It would be something to see India's only two racing drivers with Formula 1 experience race each other and two younger drivers in equally prepared, high-performance Audi sportscars at the country's first and only F1-grade circuit.
The possibility was raised by JK Tyre's motorsport chief Sanjay Sharma, whose company is one of the sponsors of the Sidvin Festival of Speed that is being held at the Buddh International Circuit at Greater Noida this weekend.
The only catch is that Narain Karthikeyan, who had been expected to confirm his participation against Karun Chandhok, Armaan Ebrahim and Aditya Patel, has not even been contacted on the matter.
Karthikeyan admitted as much when contacted by HT, raising doubts of a possible face-off between the four racing drivers, who currently have the highest profile in Indian motorsport.
The race is not intended to be serious competition. Instead, just a friendly contest between those involved for the entertainment of the spectators expected at the event that is expected to host 14 races and feature over 100 drivers in various series and championships.
It is believed that due to Jaguar, which is owned by Karthikeyan's primary sponsor TATA, and Audi being in direct competition with each other in the luxury sports car segment, Karthikeyan's participation in such an event is highly doubtful even if he had been contacted with regards to it.
{{/usCountry}}It is believed that due to Jaguar, which is owned by Karthikeyan's primary sponsor TATA, and Audi being in direct competition with each other in the luxury sports car segment, Karthikeyan's participation in such an event is highly doubtful even if he had been contacted with regards to it.
{{/usCountry}}Karthikeyan will, however, be present at the circuit both today and on Sunday due to his involvement with the MRF Formula 2000 series. The HRT F1 driver was heavily involved in testing the carbon-fibre chassis car built by Dallara that made its racing debut in a support event for the Indian Grand Prix last month.