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Young World
Verve, vigour and ...vrrooom
SANJAY RAJAN
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He has a dream... of becoming the first Indian to compete in Formula One. It is a tough task no doubt, but Narain Karthikeyan, is focussed... as always.
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For success in any walk of life, a certain amount of boldness is required. Motorsport asks for more of this quality in an individual than anything else.
Talk of India in the motorsport arena and the name Narain Karthikeyan is the first thing that comes to mind.
The handsome Coimbatorean has a dream, that of becoming the first Indian to compete in Formula One. It is a tough task no doubt, but Narain, presently driving in the Telefonica World Nissan F-3 Series in Tata Motorsport colours, is focussed as always.
So how does it feel chartering unknown territories, one asked him a while ago, and his reply showed the maturity of the man.
"It's like a pyramid. As you go up, there is very little room. I've been on planes, crisscrossing the globe, in search of the milestone. It can be lonely. Also frustrating. Sometimes I wonder why I'm doing all this. It's a race against so many odds. But... all this is worth the effort. There is nothing beyond F-1 for me."
He being the fastest Indian behind wheels, we asked him what it is like — the mind-set that is — at the start of a race? "Those are extremely intense moments. Despite years of experience, one invariably gets nervous. For, there are so many things going through your mind, yet you have to concentrate. And fear has no room in the cockpit.
"Things keep flashing by you. At the bends, sometimes, there is very little room to forge ahead. You wonder whether it can be manoeuvred, but invariably you pass through it. This sport drains you physically and mentally.''
Akbar Ebrahim, the race driver-turned-coach, says Narain has excellent speed and skill and is very quick. And Narain believes the day is not far off when his dream turns into reality. He has already tested the Jordan and Jaguar machines and is presently racing in the circuit that is just one rung below his ultimate goal.
In fact, the Nissan series includes no less than five venues where the F-1 races are conducted. The three tracks in Europe are Barcelona, Magney-Cours (France) and Monza and the two in South America are Sau Paulo in Brazil and Buenos Aires in Argentina. Must be a source of inspiration, being there and doing that.
The World series is perceived to be the perfect training ground for F-1. It has a line-up that is second only to the best and all 22 drivers are racing identical 415-HP Dallara Nissan V6 machines. The focus here is on driving skills rather than the car.
Narain, `77-born and the first Indian and Asian to win the British Formula Ford Winter series in 1994 and the Formula Asia in 1996, has had mixed fortunes so far in the series, including a 200-kmph shunt at Magny-Cours during free practice prior to the fifth leg. Earlier, he had a podium finish in race four at Jarama, Spain.
Narain's favourite F-1 driver is Michael Schumacher. "He's incomparable. And the manufacturer has such a long history in motor-racing that I don't think anyone will be able to touch Ferrari for the next two years. They have the best of everything, the designers, the engineers and, of course, the inimitable Schume."
The greatest aspect about Narain is his single-mindedness. He knows what he wants, and is going about it with precision as well as verve and vigour. With a little bit of luck, he could well get there.
We sure hope he does. All the best Narain...
Narain's career stats
1992: Graduated from ELF Winfield Racing School, France.
1993: Began racing FISSME in India and graduated to
Formula Vauxhall Junior (UK).
1994: First Indian and Asian to win the British Formula
Ford winter series. And finished on the podium at the
Portuguese GP1 support race in Estoril.
1995: Competed in the second half of Formula Asia and finished second in Shah Alam, Malaysia.
1996: First Indian and Asian to win the Formula Asia, with seven pole positions, seven wins and seven lap records.
1997: In the Formula Opel, won the prestigious Donington Park race in the UK.
1998: Drove eight rounds of the British F-3, ending up with two third place finishes at Spa and Silverstone.
1999: Drove 16 rounds of the Autosport British F-3 championship, finishing on the podium five times and winning twice at Brands Hatch. Logged two pole positions, three fastest laps and two lap records for overall sixth in the championship. Also completed the second leg of the Macau World Cup in the 6th place.
2000: Finished the British F-3 with three podium placings and was ranked fourth overall. Was the first to achieve a slam in the history of Macau World Cup, creating a lap record and finishing on pole position. He emerged runnerup. He won the international F-3 race at Spa, Belgium and also won the Korea F3 Super Prix.
2001-2002: F-1 test drives with Jaguar and Jordan. Emerged among the top rookies in the Formula Nippon championships in Japan.
2002: Currently racing in the Telefonica World series (March 12-Dec. 1 2002). A third place in Jarama.
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