INDIA in F1

Tag: Narain Karthikeyan

  • Narain looking forward to `lucky’ Spa

    Madrid, 24 August 2012: It is one of the favourite circuits of Narain Karthikeyan, the ace  Indian F1 driver, who won at the historic circuit in his Formula 3 days as it proved `lucky’ for him

    File picture of Narain Karthikeyan's HRT car getting ready on the grid. A HRT photo

    . He is raring to go after a well-deserved break and time with family. However, the HRT team announced that Dani Clos, the test driver, will take the driver’s seat on Friday. Narain, though, is confident that he would do well in the second half of the season and is looking forward to help the team.

    After a two week rest, the Formula 1 World Championship returns and it does so at a legendary venue: Spa-Francorchamps. The summer break has helped the team to regain strength to face a very intense second part of the championship that gets underway on the first weekend of September in Belgium. Spa was inaugurated in 1921 and was originally 14.1 km long but, due to safety reasons, it has been reformed on various occasions and is currently 7.004 km long, making it the longest circuit in the championship.
    Dani Clos will take part in the first free practice session alongside Pedro de la Rosa, for the fifth time this season, replacing Narain Karthikeyan.
    Spa-Francorchamps is a very complete circuit which has a lot of ups and down, whilst also combining slow and fast corners, some of them being blind turns. The track is a real challenge for the drivers and their cars as, not only do they have to take on the challenge presented by corners such as Eau Rouge or La Source but they also have to cope with changing weather conditions.
    Pirelli has elected its hard and medium tyres for this Grand Prix.
    Pedro de la Rosa: “Spa is one of the drivers’ favourite tracks; it’s spectacular and difficult, not only because of the type of corners but also because of the weather, since one part of the track can be dry whilst another is wet, so you have to be able to adapt quickly. We’re going to use the same medium downforce that worked so well in Canada so we hope to perform well despite the large amount of high speed corners. We’ve all returned full of energy from the holidays and I personally arrive in my best physical condition of the season and really looking forward to taking on the second half of the championship”.
    Narain Karthikeyan: “Spa is a drivers’ track. I won here in my Formula 3 days so I have some nice memories and the atmosphere is always great. Even though a lot of run-off has been added over the years, it still has some of the most challenging corners on the calendar. And then there’s the classic Spa weather which nearly always plays a part in the final result. We’ll be using the same medium rear wing which worked well in Canada so we hope it goes well in Spa and aim to maintain our progress throughout the second part of the championship. We’re back after a much deserved break after an especially intense start to the season for us and we’re really looking forward to it”.
    Dani Clos: “Once again I have a chance to step into the car and work for the team and that fills me with satisfaction. Especially after having run in the events leading up to the summer break, for me it is really important to stay active and be able to continue growing alongside my teammates Pedro and Narain. Spa is a circuit where I have great memories. I won my first international one-seater race there, that’s something you never forget and it makes me have special feelings for this circuit. I’ve been able to rest these days, at least by not travelling, but I haven’t stopped training and I’ve stepped up the rhythm since last week to make it to Belgium in prime conditions to be able to give it my all”.
    Luis Pérez-Sala, Team Principal: “After the summer we head into the Belgian Grand Prix with a lot of hunger and desire. We’re starting the second part of the championship and we will try to continue in the same manner as the first part and improve. Spa is a circuit that the drivers really like because it is the longest in the championship and is made up of a combination of fast and slow corners, besides being located in a beautiful area. It is a medium downforce circuit and the temperatures aren’t extreme so we shouldn’t have any reliability issues. The weather is always unpredictable in Spa so we have to be ready to take on any situation”.
    ends

  • MRF Challenge Series launched in Chennai

    Chennai, 24 August 2012: The fastest Indian in the World, Narain Karthikeyan launched the MRF Challenge Series at the Express Avenue Mall here in the presence of MRF stalwarts and F2000 car designer J Anand.

    For those in pursuit of excellence, the MRF Challenge 2012 will put a spring in the step as young racing drivers across the globe vie for honours in this international FIA approved series. On 24th August 2012, the residents of Chennai witnessed the birth of a motorsport series like no other.

    India finally has its chance to shine in the International motorsport arena. The launch of this spectacular series was done by none other than Formula 1 driver, and MRF’s Brand Ambassador, Narain Karthikeyan, as he drove this awesome racing machine in front of an enthralled audience of over 10,000 fans assembled at Express Avenue Mall in Chennai, India.

    The MRF Challenge 2012 brought the sounds and smells of the racing experience to the door step of the Chennai public. After a successful series last year with the MRF Formula Ford 1600cars, which also included a support race to the inaugural Formula 1 Indian Grand Prix, MRF has decided to up the ante in 2012. The upcoming series “THE MRF CHALLENGE 2012” will showcase high speed, cutting-edge race-car technology combined with Indian manufacturing excellence.

    Launch at Express Avenue Mall, Chennai

    India has always had its share of motorsport fans, and this has been validated by the tremendous response to the Formula 1 Indian Grand Prix in 2011. It is estimated that approximately 40 million Indians watched the live coverage of the race coupled with an in-stadia presence of over one hundred thousand spectators.

    Building on this growing interest, MRF Limited, the largest tyre manufacturer in India and a USD 2.5 billion company, is all set to host The MRF Challenge 2012 racing series this year. The MRF Challenge 2012 series will consist of four rounds (and a total of ten races), the first two rounds at Buddh International Circuit, and the final two at the MMRT Circuit in Chennai, one of the oldest circuits in the country.

    MRF has a rich legacy in the motor sports arena – a legacy built over twenty years of its association with the sport. The company’s focus has been in circuit racing with single-seaters, as well as in Rallying, both on the domestic front and in the Asia Zone and Asia Pacific Championships.

    On the international rallying front, Team MRF has won the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship three times, in 2003, 2005 and 2010.  MRF also sponsors the Super Cross Championships and has had a long-standing association with karting community in India, having developed the first FIA-CIK approved karting tyres in India

    This year MRF has commissioned Jayem Automotives Ltd in Coimbatore to build the ‘MRF FORMULA 2000’car. This car has been built under technical collaboration with Automobili Dallara of Italy, who is the world’s largest manufacturer of bespoke single-seater racing cars and is also considered the best in the business.

    It is the company that helped design, amongst other elite machinery, the Bugatti Veyron. They also build all of the GP2, GP3 and Indycars, as well as class dominating Formula 3 cars. Dallara has given the car a modern and dynamic design with all the very latest in cutting-edge technology which is available to them, while Renault-Sport has designed and manufactured its 210 BHP 2.0 litre 4-cylinder engine.

    This car will be a carbon fibre marvel with a six-speed Hewland sequential gearbox, making it an ultra-safe and reliable package. The car will boast performance equal to current international Formula 3 machinery.

    The tyres have been specifically designed from the ground up for high-speed circuit racing. MRFs R&D Engineers have worked tirelessly to satisfy all the needs of the drivers. Straight-line speed and stability, as well as high-speed cornering grip have been optimized into the design of the tyres, in addition to a very high level of safety.

    For the purists and petrol heads who dissect every details of the car, it would interest them to know the front tyre size is 200 x 540-R13, and the rear size is 240 x 570-R13. These sizes are available in both dry and wet constructions –again made specifically for this series. The wheel size is 8Jx13, and the car will use OZ racing alloy rims.

    MRF has also finalised the calendar for the series – Round One will be on the 27th and 28th of October as a support race for the Formula One Indian Grand Prix. Round Two will be held on the 1st and 2nd of December 2012 as a support race for the FIA GT1 Championship. The final two rounds will be held in Chennai on the 1st to 3rd of February & 8th to 10th of February 2013.

    MRF Racing Brand Ambassador Narain Karthikeyan. “When MRF launched the Formula 1600 in 2010, I was very excited and justifiably felt that it was a huge step forward in domestic racing. Little did I know, or expect, that a very short 2 years later, they would move the bar so far ahead.

    The new MRF Formula 2000 cars are the absolute cutting edge in international racing technology. The platform it will provide to young racing drivers from all over the world will make it a unique series internationally. The new MRF slick racing tyres which are being developed specifically for the dynamic characteristics of this car are also shaping up really well. My first impressions of the car and tyres were very positive when I drove it for the first time a few days ago.” 

    eom/Yohann Setna press release/ reposted from old website 2019