February: The new season is nearly upon us. All across the globe, motorsport folk are heading backing to school as the winter break draws to a close.

Paddocks in Spain, Florida and Portugal are filling up with teams doing shakedowns and pre-season tests. Drivers are scrambling to get their deals done. The ones that have the deals in hand are sorting out their calendars, getting their kit organised, booking flights and finishing their last big push of winter fitness training. Engineers and designers are looking at their newest creations with nervous excitement – will the car be reliable, will it be gentle on its tyres, will the car be consistent, will the setup window be big enough for all circuits and most importantly, will the car be fast ? Mechanics are learning the nuances of their new cars – the spanner sizes they need are a bit different, the wiring looms need to be installed differently, the bodywork doesn’t quite fit, the driver’s need new seats to be made. Elsewhere, marketing teams are making their plans, PR guys defining their strategies and the sponsors are working on new ways to leverage their tie ups with the team. Truckies are making sure that all the new equipment will fit in the transporters. Team managers are ensuring that the motorhomes are in good condition and the new catering teams are prepared for the season ahead. So much to do… and time ticking away so quickly !

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January: For most racing drivers season normally finishes in October/November, be it F1 or WEC or Indycar. This is the time where we drivers get some time off to recover from the past season and plan ahead for the next year of racing as well as fulfill our commitments to the media and the sponsors. However for the first time in many years I found myself racing in one of the intriguing events that I have ever participated in. The Race of Champions is a unique concept that pits some of the best drivers in the world against each other in different cars. This was the first time that India has been invited for the year ending event and was fantastic experience for both Narain and me. Winning the ROC Asia was harder work than we thought to be honest but that made it more satisfying. It came to a point where every race was a decider and crucial to the final outcome. The biggest challenge in the ROC was jumping out of one car and straight into another. It required us to be able to quickly reset their brain and re-focus into a new driving style.

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July 6: The Le Mans 24 hour event is unlike any other in the world of Motorsport. The big story may be all about the final two days but in reality, it’s a fortnight of work building up to a very long twenty-four hours at the end of it.

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June 12, 2012: The Le Mans 24 hours race is finally here ! Umm…‘What is that ?’ I hear you ask. Well, I’m sure 90% of the people reading this are asking the same question. For over a decade now, Narain and I have been working tirelessly to promote Formula 1 in India and while the knowledge base for F1 has grown exponentially, it’s perhaps time to help you look beyond it and into other forms of top level motorsport.

To give you a better idea, I thought I’d give you a 5 little facts about the race !

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