need to get it done now.”

The Raysport Formula Ford driver has also spent much of the winter trying to secure a lucrative sponsor, and is happy to reveal negotiations are in their final stages.

“In past two weeks we’ve made good movement in India,” he said. “The interest is starting to build now and hopefully I can get some good results.”