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Forced to apply the brakes
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What slows Armaan Ebrahim down on the fast track to success?
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PHOTOS: R. RAGU
SPEED THRILLS, BUT… Armaan Ebrahim
Back home in Chennai, after
finishing a creditable ninth,
his best performance yet, in
the second round of the GP2
Asia Series in Sentul, Indonesia,
Armaan Ebrahim, chatted with his
father Akbar, a former Formula 3
champion, about many things, including
motorsport.
Even as he surfed television
channels, Armaan's attention
turned to the news regarding the
Indian Premier League. He was
taken aback. The auction of cricketers
for the IPL and the millions
of dollars being spent on them disturbed
him no end, especially as
he is having a tough time looking
for sponsors who could help him
compete in the GP2 Europe.
Armaan's angst
He shared his angst with his father,
wanting to know if he could
convey his distress to the media,
and his father apparently said, "Go
ahead."
The 18-year-old wrote: "While
my parents are trying to put everything
on the line to try and
rustle up the finances, I watch
the news on TV about the IPL
auction and am not sure whether
I'm hearing things right. The
figures run up to $400 million!
And I'm being told it is almost
impossible to raise $ 2 million for
the GP2 European championship.
It just cannot be true."
It's not that the talented driver
is without sponsors. Supported
by JK Tyres, Speed, Elf and
Amaron, Armaan feels that for
him to take the next jump - to
compete in the GP2 European
series - more big Indian companies
should come forward to
assist him. By the time F1 comes
to New Delhi in 2010, Armaan
feels he will be more than ready,
provided he gets the opportunity
to compete in the GP2 Asia this
year and the GP2 Asia and Europe
in 2009.
Only in his first year in the
highly competitive GP2 Asia Series,
considered a stepping stone
for F1, Armaan drove splendidly
to finish in the top 10.
Already, drivers including his
team-mate at David Price Racing,
Diego Nunes, are in France for
the pre-season testing for the
next round scheduled for March
22 and 23 in Kuala Lumpur. And
Armaan is in Chennai when he
should have been in Europe. "Yes
it does hurt. But what can I do.
To test, it costs 25,000 Euros per
day. I don't have that much
money," said Armaan.
He still finds it difficult to
accept the fact that he has to
fight for his survival, when cricketers
get everything on a platter.
"Today, I sit with my Dad, nerves
on edge, trying to cover the
shortfall in the budget of
2,00,000 Euros to compete in the
GP2 Asia Series. The GP2 Europe
series costs 1.3 million Euros. A
sum I can't even imagine raising
this year as I am still trying to
meet the GP2 Asia budget."
The youngster needs financial
assistance to make it big in the
fast lane. Will India Inc. respond?
K. KEERTHIVASAN
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