Sports India

Narain Karthikeyan will go down in history as the first Indian to be part of Formula One racing. Though he did not make the desired impact driving for the Jordan F1 team in 2005, he is keen to ensure that Indians take the formula racing world by storm, sooner rather than later.

Keeping this in mind, the Coimbatore-based Narain is set to launch an academy that will hone the skills of young Indian drivers. Amaron batteries, Speed Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited and JK Tyre have joined hands with Narain to create two racing teams - ‘Amaron NK Racing’ and ‘Speed NK Racing’. The teams will provide an opportunity for youngsters who can make their dreams come true in the world of motorsport.

Speaking at a press conference here yesterday, Narain said, ‘it is the beginning of a new chapter in the history of Indian motorsport’.

About 200 applications were received and 14 exceptionally talented drivers (under the age of 21) were selected to be tested at the Kari Motor Speedway, Chettipalayam. Their racing skills, physical fitness and team co-operation would be put to test, Narain said.

The four drivers selected would take part in all the six rounds of the ‘JK Tyre National Racing Championship’ which is scheduled to commence 20 August at Chettipalayam, Narain said adding that he did not have the opportunity to prove himself during his early days and thus for today’s talented youngsters, this would be a stepping stone to prove themselves in motorsport.

In response to a query on what would be the road map for the four youngsters after competing in the national championship, Narain said, ‘right now the focus is on the selection of the people and I would decide it at that time (after the completion of championship during the month of December 2006)’.

The shortlisted drivers are — Aditya Akkineni (Hyderabad), Aditya Patel (Chennai), Akhil Kushlani (Hyderabad), Saahil Shelar (Mumbai), Deepak Chinnappa (Bangalore), Ajay Kini (Chennai), Saran Vikram (Chennai), Sharan Parekh, Kartik Shanker (both from New Delhi), Ashwin Sunder (Chennai), Charen Chandran, Sudharshan Rao, Vignesh Devarajan and Kunal Shah.

Sanjay Sharma, head-motorsport, JK Tyre, M V Shet, senior manager, Speed-Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd and G Indeevar of Amaron Batteries also spoke