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FORMULA 3: Narain dominates Korea Super Prix

27 November 2000

Posted By Terry Callahan
Motorsports Editor, The Auto Channel
Changwon, Korea--The fastest Asian in the world, Narain Karthikeyan, moved a step closer to Formula 1, after emerging as champion, in the 2000 INTERNATIONAL FORMULA 3 KOREA SUPER PRIX, held here earlier today.

The Indian Formula 3 ace bettered the efforts of current Wlliams regular and Formula 1 ace Jenson Button who finished second in Korea last year. The entry in the seond Korea Formula 3 Super Prix, has all the hallmarks of being a classic showdown between the future stars of Formula One. Of particular note this year, there are thirty drivers from fifteen different nations, each of whom, on their day can be a winner.

The INDIAN sensation, supported by Kingfisher, J K Tyres, Amaron, Ford, Sify.Com, Mobil and Tata, conquered Korea with his consistent speed, after taking pole position on Saturday. The Carlin Motorsport racer Karthikeyan led both legs of the event from the green lights to the chequered flag. Karthikeyan had too much wheelspin at the start of the race, which allowed front-row starter Tiago Monteiro to challenge him into the first corner. But the Indian driver stayed in front and soon pulled away, establishing a comfortable lead, before easing off and controlling the race.

Determined after missing out in Macau, Karthikeyan pulled out all stops and displayed immense grit to take his Dallara Mugen to the first place on the victory podium. A much-relieved Karthikeyan, said after his victorious effort:

"In the first couple of laps, my car was working very well, so I worked really hard to get the gap up to about three and a half seconds. The only problem was that on the second or third lap I hit a patch of oil and got out of shape, but other than that it was fine."

Portuguese star Tiago Monteiro held second from the start to the finish. "I would really like to thank the team for giving me a good car for the race, because I had to resist a lot of pressure from the guys behind me," he said afterwards.

"I'am very happy to have won this extremely prestigious event. This will do a lot for my recognition and for the popularity of motorsports in India. I'am delighted, and I thank my sponsors for their support" Final Qualifying Earlier, the Changwon city circuit saw Narain storming to pole position after qualifying for the International Formula Three Korea Super Prix. Driving his Carlin Motorsport Dallara Mugen, Karthikeyan secured his second front-row start in as many weeks after taking pole and lap records for the Macau Grand Prix last weekend. He set a best lap of 1m 10.491s in a tense and exciting day of qualifying which was punctuated by a number of incidents. In the final reckoning, the top 17 racers were covered by just one second, but Karthikeyan drove with superb control and was always at the sharp end of the grid.

The Indian driver said: "I was very happy with the car today. We made a few minor improvements after the first qualifying session, which allowed me to go quicker in the afternoon. It is very important to be on pole here because there are not many places which are good for overtaking." Narain's sponsors have highly lauded his achievement and said "we will cheer you to Formula One"

INTERNATIONAL FORMULA 3 KOREA SUPER PRIX COMBINED QUALIFYING RESULT

Pos.DriverNatCarTime 1N. KarthikeyanINDDallara F300 Mugen Honda1m 10.491s 2T. MonteiroPORDallara F300 Sodemo Renault1m 10.497s 3J. CochetFRADallara F399 Sodemo Renault1m 10.598s 4T. SatoJPNDallara F399 Mugen Honda1m 10.624s 5G. BruniITADallara F300 Mugen Honda1m 10.782s 6P. SundbergSWEDallara F300 Opel Spiess1m 10.818s 7S. PhilippeFRADallara F399 Sodemo Renault1m 10.889s 8P. MontinITADallara F300 Opel Spiess1m 10.907s 9P. FriesacherAUTDallara F399 Spiess Opel1m 10.974s 10R. FukudaJPNDallara F399 Sodemo Renault1m 11.036s FINAL RACE RESULTS, 25 LAPS - top 10 positions 1 Narain Karthikeyan (Dallara F300 Honda Mugen) 30m05.899s 2 Tiago Monteiro (Dallara F300 Renault Sodemo) +02.896s 3 Gianmaria Bruni (Dallara F300 Honda Mugen) +11.783s 4 Patrick Friesacher (Dallara F399 Spiess Opel) +16.218s 5 Peter Sundberg (Dallara F300 Opel Spiess) +19.850s 6 Andre Couto (Dallara F399 Opel Spiess) +23.494s 7 Tomas Scheckter (Dallara F399 Opel Spiess) +24.193s 8 Takuma Sato (Dallara F399 Honda Mugen) +24.745s 9 Sebastien Philippe (Dallara F399 Renault Sodemo) +26.830s 10 Enrico Toccacelo (Dallara F300 Opel Spiess) +27.010s

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