The nation’s pioneer Formula One driver Narain Karthikeyan will reach the city on Thursday to inspect the Kowdiar - Palayam ‘racing track’ before the much-hyped demonstration drive planned on August 28 as part of the Onam celebrations organised by the Tourism Department.
Narain will arrive by Thursday night’s flight and will be here till Friday noon. According to Jose Pottamkulam, team principal of M&N Racing and a friend of Narain, the ace driver will carry out a walk along the Kowdiar- Palayam road, the proposed track, to check the road condition. This inspection will begin by 9 am and may last almost one-and-a-half hours.
Narain will walk all the way from Kowdiar Palace to Chandrasekharan Nair Stadium, the finishing point of the ‘race’.
“The schedule of Narain will start with a visit to the Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple on Friday morning. He will visit the temple as a guest of the Travancore royal family. After that, he will pay a visit to Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma at Pattom Palace. The inspection of the road will begin by 9 am,” Jose said.
The ‘race’ will most likely take place on August 28, in the afternoon. Since the official inauguration of the Onam celebrations is scheduled for 5 pm, the race will be held by 2 pm. ”The Onam festivities generally draw a big crowd. So, safety measures like barricades would be arranged so that the crowd won’t get in the way of the racing cars,” Jose said.
He added that the road has to be renovated at certain places to make it suitable for the race.
“Especially in front of Air India and Cafe Coffee Day, the road is a little rough and uneven. As Narain would be driving at a speed well above 300 km, the racing surface should be in perfect condition. So that issue has to be soon resolved,” Jose said.
As an icing on the cake, 30 show cars lined up by Cochin Motor Hub will be driven before the crowd. A vintage collection of cars and a bike stunt by Thiruvananthapuram-based Ghost Ryderz will also be organised during the festival.
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