Great Coimbatoreien
Narain Karthikeyan drove Team India to victory in the A1 GP featue race at the Zhuhai International Circuit in China on Sunday.India’s Formula One star Narain Karthikeyan staved off a stiff challenge from New Zealand’s Jonny Reid to post his maiden A1 GP feature race victory at the Zhuhai International Circuit in China on Sunday.It was Narain’s first podium finish after a gap of nearly three years in any form of racing.The last time he stood tall and proud on the podium was at the Nissan World Series, when he clinched the Spanish leg in October 2004.Quite a few doubted his credentials at the start of the season, but the 31-year-old from Coimbatore proved them wrong with a finish that may well boost his confidence for the rest of the series. Speaking to The Hindu from Zhuhai (China), Narain said that qualifying among the top three helped the team’s cause. “It’s always possible to win when the team starts from the front row.It’s not just that. We had two great pit stops and eventually that worked well.”He did agree it was a close race. “Jonny Reid was on my heels after the second pit stop. China also did well, but I managed to keep the pace.”Narain was elated with the win. “This has come at the right time,” he said.“I have gone through a number of races but to get a victory here has certainly boosted my morale. It proves that we can win.”Zhuhai, which is hosting its first race, gladly accepted a new winner in Narain. “A1 GP is pleased as well because they are keen on coming to India. The victory here will help them a great deal,” said Yohann Setna, A1 Team India’s Chief Operating Officer, after the race.
He said the win was no fluke considering the fact that the entire field raced for the first time at the Zhuhai track. “Narain drove a superb race, and hardly made any mistake. A combination of a good set-up and a great driver did the trick. In fact, everybody contributed to the victory.”India thus became the 14th nation to score a win in the A1 GP. The team’s previous best was a fourth-place finish in the Brands Hatch Feature race last season.A1 Team India has often been among the front-runners in terms of race pace. Despite that, it has had disappointing qualifying results in the season so far. So when Narain got a little more out of the car in the qualifying on Saturday, the team was obviously delighted, and was even confident of a podium finish.The fastest Indian in the world did not let the team down. Starting third on the grid, he maintained his position for a while and soon got past Great Britain’s Oliver Jarvis and Switzerland’s Neel Jani even as the two struggled to get their pit stop strategy right.
Now the challenge came from Reid. But Narain pushed hard to take the lead during the second pit stop window on lap 29. The pressure was huge but the Indian held off the New Zealander’s Black Beauty to cross the line and score India’s first A1 GP success.Earlier, Narain enjoyed a good start, picking up two places to finish the sprint race in the seventh place.
Final standings (Top five & India): Feature race: 1. Narain Karthikeyan (India) 1:0830.759, 2. Jonny Reid (New Zealand) 1:0831.261, 3. Adrian Zaugg (South Africa), 4. Michael Ammermüller (Germany), 5. Oliver Jarvis (Great Britain).
Sprint race: Michael Ammermüller (Germany), 2. Neel Jani (Switzerland), 3. Cheng Cong Fu (China), 4. Adam Carroll (Ireland), 5. Tomas Enge (Czech Republic) & Narain (India, seventh).
Final standings (Top five & India): Feature race: 1. Narain Karthikeyan (India) 1:0830.759, 2. Jonny Reid (New Zealand) 1:0831.261, 3. Adrian Zaugg (South Africa), 4. Michael Ammermüller (Germany), 5. Oliver Jarvis (Great Britain).
Sprint race: Michael Ammermüller (Germany), 2. Neel Jani (Switzerland), 3. Cheng Cong Fu (China), 4. Adam Carroll (Ireland), 5. Tomas Enge (Czech Republic) & Narain (India, seventh).
