Ten years from now, Indian motorsport will look down from its inevitable high to the year 2006 as the pivot that changed the fortunes of the sport.
Tighten your seat-belts because the road ahead for Indian motorsport looks promising, writes Sukhwant Basra.
Ten years from now, Indian motorsport will look down from its inevitable high to the year 2006 as the pivot that changed the fortunes of the sport. July has been especially crucial. Narain Karthikeyan launched what promises to be the first professional racing team. A more significant development was the FIA's insistence on ending the fight between the two rival bodies for control of motorsport in India — FMSCI and MAI.
September 1 is the day of deliverance. That is the gospel from that maverick old boys club FIA which now wants India to have one motorsports association under Vijay Mallya by the stipulated date.
The second development found cursory interest in the press even as Narain got splashed. That is the power of the One. India's pioneer into F1 is the beginning and the end of Indian motorsport in the mind share of the sports lover. The rallying, the karting, racing and the biking, all are mere blips that scarcely register.
But September 1 holds out like a beacon. There is a lot of hope riding on that date, also a lot of dreams. Till now sponsors have shied away on account of the controversy. “I am sure they have. Big brands are willing to invest in motorsport, they just need a stable platform,” asserts Narain.
From rally drivers earning to the tune of 20 lakh plus in the late 90s, the present lot felt lucky if they got a free drive. That happened in the wake of the formation of MAI. Then FMSCI had exclusive control over two-wheelers but chose to howl at losing the bigger pie instead of looking to promote the sport in what is one of the world's largest two-wheel markets. “Their only involvement is in giving the license after a fee of Rs 50,000 per race and sending stewards. They do nothing else,” says Akbar Ebrahim who organises the Ucal Rolon national bike racing.
Thus Mallya is being looked at as a messiah — the one who will lead the flock to speed salvation. There is skepticism from those who point out that he has been joint chairman of the two bodies for the last six years already and he did show a lot of interest in the pass that allows him royal treatment at F1 races — especially the one at Monaco — but did nothing else. Mallya has to display some of his deadly business acumen especially as he must retain the organisational genius of the breakaway faction leader Nazir Hoosien while balancing all the sponsor egos that have called the shots for long.
The economy is booming, John Abraham's claims to be biker adds glamour to Indian lubricant ads and companies with a proven track record of using the speed game as a marketing tool have flocked in. Put in the Narain effect, more disposable middle class income and the aura that the sport exudes and the mix is a logical growth once the fighting ends.
Sure there is nothing big beyond Narain Karthikeyan in our motorsport.
But after a long time there is hope that there will be.
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