Calling for the following of road rules by vehicle users, ace Indian Formula-One driver Narain Karthikeyan said that driving on Indian roads have become more dangerous than the race tracks.

Contrary to his fast-paced life on the race tracks, Coimbatore-based Narain, who was interacting with the members of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), Airport Sector, at the Coimbatore International Airport on Wednesday, said that it was high time that people followed road rules.

The 39-year-old racing sensation from Coimbatore, who represented the country at the top motor sport events all over the world, shared his past experiences and answered a few questions raised by the CISF personnel.

Explaining how hard was it for a 14-year-old from Coimbatore to enter the world of racing, which was largely dominated by “white race,” Narain described how he had to stay away from his family in Coimbatore to train in a small village in Europe.

“Staying alone at a very young age of 14 teaches many lessons, so that you create a strong mental resolve and fight to compete at the high level,” he added.

Sharing how he had to lose 4 kilos to adapt to the heavier tyres which are now being used in racing, Narain also added that one should always put 110 percent to keep winning and succeeding in life.

“The small sacrifices that we make go on to make us a successful human being in the field we are in,” said Narain.
Commenting on the sparse involvement of women in racing, Narain said that women’s involvement in the sport is increasing and will certainly happen in the coming days. “This has been a male-dominated sport for a long time. I hope things change for good and more women get involved as women are no less than men,” Narain opined.

Calling Coimbatore “a city with a good racing culture,” Narain said that it was indeed his father and the racing culture in Coimbatore that motivated him to become a racer. “Coimbatore has produced some good racers in the past fifty years. It will continue to do so in the future too,” he said.

Talking about the liberalization of the sport, which is largely targeted at the elite class of the society, Narain also added that efforts are being made in making the sport more accessible so that even less opportune talents endorse the game.

Later, during the day, the children of CISF personnel performed various cultural programmes with the CISF employees themselves singing a special song.

Deputy Commandant of CISF ASG, Asheesh Kumar also participated in the event.