The Hindu : Sport / Racing : Motor : Narain fears heat could hurt his chances

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Mar 11, 2005

Sport

Sport - Racing : Motor

Narain fears heat could hurt his chances

KUALA LUMPUR, MARCH 10. India's first Formula One driver Narain Karthikeyan fears Malaysia's scorching heat will hurt his chances at the Malaysian GP next week.

Narain, whose F1 progress has awakened interest in motor racing in India, finished 15th in the season's opening race at Australia on Sunday.

The Toyota-powered Jordan driver arrived in Malaysia on Monday for the second round to be held on March 20, the Malay Mail newspaper reported on Thursday.

"I hope for a better outing here where I expect the race to be tougher," the 27-year-old told the Malay Mail, whose reporters caught up with him on Wednesday night at a popular restaurant and night spot strip in Bangsar, a Kuala Lumpur suburb.

"It has been hot and humid (and) I expect it to be even worse at the track," said Narain, who was playing pool with wife Pavarna and Malaysian rally driver Karamjit Singh, a long-time friend, the newspaper said.

Taxing

When told that temperatures at the racing track in Sepang might reach 41degrees Celsius, Narain said he wasn't expecting it to be so hot.

"I was expecting it to be about 34 degrees but if it is really going to be 41 degrees, it is really going to be taxing," he said.

Narain was quoted as saying he was happy with his 15th placing in the Australian GP despite some problems at the starting grid.

"I hope to improve my starting where the problem has been identified and would be rectified," he said.

He acknowledged that it will be difficult for him and his team-mate Tiago Monteiro, also a rookie, to be among top finishers because of their lack of experience. "We are both in our first season. We will push ourselves and the car hard," he said.

Pavarna, who had known the Coimbatore-based driver for four years before marrying him last year, said she is Narain's lucky charm.

"I must be because after marrying me, he is making his F1 debut this season," the 25-year-old Pavarna said.

"I enjoyed myself thoroughly watching Narain race in Melbourne and am very proud of his achievement in his debut outing," she said.

"I hope he does better in Sepang and am looking forward to being with him for the other races around the world," she was quoted as saying.

Organisers said they expect about 1,500 fans from India to fly in to cheer Karthikeyan at Sepang.

The driver can also expect solid support from fans in Malaysia, which has a large ethnic Indian community. — AP

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