Chennaiites race to the Malaysian Grand Prix

CHENNAI: Narasimhan Subramanian has formulated the perfect plan. After his flight from Chennai lands at the Kuala Lampur International Airport, he's going to quickly freshen up at the airport and then head to his dream destination the Sepang International Circuit, home to the Malaysian Grand Prix 2009. Similarly, many Chennaiites are making the trip across the ocean to watch Kimi Raikonen and Lewis Hamilton, amongst others, bust it out on the race track."When the first Formula 1 Grand Prix was inaugurated in Malaysia in 1999, I knew my wish to watch the event LIVE would become a reality," says Subramanian, who heads an advertising agency in the city.
For many of these avid F1 fans, this is not the first time that they are travelling across the globe to watching a Grand Prix live. Samtani, managing director of Stereo Vision, has attended eight Grand Prix, four of which were in Malaysia. "I've been to six races all over the world in Malaysia, UK, Singapore and Germany," says Leela Krishnan, former rally racer and Formula 3 champion in 1992. He is also the technical director (cars) for the Bangalore-based Red Rooster Racing team which will be taking part in the Formula BMW Pacific Series also held with the Grand Prix. Rohan Karat, an IT professional, will be watching an F1 race for the second time. "My first one was in Singapore last year and it was brilliant. I knew I had to come back," he says.
Recent reports have stated that most of the racers aren't very happy with the Malaysian track, since it is too hot. Subramanian says one can't complain about the weather, especially in a tropical country like Malaysia. "I agree it can get extremely hot, but at the end of the day, this track is one of the best it has long stretches, nice curves and is perfect for Formula 1," he adds.
Rajan Syal, CEO of Federation of Motor Sports Club of India is not attending the event this year, but adds that the Malaysian track is spectator-friendly. However, he thinks the event has come at the wrong time for Indians. "It is exam time for the children and the end of the financial year," he adds. Samtani feels that things can get stifling on the track. "If we think it's hot as a spectator, it'll be worse for the driver. Temperatures are supposed to go over 55 degrees," he says.
Ferrari seems to be these race fans' favourite and most of them are looking forward to watching BMWs, McLarens and Ferraris zoom around the track. "The sound of an F1 car is akin to a jet engine. On TV, it all looks so easy, it doesn't capture the excitement of seeing it at the venue," says Subramanian. Karat adds that the smell of rubber and the vroom' of the cars complete the ambience. However, Krishnan prefers catching the action on TV. "The noise and all the hype is exciting at first, but I prefer watching it on TV. Sitting at the track gives you only a view of what's in front of you," he says. Samtani adds that purists should watch it on TV. "But if you want to have fun with other petrol-heads this is the best event to watch together," he says.
lakshmi.kumaraswami@timesgroup.com