Narain Karthikeyan

“When the winds of life rage with their fury, you must sometimes be willing to bend. When you face such an adverse condition, you must bend or you’ll break in the end” - Wes Fessler

Narain Karthikeyan began his career in professional car racing in Indian Formula Maruti and British Formula Vauxhall Junior in 1993. He is someone who is synonymous with putting India firmly on world map in the field of sports.

Narain Karthikeyan was born in Coimbatore. His father won the South Indian Rally seven consecutive years and is the main inspiration behind Karthikeyan’s interest in car racing. In his debut race, Narain Karthikeyan finished on the podium in a Formula Maruti. Despite having a real talent for racing, he was not able to make a mark until he became the only Indian to win any championship in Europe in 1994.

He made his debut in the International circuit with Carlin Motorsport team in British Formula Three Championship in 1998. During the same season, he won third places in two championships. It is notable that he won twice at Brands hatch and a 6th position in the well-known Macau Grand Prix in 1999. He started the millennium by winning the International F3 Race and Korean Super Six.

 It is such a matter of pride for our country that Narain Karthikeyan became the first Indian to ever drive an F1 car, testing for the Jaguar Racing team at Silverstone in 2001. The next year, he participated in the Telefonica World Series with Team Tata RC Motorsport. The year 2004 was very significant in Karthikeyan’s career as he signed a very important deal with Jordan Formula One team and became their primary driver for the 2005 Formula One season. This enabled him to become India’s first Formula One racing driver. Later on, he signed a contract with Williams-Toyota and was promoted to third driver in 2006.

Narain Karthikeyan is someone who is well known in the world circuit as an aggressive driver with a cood head. This ability along with his being able to stay in control despite the circumstances is respected even by his opponents.

After making his mark in the Formula One circuit, he added another feather in his cap by becoming the first Indian to drive in a NASCAR event. In fact, he impressed everyone with his performance in the same event.

NASCAR is the largest American sanctioning body of auto racing and is widely followed by people in the USA. If Narain Karthikeyan performs well in the World Truck Series, he stands a real chance of racing in NASCAR’s premier series. Following his success in Formula One, he is recognized as one of India’s most popular athletes.