Cheever tests Karthikeyan.
Former British Formula 3 race winner and Formula One test driver Narain Karthikeyan became the first Indian driver to test an IRL IndyCar last week when he completed a rain-affected one-day test for the Red Bull Cheever Racing team.
Currently competing in the Formula Nissan World Series with RC Motorsport, the 27 year-old continued to expand his already versatile background with his first taste of an American Open Wheel oval racer and a place in the 2005 IRL IndyCar Series with Cheever's team is not out of the question due to his connections with sponsors Red Bull.
Former British Formula 3 race winner and Formula One test driver Narain Karthikeyan became the first Indian driver to test an IRL IndyCar last week when he completed a rain-affected one-day test for the Red Bull Cheever Racing team.
Currently competing in the Formula Nissan World Series with RC Motorsport, the 27 year-old continued to expand his already versatile background with his first taste of an American Open Wheel oval racer and a place in the 2005 IRL IndyCar Series with Cheever's team is not out of the question due to his connections with sponsors Red Bull.
Dodging some very un-Phoenix like weather, Karthikeyan completed 60 laps of the one-mile Phoenix International Raceway under the supervision of team engineer Iain Watt. Although no times were made available, Watt was pleased with how the test went.
"Narain was a pleasure to work with during his test," Watt said. "He was eager to learn and improve upon each lap, and absorbed a wealth of information from our engineering staff."
During the final round of the 2004 IRL IndyCar Series Championship at the Texas Motor Speedway, team owner Cheever said that his team would 'definitely have two cars, possibly three' in 2005 with the third driver likely to come from the huge Red Bull Junior program, which Karthikeyan is part of.
"The addition of road course races to the Indy Racing League calendar next year is attracting drivers of all different racing backgrounds," managing director Max Jones said. "It's great for the League to be generating even more international interest. We really enjoyed meeting Narain and were happy to give him the opportunity to test one of our race cars."
The son of a former Indian National Rally Champion, Karthikeyan's racing career began in the ELF Winfield Racing School in France and includes stints in British Formula Ford, Formula Asia, three years in the British Formula 3 Championship, Formula Nippon in Japan and the Nissan World Series. His previous tests with Formula 1 teams Jordan and Jaguar placed his name in history as the first Indian to test a Formula 1 car
