Racing return for Karthikeyan
India's first Formula One driver is the latest big name to
sign up for a brand new stock car championship starting later
this year.
Former Jordan racer, and current Williams tester Narain Karthikeyan,
has been added to the growing list of motorsport stars that
will take part in the Speedcar Series, the competition that
will pit 24 identical 600bhp cars against each other on tracks
across Asia and the Middle East.
Karthikeyan is the first Asian driver to be announced as
a competitor in the championship, and promises to be a big
hit with Speedcar Series fans when he brings his flat-out
style to the competition, which starts later this year.
The 30-year-old is a single-seater veteran, having raced
across the world in Formula Three, Formula Nippon, and the
Dallara Nissan World Series, as well as Formula One, but can't
wait to try stock car racing, he said: "I am very much
looking forward to being a part of the new Speedcar Series,
it is obviously very competitive, with great names such as
Jean Alesi and Johnny Herbert, and it will be very exciting
to pit myself against these legends of Formula One.
"The winter series is perfect for me as I can concentrate
on Formula One, my main obligation, but also be a part of
a really serious racing series that keeps me competitive and
racing, my only ambition," he added.
His best Formula One result to date was fourth at the 2005
United States Grand Prix.
A host of drivers, including Jean Alesi, Johnny Herbert,
Stefan Johansson, and Gianni Morbidelli, were on hand to test
three of the new Speedcar Series cars at the Virginia International
Raceway, earlier this month.
The first season begins this coming November, and will run
until next April.
The series will be officially presented in Dubai later this
year.
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