Narain has a wild date in Sydney

SYDNEY, January 31: As speculation rages on whether we will see Narain Karthikeyan back in a Formula One car again, vis-a-vis the Spice Energy interest to buy Honda’s ‘B’ team - the Super Aguri, the man himself seemed unflustered. The Force India snub too hasn’t dampened his spirits. In fact, he was more determined and as focused he could be at the immediate job at hand - that of guiding A1 India’s fortunes in Sydney, round six of the A1 GP, the World Cup of Motorsport.But before he could get on with the racing, the pre-event PR activity had to be done with. And it is for the first time Narain agreed to part of the event, which had even the A1 GP officials quite surprised. On a bright and wonderful Thursday morning, the man from Coimbatore rolled out at 8.30 am sharp for the bus ride from Parramatta to downtown Sydney. Sitting in a bus for 40 minutes can be taxing and he would rather be in a race car, but the speed king soaked in the beautiful sights along the 25km stretch to the business capital. And apart from a bus ride, he had to contend with animals! A1 Australia driver John Martin, Brazil’s Sergio Jimenez and rookie driver Clemente Jr, Great Britain’s Robbie Kerr (rookie driver James Winslow went scuba diving at Manly’s Oceanworld), Lebanon’s Khalil Beschir and Chris Alajajian and our man himself had a date with some of the country’s most dangerous creatures at the Sydney Wildlife World across the beautiful Darling Harbour. Apart from the drivers, Australian soul singer Jade MacRae ‘handled’ these animals. The boys from Lebanon, especially enjoyed their tryst with the mammoth Olive Python and the creepy Shingleback.But Narain would have none of that. The 30-year-old is allergic to creatures and kept a good distance from them. ‘‘Can’t handle them,’’ he grimaced before adding, ‘‘I wouldn’t want to see them anywhere near a race track!’’ The only one he ever got close to was the Koala bear, as the little one enjoyed its nap on a tree branch. No Parthiva this weekendParthiva Sureshwaren will not be undertaking rookie duties for A1 India this race weekend as he is held up in India due to personal commitments. Chief Operating Officer Yohann Setna said though it was a setback, everything was on track and wouldn’t hamper the team’s preparations.