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Stalwarts of India's Motorsports - Part 1

Although, the first Indian Road Race was held in 1904, by the Motor Union of Western India, motorsports in India took a long time to find a fan following. The first racing event covered a distance of 810 miles, from Delhi to Mumbai. And once India got the taste of motor racing there was no looking back.

In recent years, India is finally making its presence known on the Formula One circuits. We have seen a lot of developments in the recent past and Formula racing is becoming more common. In 2005, Narain Karthikeyan raced for Jordan F1 team and became the first Indian ever to participate in the F1 Championship. Then emerged our very own Indian team in 2007, Force India. There was another moment of joy when recently Formula One Team Hispania selected Karun Chandhok to race for the team. And very recently, Narain Karthikeyan was selected to race for the NASCAR.

Let us take a look at the Indian drivers who have made a mark in the history of motor racing.

Sundaram Kariwardhan

Born on 20 June 1954 in Coimbatore, Kariwardhan showed a keen interest in bikes and cars from his early age. His first race happened during 1973, in the Sholavaram Grand Prix meet and later he appeared every year in the newly constructed formula cars from his own garage. He raced until 1995, the year he died while flying a Puspak trainers aircraft.

His racing car range included Premier Padmini, Datsun 510, Sipani Dolphin, Formula Atlantic, several cars of his own design and in the final years Formula 3 cars. His last race was in a Formula Ford, in McDowell's body shell in Chennai's MMSC track.

Apart from Sholavaram he also raced in Calcutta'S Barrackpore Track and in Delhi.

Nazir Hoosein

Nazir Hoosein started his racing career in 1968 and gained much success. In 1980, Hoosein founded the Himalayan Rally Association and also started the Himalayan Rally, which runs across the highest mountains in the north of India. Dissatisfied with the way motorsport was being handles in India, he founded the Indian Automotive Racing Club. Later, he also then helped in the forming of the Federation of Motor Sport Clubs of India (FMSCI). He became President of the FMSCI in 1984.

As a member of the candidacy list of Max Mosley, Hoosein was elected a Vice President of the FIA for Sport in 2005. Later he was appointed as the chief steward of the World Rally Championship. He has also been a race steward for Formula One events.

N Leelakrishnan

One of the well recognised names in the Indian motor sports fraternity, N Balakrishnan was born in 1964 and started his career in 1984. He is the 7 times winner of the Indian National Rally Championship. He is also won the Formula 3 Championship in 1992. He is one of the best sources for technical knowledge and has been associated with the technical direction of the Red Rooster initiative.

J. Anand

J. Anand started his racing career in the 1980's when he entered Sholavaram as a racing prodigy with his race-tuned Maruti 800. Later, he also won a number of races in Formula Maruti class. At the same time, he joined S. Karivardhan's Team Super Speeds. Later he joined Team MRF and became its number one driver in a matter of little time. He has also won a number of Formula 3 races and championships on the Sholavaram and Irrugattukottai tracks for Team MRF. Apart from these, he has taken part in the famous Karnataka 1000 Rally in the 80's with Team MRF's in-house designed Mayura C sedan car fitted again with its own 16-valve DOHC gasoline engine.

Vicky Chandhok

Father of the famous racing driver, Karun Chandhok, Vicky Chandhok started his racing career during the 1980's. Later, he went on to manage the Wallace Sports and Research Foundation (Team WSRF), a team that has been instrumental in promoting a lot of junior racing talent in India. Formerly, he has held a senior member position at the Federation of Motorsport Clubs of India, the governing body for motorsport in India.

Vicky Chandhok is currently the Chairman of FMSCI - Race four wheeler and Karting commission and a high-profile personality in International motor sport.

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