The Hindu : Sport : Narain confident

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Aug 03, 2007
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Sport

Narain confident

Sports Reporter

INDIA’S PRIDE: Narain Karthikeyan will do duty for the national A-1 team in at least a couple of races.

Coimbatore: Narain Karthikeyan will look for a decent start to the season when the opening leg of the A1Grand Prix unfolds at the Zandvoort circuit in the Netherlands on September 30.

“I have raced in this circuit during the Marlboro Masters racing championship in 2000. It is an interesting circuit, and I did a reasonably good job to qualify second. But, this time around, I may need to read the circuit again because there are some slight changes made to it,” said Narain.

The A1 Team India driver, who will do duty for his team in the Czech Republic (October 14) round as well, however admitted that he was new to the Brno circuit. He also said he was quite eager to do the remainder of the rounds for his team if his race schedule did not clash with his F-1 commitments.

Popular rounds return

Meanwhile, the calendar for the 2007-08 season was released on Thursday. The season’s calendar features 11 rounds. The interesting part is that the majority of the popular rounds from the second season will return.

In a release, A1 GP Chief Executive Officer Peter da Silva, said the sport was growing. “It is developing an exceptionally strong fan base across Asia. Our provisional television ratings clearly demonstrate that we have created a firm foothold in one of the biggest emerging markets in the world. It is for this reason that we are delighted to have the opportunity to return to China twice again this season.”

New circuit

The Zhuhai International Circuit in China will host an A1GP round for the first time this season. The new track is likely to provide a pivotal test for teams and drivers, with very few having any experience of the circuit.

He said that the new season was going to be bigger and better with so much to look forward to, and added that the venue for the November 4 event would be confirmed in due course.

A1GP calendar:

Zandvoort, The Netherlands (Sept 30); Brno, Czech Republic (Oct 14); venue to be confirmed (Nov 4); Sepang, Malaysia (Nov 25); Zhuhai, China (Dec 16); Taupo, New Zealand (Jan 20, 2008); Sydney, Australia (Feb 3); Durban, South Africa (Feb 2 4); Mexico City, Mexico (Mar 16); Shanghai, China (Apr 6); Brands Hatch, Great Britain (May 4).