The Hindu : Sport / Racing : Motor : Indian team for Dubai event

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Dec 01, 2004

Sport

Sport - Racing : Motor

Indian team for Dubai event

MUMBAI, NOV. 30. India will compete for the first time ever, in the Dubai Karting race on December 9 and 10, 2004.

A seven-member squad led by Karun Chandok and including Narain Karthikeyan and Armaan Ebrahim, will represent Team JK Tyres India at the 25-hour event to be held on the streets of Dubai. Rayomand Banajee, Ameya Walavalkar, Ishaan Singh and Deepak Chinappa complete the squad.

Starting at 1600hrs on Thursday, December 9, the Dubai event will run non-stop through the night till 0500hrs on Friday, Dec. 10. The seven drivers will share the same twin-engined Hond Pro-Kart, with regulations limiting each driver to 60 minutes at a stretch.

"An endurance event requires a lot of planning during the race as regards to fuel, tyre, pit stops and driver changes. We had a two-day camp in Bangalore to try and simulate the whole race as best as we could," said Chandok, informing that lap times were close.

The karting endurance race is a combination of the famous Le Mans 24-hour endurance race and Monaco GP from Formula I, according to a JK Tyres release. The chosen seven were shortlisted after intensive tests.

Karthikeyan and Chandok are two of the biggest names in Indian motorsport, with Ebrahim enhancing his reputation with every step. Banajee (Pune) is the reigning national karting champion and India leg winner of the Asian Zone karting championship, Walavalkar (Mumbai) is a former national champion, Singh (Goa) is the country's leading kart designer and constructor and Chinnappa (Bangalore) is a karting ace. Sanjay Sharma, JK Tyres Head of Motor Sport, revealed that Valvoline have joined as co-sponsors. — Our Special Correspondent

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport