The Hindu : Sport : Narain on verge of driving for Jordan

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Feb 02, 2005

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Sport

Narain on verge of driving for Jordan

By Our Special Correspondent

`REV'ELATION: Narain Karthikeyan is all set to drive for Jordan in the upcoming Formula One season.

MUMBAI, FEB. 1. The 15-year-old Silverstone-based Grand Prix team, Jordan, has offered India's Narain Karthikeyan a chance to drive in Formula One and Narain has agreed in principle to take up the offer.

"There's been a lot of speculation in recent times about the prospects of making my debut in the F-1 Grand Prix events. It's been a hectic week or so and I will be signing the agreement within the next 48 hours. I really imagined that I had come close to making it, so it's a dream come true for me. I will be racing for Jordan in all the 19 races. It's a momentous day for me. This is just a beginning and I have a long way to go. I do not think we (Jordan) can win the World Championship, but we hope to finish in the top eight,'' said the 29-year-old from Coimbatore.

Narain will begin his F-1 campaign, driving the Jordan Toyota EJ15, at the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne, Australia on March 6. Millions of Indians would be waiting with anticipation to watch Narain make his debut in F-1. But Narain handled the latest developments with humility and made public that he would try to fulfil the aspirations of the Indian people and the corporates like Tata Group, Speed (BPCL) and JK Tyres. "I will carry their hopes," he said.

Steady rise

The first Asian driver to win the Formula Asia championship, Narain's rise has been steady since 2001 when he became the first Indian to test drive an F-1 car for Jaguar at Silverstone, following which Jordan asked him to test drive before the commencement of the 2002 season. Jordan has kept track of his progress as Narain raced in the Nissan World Series. Karthikeyan has also test driven for Minardi.

Narain will be flying to London on Monday to get his super license. "It's all automatic in theory, but I will have to race 300kms and a little more at Silverstone in the presence of an FIA representative, after which I will go to Barcelona for test drives. The Jordan cars have more horsepower and I have to get used to the electronic settings," said Narain, who considers Michael Schumacher as his idol. However, he did not reveal how many hours of practice he would have to put in before his first race in Melbourne, 34 days from today.

Going global

He also confirmed that the Tata Group, Speed, the BPCL Brand and JK Tyres will be featured on the Jordan car and he hopes to take on board a few more. Tata Motor's Executive Director, Dr. V. Sumantran said his company had played the role of a facilitator and said it wouldn't be appropriate to specify the amount spent on Narain to secure a place in the Jordan team.

Tata Services' Vice-President, corporate affairs, Mr. Romi Chatterjee said, "This is the defining moment. We have been supporting Narain for the last three years and we are pleased that our association with him now is going to result in an F-1 drive.Narain has carved a niche for himself." BPCL's General Manager, retail strategy, Mr. S. Ramesh expressed similar sentiments.

Sources said the contractual obligation prevented Tatas and BPCL from disclosing the money paid to Jordan GP Ltd. "We will get adequate space on the car," said Mr. Chatterjee. JK Tyres, which has been supporting Narain for 12 years will have an agreement on an individual basis and its motor sports head, Sanjay Sharma, said his company's brand would be featured on the car. JK Group's Gautam Singhania said Narain's appearance in F-1 would give a boost to Indian motor sports.

After hearing the news of Narain's debut in F-1 racing, India's batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar told The Hindu that it's great news for Indian sport. "Indians will have another sportsman to back in international meets. It's brilliant. We are good friends and I knew this was going to happen. Earlier, I used to watch F-1 and back Michael Schumacher. From now on, I will be rooting for Narain," said Tendulkar, who three years ago visited Silverstone at Schumacher's invitation.

Our Sports Reporter from Coimbatore adds:

Narain hopes that his presence in Formula One is sure to boost the image of the sport in India.

"Viswanathan Anand's exploits at the world level changed the chess scenario in India and I am sure my inclusion (in F-1) will do the same to motor sports," he said in a teleconference from Mumbai.

He said that driving with teammate Takumo Sato of Japan had helped him a great deal.

Actually, it was in 2000 that saw Narain enter the big league. He drove in the British F-3 championship and was ranked fourth overall. He was on a roll for most of the season. He created a lap record and took the pole at the Macau GP.

Making history

Narain made history by emulating late Ayrton Senna of Brazil, and also many other current F-1 drivers including Michael Schumacher, David Coulthard, by winning the international F-3 race at Spa, Belgium, and also tasted success in the Korean F-3 Super Prix.

He still remains the only Indian to win two prestigious races — the Brands Hatch (June 4, 2000) and Thurxton (March 26, 2000) rounds of the British F-3 championship.

But Narain regretted having lost the Macau GP after being in the lead for most part of the race in 2000. "Narain was the fastest man on the narrow streets of Macau, but drove without luck," said teammate Takuma Sato after the race.

The 1999 Autosport British F-3 championship saw Narain grabbing the podium five times. The highlight of that season was Narain's double victory at Brands Hatch, considered one of the most difficult racing circuits.

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