NEW DELHI, SEPT 14: Narain Karthikeyan, British Formula-3 driver, flew down from the UK today to attend a conference organised by his sponsors, JK Tyres, here today. Adding to the glitter was Parthiva Sureshwaren, the latest addition to JK Tyres' list, and considered a promising prospect. Rallyists Hari Singh, Nikhil Taneja, Aditya Jaiswal and Manik Rakhi were there too, making a stopover on their way to Kochi.``Narain is here to stay,'' Steve Hollman, Karthikeyan's international PR manager, said with confidence. ``If you ask me, he is good enough to drive Formula-1 tomorrow, but there are other things besides talent that count.'' Hollman feels a lot of `politics' is involved while including a driver in the F-1 list. ``There are fewer F-1 drivers than Presidents in the world. The competition is very stiff."Yet, he visualised Karthikeyan making it to the F-1 circuit within a couple of years. The Indian, Hollman said, had turned Carline Motorsports into a winning team. ``Some of his races have been amazing, like the one Kartikeyan won at Brands Hatch this year.'' He can't remember even Damon Hill winning a British Formula-3 race.He talks of the interest Karthikeyan has generated among English motorsport followers and the praises that have been heaped on him by the media. ``The boy has the temperament to do well.''Another Asian driver doing well is Alex Jung of Malaysia. However, Jung has received a grant of 1.75 million pounds from the Malaysian government. ``That is the kind of support Karthikeyan should receive in India,'' Hollman said.Karthikeyan, though very much at home on the fast lane, was uneasy while facing the limelight. ``Um..aha..I am happy to be doing well for India..It is very unusual for an Indian to win in Europe,'' he stuttered, eyes narrowing to slits as flashbulbs went off continuously at his face.Young Suresh showed more confidence behind the mike, but he too had to end his brief speech with an embarrassed smile as he ran out of words. Hari Singh, a veteran in rally, congratulated Karthikeyan on his recent successes and wished Suresh would do equally well.JK Tyres, for their part, announced their plans for six new circuits across the country. ``We aim to make motorsport popular in India,'' Sanjay `Hardy' Sharma, head of motorsports at JK Tyres gushed.
