Karthikeyan aiming at podium finish for India in Mexico A1 GP

NEW DELHI: Speed merchant Narain Karthikeyan is eyeing a top three finish for India when racing for the ninth round of the A1 Grand Prix World Cup begins this weekend in Mexico.

With only three events remaining in the season, A1 Team India will be keen to secure its first podium finish as Karthikeyan takes his place behind the wheel.

"This will be my third A1 GP event, and I am starting to really understand the characteristics of the car. With no testing opportunities, all our learning has been confined to race weekends, and we should now be able to capitalise on this in Mexico," Karthikeyan said.

"This circuit will give us more scope to push the car to its limits and I am expecting to secure a top three finish for India," he said.

The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit, on the outskirts of the Mexico City, will host its first A1 GP event, replacing last year's venue of the Parque Fundidora circuit in Monterrey.

The Indian team had an eventful weekend at the last round in Durban which saw Karthikeyan start the Feature race in a spare car.

"We were very unlucky in South Africa and deserved better than our ninth place in the Feature race, we will be aiming for a podium finish this weekend," he said.

"I have a few days to acclimatise myself before getting on track. Set-up will be very important here, the circuit is extremely bumpy and the combination of corners and a long straight will require the car to be carefully balanced," Karthikeyan added.