By Anand Philar, IANS
Chennai : In June this year, Velappan Rajendran Naren Kumar will become the first Indian ever to take part in the World Rally Championship (P-WRC).
The 33-year-old from Coimbatore joined a select club of Indians who have carved a niche for themselves at the highest levels of international motor sport when he signed up to drive in the production class category of the WRC in a Subaru.
It is another landmark for the Indian motor sport that in recent times has seen the country move from being a mere pinhead to a force to reckon with on the international stage.
In 2004, Narain Karthikeyan became the first Indian to drive a Formula One car.
Last year, India got on to the Formula One grid when liquor baron Vijay Mallay, along with Dutch businessman Michiel Mol, bought over Spyker and renamed it as Force India.
In the same year, Karun Chandhok test-drove for Red Bull Racing F1 team after scoring a historic win at Spa in a GP2 race.
Naren Kumar is scheduled to drive in six of the eight rounds, beginning with Greece (May 30-June 1), followed by Turkey (June 13-15), Finland (Aug 1-3), New Zealand (Aug 29-31), Japan (Oct 24-26) and Great Britain (Nov 28-30). Naren is still to decide on his co-driver.
Tommi Makinen, a former world champion from Finland, will be preparing the 300 bhp Subaru.
“I will be doing some testing in Finland and may even bring the car to India, perhaps in April, so that I can practice here in Coimbatore,” Naren told IANS from his hometown.
“Of course, I am terribly excited since the deal was struck just when I had virtually given up hopes of doing the P-WRC despite a good performance in England last year when I test drove a Subaru.
“I am hopeful of a strong performance in the P-WRC, though realistically, the 2008 series will be a steep learning curve for me,” he said.
Naren, the six-time Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) winner, is not new to international rallying. Driving for Team MRF, he won the Asian Zone title in 2001 and the following year, took part in three rounds of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC).
Last year, he entered the APRC as a privateer (private entry) and came away with two podium finishes and was fifth in the overall championship standings.
“Last year was a bit difficult. I knew I had the pace, but did not have the car that was really competitive. In view of budget constraints, I could not put in as much testing as I would have liked to and also went easy on the spares and equipment, especially the tyres. But overall, I was quite satisfied with my performance given the circumstances,” Naren said.
Known for his speed, car control and clean lines through the corners, Naren is undoubtedly among the best rally drivers India has produced.
In the recent years, he has not had much of a competition on the domestic front to the extent that he thought it was time he moved forward.
“Honestly, rallying in India does not motivate me any more. I know I have the talent and the only way I will know how good I am is by taking part in international events. This is what is driving me today and though I know it is an expensive proposition, I am sure that with adequate sponsorship, I am good enough to look at the P-WRC,” he said.
On his preparations, Naren said: “I am back at the gym and obviously, have to forego a few goodies like partying and stuff. The best part of my sponsorship deal is that I don’t have to worry about anything and focus only on my rallying. It is just fantastic that an Indian company (SIDVIN) should provide me with a full sponsorship. I just don’t have the words to describe my feelings.”
SIDVIN, a Bangalore-based software company with a strong presence in Europe, had part-sponsored Naren’s participation in the APRC series, but decided to back him fully for the 2008 P-WRC campaign.