Karthikeyan still has the mountain to climb

For the moment, every mountain is a challenge of opportunity for India's fastest man, Narain Karthikeyan. Perhaps one person who understands this best is his father, G.R. Karthikeyan. Part of his small entourage during the Bahrain Grand Prix recently, G.R. Karthikeyan tries to unravel the secret behind his talented son.

Gulf News: How did this all begin? Could you take us through the early stages of Narain's career and his love for racing?

G.R. Karthikeyan: Narain is the second of three children. The eldest is a daughter and the last one is a boy, who is 180 degrees as far as love for motorsport goes. When Narain was 13 or 14 years old, he turned up one day and told me he wanted to be a racing driver. He had decided on it and I knew it.

How did you react, more so because racing was such a distant sport for Indians then?

I was not too worried when he told me of his intention as I had been a rally driver myself. I had been active on the Indian racing scene from 1972 to 1980. For six years, our team had consistently won rallies all over India. So when he told me his resolve, I thought it was just one of those passing fancies and he would perhaps be able to get over it.

And did that happen? Did he change his mind about becoming a driver?

Not really. He was persistent. So I took the next best decision: I decided that it would be better if Narain gets properly trained as a driver. I took him to the Winfield Racing School [in France]. That was in 1992 and he was just 15 then.

My aim in taking him to France was two-fold: If he was so bent on doing it, then I wanted him to get properly trained and, secondly, I was hoping he would change his mind about taking up racing as a career after meeting and competing against some of the stronger drivers from the United States and Europe who were in France at that moment.

You must have been disappointed with what you saw there?

Oh yes, Narain never retracted on his resolve. Somehow he wanted to do it. He did not mind the sacrifices involved. His goal was constant. And at Winfield, there was no looking back as he kept on winning against all these drivers whom I thought would act as a deterrent to him. He simply stayed focused. Somehow, even at that young age, he knew what he wanted and where he wanted to go with his racing. Everything was so distant then, but today you can see for yourself how far he has come.

Coming to Formula One, do you think you can be pleased with what Narain has achieved?

Oh yes, as a father and someone who has stood by him, I am proud of what he has achieved. He had only one goal in mind and today he has achieved it. What more could I ask for as a father? In the racing, and considering the team [Jaguar] and the conditions that they are racing under, I think he is on the right track in scaling even greater heights.

How can you be so sure?

Narain has to be lauded for his perseverance. He has always been so sure of getting what he wants. Perhaps it has something to do with the generation he belongs to. Narain's generation of Indians have a lot of self-belief. They believe that we are as good as anyone else in the field, if not better. I remember him telling me that he could achieve the greatest achievements. Such is his confidence and self-belief.

What is Narain like as a son?

We are good friends. As a child, he needed our guidance till he was maybe 16 or 17 years old. After that, everything has changed. He is a son still, but he is closer as a friend. In fact, there are times when I go to him for advice, simply because this generation is so well informed about everything.

You mentioned earlier about Jaguar and the team?

We have to be realistic. On the Formula One circuit, there is a huge gap between the regular manufacturers teams like Ferrari, McLaren, BMW Williams and Toyota to name a few who have no cap on their budgets. So what happens to smaller teams like Jaguar, Minardi, Sauber Petronas and Red Bull? They, too, have to compete against these big teams despite these drawbacks. It is supposed to be one level playing field, and all teams are required to compete, budget or no budget.

So despite this major drawback of being in a small team, what can be the reason for Narain's confidence?

His confidence comes from the fact that he has nothing to lose really. This is the first season for Narain on the circuit. Take a look at his results so far, and we can be proud and satisfied that we are here at this moment. Another thing that goes hand in hand is the fact that Narain is yet to know most of the tracks on the circuit. This is a learning curve and he can only get better.

What about the pressure? Does that get to Narain?

No, there is no pressure at all for him. This is his first year. Look at the bio-data of the other drivers. They have been in competition for 10 years, if not more, and they are yet to even win a single race. You have to remember we have to still climb Mount Everest. We have only just begun.

There was some talk that Narain was a bit of a late starter in Formula One. Do you agree?

No, I don't think so. I strongly feel he is here at the right time. There's no turning back for him now. There was a time [before Narain joined the sport] when there were 250 million Indian fans watching Formula One. After Narain has come on the scene, another 300 million have started taking an interest in this sport.

After being with your son at such close quarters, what do you feel are the ingredients needed for being a top driver?

At this moment, firstly, one needs talent for the sport, and secondly and perhaps more importantly, one needs the right connections to get into one of the top teams.

What would be immediate goals for Narain?

For us, this year the agenda is clear: we have to finish all the races. The next aim would be to get a few points before the end of the season. He should concentrate on driving nicely so that he can attract the attention of one of the big teams.

FACTFILE

Name Narain Karthikeyan
Place of Birth Chennai, India
Date of Birth January 14, 1977
Residence Coimbatore, India

The Narain graph

1993 Formula Maruti India
Winner

1994 Formula Vauxhall Junior England
Half a season

1994 Formula 4 Winter Series England
Winner (won four and came second in the fifth in five-race series)

1995 Formula Asia India/Malaysia/China/Indonesia
3 podium finishes in 10 races, and that, too, in a second-hand car

1996 Team Marlboro
Won seven of the 12 races in the series along with another three podium finishes to be crowned Formula Asia Champion

1997 Formula 3 England
Half a season

1998 & 1999 Formula 3 England
Won a total of four races and another seven times on the podium in two years

2001 Formula Nippon Japan

2002-2004 Formula Nissan World Series
Won three times along with at least five podium finishes each year

2005 Formula One with Team Jaguar
Major sponsors Tata and Bharat Petroleum
Minor sponsors JK Tyres and Amaron Batteries