Narain Karthikeyan: Up and running

After the disappointment of not being able to convert a second place starting position into a top three finish in the opening round, Narain Karthikeyan has gotten his Super Formula campaign going with a double points finish at Fuji which ran two 120 km races instead of one 240 km race that is the norm.

The series in its new avatar features machinery using 2.0 litre, four-cylinder, turbocharged engines with a contingency to use Formula 1 style energy recovery and the cars even sport a Drag Reduction System (DRS).

Karthikeyan was able to finish seventh and sixth while his teammate Joao Paulo de Oliveira winning the first race and finishing second in the second.

Going up against Oliveira is a tricky situation for Karthikeyan given that the Brazilian won the Super Formula title in 2010 (when it was known as Formula Nippon), the All Japan Formula Three title in 2005 as well as the German Formula Three title in 2003.

Outqualifying him in the opening round at Suzuka was definitely a big deal for Karthikeyan although the 37-year-old who is known for his aggression on track got involved in an incident that put paid to any chances of a podium.

At Fuji, however, there was no big headline performance in either qualifying or the two races. Just some hard slogging to score points and create a platform from which to score some podiums.

It’s a modus operandi those following Karthikeyan would be familiar with. A slow start with a strong finish. It was a trend that played out in his A1 GP and Auto GP campaigns and the hope is that he will get up and running for his foray into the fastest single seat racing series outside of F1.

Given that Karthikeyan has admitted he may not have much time left in single seaters, time is of the essence.