Narain Karthikeyan tests for Nascar

Narain Karthikeyan can never be away from the race track. India’s first and only Formula One driver till date has tested for the ‘Starbeast Motorsport’ team in the Nascar Series, America’s favourite motorsport.

“I tested for Starbeast Motorsport just three days ago at Daytona,” Karthikeyan, who was in Bangalore for a Bajaj Pulsar event, told DNA.

“It is wheel-to-wheel racing at 180 mph and a whole new ball game. There are a lot of oval tracks in the US and they are of many different kinds. It was a real eye-opener for me.

“The cars feel heavier and it is all about top-speed racing in machines which can put out more than 800 horsepower.”

Karthikeyan has had some very good wins in A1 GP and has also been impressive in the Le Mans 24-hour racing series this year. But he is yet to take a call.

“It’s all open now and I have lots of options. By January, something should be finalised,” said the 32-year-old from Coimbatore.

He admitted that A1 GP “were having some problems due to the financial downturn”.
On the domestic front, he is still with NK Racing team which has nurtured some good talents in the Indian Formula Racing series.

“Ashwin Sundar, who won this year for my team, and Aditya Patel are also in the Volkswagen Polo Cup. Akhil Khushlani is in the Formula BMW for Red Rooster Racing. My idea of having a team was to promote these youngsters,” said the driver who also tested for Williams F1 for two years.

“In track racing in India, there are lots of things that could improve but the good thing is that there is a series and it is a good step up from karting. However, I would love to see the number of cars on the grid grow,” he said.

The biggest draw for India is clearly Formula One, where Karthikeyan raced in 2005 for Jordan.

On what it takes for drivers like Karun Chandhok or Armaan Ebrahim to make it to the pinnacle of motorsport, he said: “Karun raced for a new team this year. And to be in the running for an F1 seat, you should beat your teammate. Of course, there are so many other factors, including finances.”

“In India, F1 is still considered as glamour and only for well-to-do but for individuals it is very difficult without corporate support,” he said, while adding that Force India had done a commendable job in 2009.

Karthikeyan sees the return of Michael Schumacher, someone he admires, as a good thing for the sport. “Michael returning to F1 is good. The timing is great and it will give some character to the sport,” he signed off.