Posts Tagged ‘Motorsport’
Narain Karthikeyan makes a comeback to Formula 1 racing after 5 years
Narain Karthikeyan has managed to get a Formula 1 drive for the 2011 season with Hispania Racing Team (HRT). This will be the second time Narain will compete in F1 after his association with Jordan in 2005. Narain will be thrilled as he will be racing in F1 again in the year when India will host its first Grand Prix at Delhi. With Karun Chandhok still looking for a possible F1 seat in 2011, it might end up a great year for F1 lovers in India if both of them manage to race this year.
Speaking to the media, the 33 year old Indian was rightfully ecstatic about fulfilling his dream of being on the F1 grid for the first Grand Prix in India.
“I have worked really hard to come back to F1 and it will be a dream come true to race in the first ever Indian Grand Prix in front of my fellow Indians. I hope that they will spur me on with their blessings and good wishes,” said Karthikeyan.
Narain thanked the Tata Group, who have been instrumental in getting him the F1 seat this year.
“It’s been a while in the making, but I am delighted to be racing again in Formula 1 in 2011. I have always maintained that I have not given up on my desire to return to the top level of motor sport. I am confident that I have the pace, the fitness and the will to succeed in Formula 1. I am extremely grateful to the Tata Group, without whose unwavering support, this comeback would not have been possible.
“I’m looking forward to racing for HRT, and to working again with Dr Colin Kolles (MD/Team Principal, Hispania Racing). We have a long standing and excellent working relationship together,” said Karthikeyan.
It will be a great year for the Indian motorsport fans as not only there is an Indian team on the Grid for the 2011 Delhi race, but now we also have a confirmed Indian driver on the grid.
Source: Rediff
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Armaan Ebrahim notched up his first podium finish in Formula Two at Spain
A brilliant finish in the final race of the season at Valencia helped Armaan to hold on to the top 10 spot in the overall standings. Armaan had a brilliant race in the round 17 and 18 in Valencia where he managed his first podium finish. It was a memorable race for the Indian driver when he finished 3rd in the first race and 7th in the second race.
With Ajith and Parthiva suddenly doing the disappearing act in the middle of the season, Armaan was the lone Indian representative at the end of it all. It was a brilliant debut season for Armaan in F2 and he will hope to build on the same in the coming season. The 21 year old Indian driver proves that he is one of the most promising Indian talents in motor racing following in the footsteps of Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok. Hopefully we will see him racing alongside the best in the world in Formula 1 in the future.
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Armaan continued to perform well in the formula two championships as he finished yet again in top 10 in both the races at Brandshatch. Parthiva Sureshwaran though continued his struggle this season as he finished at 18th and 14th in the two races respectively. Armaan’s consistent performances meant that he remains in the top 10 of the overall rankings.
Armaan who is ranked 9th in this year’s championships is just 5 points behind UK’s Jack Clarke who is at 8th. He would like to bridge the gap in the upcoming race at Brno. Ajith’s decision to pull out of the championships to concentrate on his next movie was a huge disappointment for me as I started to follow the season just because of his participation.
I was kind of confused initially regarding his absence but saw the twitter post from the Ajith fans club to learn that he has actually pulled out. Even though my interest has dipped a little bit following Ajith’s absence, I will still try to occasionally check out the progress of Parthiva and Armaan.
Anyways best of luck to Ajith on his next movie and hope he returns to racing in the future.
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Armaan was brilliant again in Monza as he achieved his first top 5 finish
It was a brilliant weekend for the Indian contingent at Monza this weekend when we had 2 top 10 finishes by Armaan and Parthiva respectively. Armaan Ebrahim who is currently at 7th in the overall standings was unlucky to crash out of the race one after starting 7th on the grid. He more than made up for that with a brilliant 5th place finish after being 16th on the grid after the qualifying. This was Armaan’s best performance in F2 till date and he is getting closer to the podium finish which we have been waiting for.
Ajith and Parthiva at the autograph session after their brilliant show in Monza
Parthiva Sureshwaran also had a brilliant race where he achieved his first top 10 finish in F2. His race 1 was little disappointing as he finished on 15th but made impressive run in the race two to get his first top 10 finish and thereby grabbing his first points for the season. He will surely want to build on this confidence to climb up the rungs and aim for consistent top 10 finishes for the remainder of the season.
For Ajith Kumar though this was a weekend of another consistent performance as he finished 14th and 15th in the race 1 and 2 respectively in Monza. Considering that he qualified at 21 in both the races this was a brilliant achievement by the Tamil movie superstar. Ajith will be proud of finishing ahead of Parthiva in race 1 who is a more experienced racer than the star himself. Ajith seemed extremely happy with his performance and said that he was really proud of what he has achieved this season in the formula two championships,
Speaking after the race Ajith said,
“I feel proud and privileged to race amongst some of the best drivers in the championship, especially our own country’s Armaan Ebrahim and Parthiva Sureshwaran. I am thrilled to be racing on this excellent circuit in Monza, Italy and am happy that I have completed the race in 14th Position”
So a satisfying week for the Indian racers in F2 this weekend in Monza and this sets up the next race at Zolder brilliantly for the 3 of them. Let’s hope that we have another brilliant race at Zolder.
Ajith Kumar's decision to take a break from movies to concentrate on racing is a bold move
Actor Ajith Kumar recently decided to pursue his dream of racing and is currently participating in the Formula two world championship. He declared that he is going to take racing little bit more seriously starting this year. Well to be frank that’s a bold decision. We all know that he tried his hand few years back and met with some success in the same but was back with the movies after that. I was reading some comments by few readers on a popular website who were ridiculing his decision and wishing him a failure in his endeavor. This shows how grown up these people are. It’s easy to sit in front of a computer and type away on your keyboard and criticize someone’s effort to be different.
All of us know that moving out of your comfort zone is not that easy. Ajith Kumar is a super star in Tamil cinema. He has his own fan following and supporters. He is a big name in the industry, so it would have been easier for him just sit back and go through the motions like most of us do in our respective fields. But he has decided to be different and is following his passion for racing. How many of us have the guts to do the same? How many of us have the courage to come out of our cozy jobs to follow our interests and passion? The answer would be a grand zero.
But we will make fun of someone who does, as it’s easier to criticize somebody who dares to be different. We have certain happiness in declaring someone a failure without even appreciating the effort that individual has put in. We have been taught from our childhood that if someone doesn’t win in something he is a failure and we grandly follow that yardstick in every field. As far as I am concerned there are few things which go beyond success and winning.
Harsha Bhogle, one of the best sports presenters in the world was a graduate from the reputed Indian Institute of Management. He did not end up in a stereotypical management job as most of the guys doing MBA end up in; instead he followed his passion with sports journalism and presenting. He loved cricket and he followed his interests.
Not a lot of us get to follow our dreams and interests. We are stuck in a typical 9-5 job, uninterested but keep doing it for the sake of our family. When someone dares to be different, we need not encourage them but can be without ridiculing their efforts. Ajith is just an example I took to drive home the point. Anyone who can leave their comfort zone has to be extremely courageous. Ajith surely is doing that right now.
Congrats to him for following his dream and hope that he has a wonderful season in Formula two this year.
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Ajith Kumar would want to put up a better show in the season opener at Silverstone next week.(Pic courtesy - Formulatwo.com)
The formula two season began this week with the testing at the Snetterton on 6th and 7th of April. This was the first chance for the new drivers to test out their cars ahead of the season opener on the 16th at Silverstone. The Indian drivers had mixed results at the testing as Armaan Ebrahim finished in top 5 but Parthiva Sureshwaran and Ajith Kumar were seen at the bottom of the standings at 20 and 22 respectively.
Armaan Ebrahim led the Indian charge at Snetterton with a 5th place finish
This was just the beginning of the season and both Ajith and Parthiva would want to quickly adapt to their cars and would want to give better performances in the season opener next week. The season gets underway with the Free Practice on the 16th and the eventual race on the 18th of April next week. Hope to see the Indian drivers put up a very good show in the first race of the season. I will surely be following their progress throughout the season.
It seems like motorsports will be my top priority this year with lots of Indian participation in both F1 and F2.
HRT elated as both drivers finish
Posted on: April 6, 2010
Karun Chandhok lead HRT finishes over the weekend at Sepang
Hispania Racing Team (HRT) achieved what they were set out to do in the Malaysian Grand Prix when both their drivers completed the race. Karun Chandhok finished his second race in a row and this was the first race finish for Bruno Senna. Both the drivers were very satisfied with the results.
Karun Chandhok who finished 15th at Sepang was very happy with the result.
Speaking after the race he said, “I am fantastically happy to have finished my second race today after our difficult debut in Bahrain. I kept out of trouble and pitted on lap 17. On lap 45, I had a tricky moment, passing Trulli’s Lotus. A great thank to the team who did a fantastic job. To finish was very difficult today but I am happy to have done it.”
Bruno Senna who completed his first race this season was really pleased with the efforts of the team to get both cars to finish.
“I had a good start and gained as much as I could. I am really pleased for the team to have finished the race with both cars. It has been another positive weekend for the team taking a good step forward.” , he said after the race.
The team Principal Collin Kolles was visibly elated as his team was able to finish both the cars only in their third race and was all praise for both the drivers.
“A fantastic day for the team completing our first two-car finish in only our third race, with no pre-season testing. Bruno Senna had a good start while Karun Chandhok had a bad one. But Karun could find a good pace then and both drivers had reliable races. Again we have made a great step forward. We reached our goal with two cars finishing the race. Congratulations to the team who worked again hard to achieve this result. Now we have to work on more developments for the next Grand Prix in China.”, he said.
So the HRT team has achieved their first goal but now would want to do better in the upcoming Chinese Grand Prix. Both the drivers would be confident with their cars after a good race at Sepang and would want to carry over the confidence to the rest of the season.
Karun Chandhok was absolutely delighted as he achieved the first finish for his team HRT in the Australian Grand Prix. He finished last in the race but a finish nonetheless for the Hispania Racing team. Karun who hit a bump and had to retire in the first race of the season seemed very satisfied with his efforts in Australia,
“A great thanks to the team. To finish was very difficult today, and all the more satisfying because of that. I dedicate this race result to all the mechanics and engineers who worked so hard since Bahrain, without any pre-season testing. This is a fantastic day for the team and a great step forward. I am proud to have ended our first race.”
He was confident that they will be able to finish higher in the races to come. His teammate Bruno Senna though wasn’t that lucky as he had to retire following a hydraulic failure. He was visibly frustrated but remained hopeful that his team would be able to finish both the cars next race.
“I didn´t intend my second Grand Prix to end with a hydraulic failure, but that´s racing. I made a good start and was in 14th after the big crash in front. It’s fantastic for the team to make it to the finish and we have got a great deal of data to work from for Malaysia. I hope we can finish with two cars next race.”
The next race begins in about 4 days in Malaysia and the HRT team will have their work cut out in getting both cars up and running. The fact that one of their drivers completed the race would give them much needed confidence for the remainder of the season. And as Senna said the team will be hoping for both the cars to finish in Malaysia.
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