Fast & Furious: Karthikeyan heads for greater heights
Hindustan Times - May 15, 2003

Narain Karthikeyan is all revived up. After a podium finish in the World Series Nissan Championship at Zolder, Belgium, where he finished behind Frank Montagny and Jean Christophe ravier, the fastest Indian in the world is confident of doing well at the French Magny-Cours circuit, where he races on Sunday.

"Although it is my favourite track, all the drivers are fast. Still, with Tata Carlin teammate Bruce Jouanny in good form we are confident of a podium finish," says Karthikeyan in an exclusive long-distance tete-a-tete from France.

His newfound optimism has a lot to do with his return to the Tata Carlin Motorsport team, headed by Trevor Carlin. "I’m familiar with the team, in prime fitness and confident of making a mark. Carlin members who’ve made it big in racing include Jenson Button, Tatsuma Sato, Mark Webber and Anthony Davidson. Also Telefonica is a great platform that has produced Formula One champs such as Ricardo Zonta and Justin Wilson. Working with my old engineer shores up comfort levels to a great extent too," says Karthikeyan.

The Nissan World Series championship is one of the hardest in the world, he reckons. "The cars are awesomely fast. And mind you, Magny-Cours has been a Formula One course earlier and a split-second manoeuver can make or break a race."

With Karun Chandhok, the rookie who idolises Karthikeyan also getting podium Knockhill, Scotland, the future of racing in India is bright. "Indian racing is getting better with every passing day. It’s only a matter of time when we’ll be in the top league," he says.

And in the big league, Karthikeyan says a rejuvenated Schumi will zoom to victory and take the championship: "Despite opponents like Kimi Raikkonen and David Coulthard, Schumi is a class apart."