Asian Formula 2000

Never did Chitra ,Karun`s mother ,Suhail ,his brother & I ever imagine that our lives will change so rapidly ! The transition & the reality that this 17 year old will be moving to the UK  in a few months time in quest of his `career` is the hardest part for all of us - even as a motorsport family to accept .

Careful planning has started in terms of my 25 trips to the UK to oversee his F3 & also to balance his need to have his mother , brother & the rest of the family there as well to ensure that a homely atmosphere is prevelant . From the days of Sholavaram when I used to race a Formula 2 it was obvious that Karun was going down the same route just as my father had done before me .

The part of racing as a hobby was fine , but , when this podgy 94 Kgs decided to shed 26 Kgs , it was clear that this was to become a career path . Since I did not have any Formula Maruthi`s available with me last year , I put him into an Esteem . Remarkably , he qualified the car on pole 10 times out of 10 & won 7 races out of 10 thereby setting a new NATIONAL record in addition to the fastest laps in every race that he drove in ! !

Setting records has been Karun`s display of his abilities in the car . During the Formula Asia  championship ,he won 8 out of 14 races beating Narain`s record of 7. Out of the car , his ability to give a feedback asto what the car is doing has been his strength & this held him in good stead even at the F3 test  with the championship team of Carlin motorsport. Martin Stone & Trevor Carlin were impressed with his dedication & , will be monitoring Karun very carefully in his F3 endeavours Karun had the tremendous advantage of being from a motorsport family coupled with Akbar Ebrahim as a driver coach whom I had previously had the privilege of training & his abilities in his field are the strongest available in this country. Patrick Roberts (Paddy) as a race engineer put in a massive effort for Team India / JK Tyres to win the Team championship as well . Having been associated with me for over 18 years , he understood the standards that I had set  instantly & lived upto beyond them . Karun`s association with him from the days of h Paddy bringing him `diapers` played a major role in the `environment ` which is the most important factor in motorracing.

The budgets for this year would probably exceed 25 million rupees with it going up to almost double for the next . I look at it as an investment that Karun wants to make which hopefully will generate returns in the future Karun has got a major support from JK Tyres who are the only sponsors in this country to have spotted International Talent  first with Hari Singh being the 1st Asia Zone Rally Champion , Narain being a Formula Asia / Formula Ford winter series champ & India`s 1 st Formula 1 driver internationally & now Karun who is India`s youngest reigning National Champion & & & the youngest Formula Asia champ. With the personal involvement of Mr. Raghupathi Singhania , Mr. Vikram Singhania & `HARDY UNCLE` Sanjay Sharma they have been his pillars of strength .Further , he has the unstinted support from the UB group thru my old racing friend Vijay Mallya, thru Mr. Adimoolam MD of Ucal Mikuni & the Chairman S. Muthukrishnan who is also the chairman of the Madras Motor Sports Club, thru Ms. Chanchala Gupta of TRAXX alloy wheels ,thru Mr. KJ Ramaswamy ,chairman & Deepak Ramaswamy director of ICSA Logistics (incidentally Karun`s granduncle & uncle) & a new addition of PARX with the support of the chairman Gautam Singhania . ALL his sponsors have an immense pride in TEAM  INDIA  & the fact that at this very young age Karun has done so much & will continue to back him in addition to a few new sponsors as well .

It is a long road ahead & he thankfully realises this himself. His routine of working out in the MCC club Gym for 5 - 6 hours coupled with reading & watching footage of various races & tracks takes up most of his time . Academically , after his excellent results in his ISC exams this year , he is taking a 1 year sabatical to pursue his racing. Being a strict vegetarian ,His careful diet planning is done entirely by his mother & most of his entertainment comes from his younger brother Suhail who with a priority on cricket enjoys the `ANNA` ragging ! ( Elder brother in Tamil )

I have reconciled myself to the fact of my travelling & trying to balance Madras & the UK ! ! Nobody can predict anything in the world of motorracing but , in my 30 years of being there , you can definitely achieve when you decide that nothing will stop you from dealing with only the best - be it in terms of sponsors , teams & hardware . 3 years max  will decide as to whether or not that pinnacle ; that alluring world of Formula 1 has a seat reserved for our Youngest International Champion ! !