There has been much speculation about India’s F1 racing champ Narain Karthikeyan's participation in the i1 Super Series, the upcoming Indian racing league tournament. Fans and experts have been calling the shots for him, but the racer is clear about what he wants to do. “They have been in touch with me, but my participation entirely depends on my schedule and availability,” he clarified. “I think the concept is very well thought about,” he added. Talking with the Chennai participants on Monday at Kart Attack on ECR, Narain provided them valuable advice and tips for the competition. Advaith Ramkumar, a young filmmaker and Rahul Venkataraman, a college student, two of the participants, enthusiastically quizzed Narain on various racing-related topics. When the boys said that they thought of racing as an expensive sport that not everyone had equal access to, Narain was very straightforward in his reply. “Racing is definitely not the cheapest sport. But after F1, the amount of awareness in the corporate sector has gone up. So, there are more sponsorship opportunities,” he said. Talking about his journey from his initial days to F1 circuits, he said, “Just my will to go all the way to the top, with hard work and perseverance is what has brought me here." It was also definitely a different situation for Narain when he started out as a young racer. “It was difficult as a student to convince my parents that I wanted to take up racing for a career,” he reminisced. He advised racers to pay attention to safety while on the tracks. “Make sure that you have an ISI-approved helmet and proper shoes,” he said. As the group walked on to the tracks, Narain and the boys inspected the racing area. “These tracks have no asphalt. So, the level of drift is bound to be lower. You need to be smoother,” he advised. Because of the safety bumpers on the sides of the karts, the leisure karts were more secure on the tracks when compared to the regular ones, Narain assured. But he made it a point to tell the participants that they had to go easy on them. “People tend to get very jerky with these karts, but all the inputs need to be extremely smooth,” he said. On the topic of tracks, he listed the Suzuka Circuit in Japan, the Silverstone circuit in the UK and the Buddh International Circuit, Noida, as some of his favourite racing destinations. He also spoke of the narrow Monaco circuit. “Every mistake on these narrow circuits have a large impact. So, they always keep the drivers on their toes.” “Racing is a dangerous sport and there are no two ways about it,” he warned, but was quick to add, “It is that danger factor that adds to the thrill.” According to him, F1 is the safest form of motorsport. “The awareness for safety has increased and the last fatality took place only in '84.”
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