‘The Flying Taurus’ is at it again; FIA F-2 beckons popular star Ajith
We at India in F1.com know him best as the Flying Taurus! The South Indian film star and motor racing enthusiast, Ajith Kumar is all set to take part in this year’s FIA Formula 2 Championship. This will be his third season in International racing. After his 2003 Debut in the Formula BMW Asia Championship, where he qualified 4th and finished 6th for his best result in the Korean leg, he entered the British Formula 3 Scholarship Class in 2004, where he scored two podium finishes.
Chennai, 24 March 2010: South Indian film star and motor racing enthusiast, Ajith Kumar is all set to take part in this year’s FIA Formula 2 Championship. This will be his third season in International racing after his 2003 Debut in the Formula BMW Asia Championship, where his best results were in Korea (Qualified 4th and finished 6th) and the 2004 races in British Formula 3 Scholarship Class, where he scored two podium finishes.
Ajith feels that the time is ripe for providing a much-needed impetus to the motor racing scene in India considering a few interesting developments in the sporting activity. While ace driver Narain Karthikeyan was the first Indian to get into Formula 1, he is now closely followed by Karun Chandhok who is racing in Formula 1 this year. In Formula 2, apart from Ajith Kumar, there are two other Indians in the fray – Armaan Ebrahim and Parthiva Sureshwaran. All this, Ajith feels, will induce more Indian youngsters to take to the sport. In the Indian racing scene, apart from the established JK Tyre series, in recent times, we have seen MRF also entering with their own Formula racing series. Volkswagen is introducing a new series of saloon car racing with its Polo cars.
“I have the confidence of achieving some success in this year’s FIA Formula 2 European Championships. I have already done some testing in Malaysia recently and am looking forward to more practice runs in Snetterton & Silverstone before the event kicks off on April 16th. I hope my participation along with the other two Indians, Armaan Ebrahim and Parthiva Sureshwaran will create the right amount of interest in the sport in India,” says Ajith Kumar.
F2 Series Director Jonathan Palmer said: “I am delighted to welcome Ajith to F2. To have a well known Indian film star who has demonstrated such ambition now racing in F2 is very exciting for the championship, and I really admire Ajith’s determination and enthusiasm. Paul Newman demonstrated that international celebrities can be competitive in international motorsport – and late in his career. Ajith, on the other hand, is several years younger than both Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello. The F2 team and other drivers look forward to giving maximum support to help Ajith become increasingly competitive.”
His professional approach to racing, as much as his involvement in films, is to be seen as a much-needed impetus to motorsports, especially in view of impending Formula 1 event expected to take place in India in 2011. Towards this end and based on his decision to turn a professional racer and make it a career alongside his acting profession, Ajith Kumar has hired the services of Eurasia Motorsport Management, the UK run by Piers Hunnisett to handle all his international motor racing activities and manage his racing career. Ajith’s foray into F2 would not have been possible without the help and support of Jonathan Palmer, Piers Hunnisett and Narain Karthikeyan.
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