Narain Karthikeyan to shake off rust in Singapore

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In a bid to shake off rust before his dream drive at the Indian Grand Prix, Narain Karthikeyan will be in action at the Friday practise session of the Singapore Grand Prix next weekend.

Narain’s Hispania Racing Team have also confirmed that the 34-year-old will be behind the wheel for the inaugural Indian GP on October 30.

Narain is also hoping to land a driver at the Japanese GP to be held on October 9. “In an ideal scenario, I would love to race at Suzuka as a precursor to the Indian GP. I have driven there a numerous times during my Formula Nippon days. It would keep me in good stead ahead of home event,” said the Coimbatore racer.

Narain lost his HRT drive to Red Bull protege Daniel Ricciardo before Silverstone, but Narain remained confident of regaining the seat for inaugural race in India. “It's a great feeling to be driving on a grand prix weekend once again and on the subject of my home event, the team had assured me that I'd be driving when I stepped out of my seat after the European GP,” explained Narain, who did a Friday session at the Nurburgring in July.

The 90-minute session will be Narain’s first experience of driving at the Singapore street circuit under lights. “It will definitely be a challenge and I'll have to get to grips with it quickly. From what I know, it is a very demanding race physically, not only because of the temperatures and humidity but also being a high-speed street circuit it is extremely bumpy. Like any other street circuit, grip builds up through the weekend and car-setup will have to be constantly evolved to get the best out of it,” said Narain.

Narain has a key role to play in the Friday practise especially with HRT bringing some updates on the aero side like a modified engine cover and a new underfloor. “The team is hoping that the updates will
help us to close the gap to our rivals Lotus and Virgin,” he added.

HRT boss Colin Kolles said the Singapore outing is to ensure Narain a decent track time ahead of Indian GP. “It is great to have Narain back in the car. He is the best driver to come out of the region and is undoubtedly extremely talented as he has proved through his progress this season,” Kolles added.