Narain Karthikeyan, Champion car racer
Mid-day - June 22, 2003

A graduate of the world famous Elf Winfield racing school in France, Narain Karthikeyan tasted success in the international arena early, winning the prestigious Formula Opel Donington Park race in the United Kingdom in 1997, leading from start to finish. Autosport magazine called him ‘The Indian Prince (who) rules in the rain’. Karthikeyan has achieved many firsts. He was the first Indian and Asian to win the British Formula Ford Winter Series Championship in 1994 and the Formula Asia Championship in 1996, and also the first Indian to test in F1 for both Jaguar and Jordan.

Currently the 26-year-old is racing in his second year of the prestigious 2003 Superfund World Series Championship by Nissan, a brand new world-class championship, second only to Formula 1 and is ranked third in the overall championship. He has his sights set firmly on joining Carlin’s growing list of test and race drivers who have participated in F1 racing. Chennai-born Narain is a student of Business Administration. He enjoys tennis, trap and skeet shooting and aspires to be the first Indian F1 driver. He is supported by the Tata Group, JK Tyres and Amaron Batteries. His next race is at Monza, Italy today