Indian F1 Driver Narain Kathikeyan to be on Grid for Indian Grand Prix after Acquiring Sponsor

Narain Kathikeyan, India’s first F1 driver has been given the go ahead to drive for the Hispania Racing Team (HRT) at the inaugural Indian Grand Prix after two-wheeler giant Hero Group agreed a sponsorship deal for him and the team.

The sponsorship is coming through the group’s auto-part manufacturing subsidiary Hero Motors and both Kathikeyan and the HRT car will bear a Hero Motors logo during the race.

Hero Motors is the third Indian company after Tata Motors and Base Batteries to associate with HRT Cosworth, which is still to register a point on the F1 table. HRT is lying at 11th spot on constructors standings just above Virgin Cosworth, which is the at the bottom of the table.

Hero Motors MD Pankaj Munjal, who signed the agreement with the Chennai-based driver at a media briefing, made the point that the deal is restricted to just the Indian GP, scheduled for 28-30 October.

While no details on the financials were offered, except for Munjal to remark that F1 is “a very expensive sport”, it is said to be worth upwards of $100,000.

Commenting on the association, Munjal said that F1 reaches more than 500 million viewers globally and will give Hero Motors a global spread.

“Hero Motors is committed to be amongst the first Indian corporate houses to compete in the Indian Grand Prix and we are indeed very proud to be associated with Narain Karthikeyan and Hispania Racing Team,” Munjal said.

“The alliance with the HRT will provide a unique platform for the group to communicate its extensive of competencies to a global audience. The association with Narain Karthikeyan and HRT team has a lot of synergies in our core values for which we are known for and truly reflects our commitment towards excellence, speed, growth & innovation.

“We operate in global markets as a truly home grown global corporate house and it gives us immense pleasure to endorse Narain Karthikeyan who is also the first Indian F1 driver who has made his presence felt at an early age of 19 years.”