Thursday, May 5 2005 14:05 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Barcelona (Spain): Upbeat over his team's progress for Sunday's (May 8, 2005) race on a Barcelona track that he knows well, Narain Karthikeyan today (May 5, 2005) said he just cannot wait to get on to the starting grid for the Spanish Grand Prix.

"I am quite happy with the progress the team has been making and cannot wait to drive at the Circuit de Catalunya," said Jordan driver Karthikeyan, who arrived in Barcelona yesterday (May 4, 2005).

The 28-year-old has some wonderful memories of the circuit from his Nissan World series days.

"I have excellent memories here from racing in the Formula Nissan World Series like standing on the second step of the podium in front of the crowd. Let's hope that my good results at the Barcelona track will bring me luck this weekend," Karthikeyan said.

"Barcelona will be the first track I race on this season that I know well."

Karthikeyan said he was working hard with the Jordan team and the "results were excellent" when he attended the two-day test on April 27-28 held just over the road from their factory at Silverstone. The high point was his fastest lap of 1 minute and 22.75 secs.

"The days at Silverstone were very constructive for the team. The weather was wet at the start of the test, and it was reflected in our times. When the weather improved we managed to do many laps, testing different tyres and a new gearbox."

"Overall I'm expecting a reasonable run and race finish in Spain. This doesn't necessarily mean that it's going to be easy for us considering that the track was a mix of high and low-speed corners on the abrasive and bumpy surface."

Karthikeyan also did not rule out the possibility of weather playing truant, which could pose a challenge for the drivers.

"Even though I know the track well, you can always be caught out by the strong wind and the sand that can make the track slippery."

Aerodynamical developments

Karthikeyan said, after testing at Silverstone, Jordan had introduced some mechanical and aerodynamical developments to help them get closer to the pace.

"Jordan Grand Prix has tested here during the winter and has already been able to gather some helpful and valuable data. But the track is still a challenge for drivers."

"Overall, Barcelona is a track where traction and aerodynamics play an important role because of the long corners," he said.

"We have introduced a few small aerodynamic and mechanical developments after Silverstone testing and some of the results of the team's work in our newly acquired wind tunnel facilities.

"Hopefully this will help us get closer to the pace. Most of the other teams know exactly how to set up their cars for this circuit but I'm sure it will be an interesting and challenging weekend," Karthikeyan said.

Recalling his last race at Imola, Karthikeyan said his priority was to finish the race and was happy to do that.

"Looking closer and analysing the results with the team, my fastest lap was quicker than that managed by Mark Webber (BMW Williams) or David Coulthard (Red Bull Racing). I was even within a few thousandths of a second of Jarno Trulli (Toyota)," he said.

Karthikeyan's high profile fan

Karthikeyan will have a high profile fan to cheer for him with Sachin Tendulkar scheduled to take his seat to watch Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Cataluniya.

"The Jordan team expect the visit from a real Indian celebrity. The Indian cricket star Sachin Tendulkar is due to arrive in Spain tomorrow (May 6, 2005) for a weekend visit," said Christian Geistorfer, Head of Marketing at Jordan Grand Prix.

"Last year, Tendulkar attended a number of Grand Prix, but at that time there wasn't an Indian driver in Formula One," he said.

Karthikeyan, who would be behind his reliable EJ15 Formula One car for the fifth race of the season, said he was eagerly awaiting the race where lots of team guests would be there to support him and his Jordan team.

"I will definitely do my best to try to finish the race in the top ten and keep up with our good finishing record. I'm really looking forward to it and it will probably be crazy with all the fans for Fernando Alonso," he said.

"It looks like I will be fronting a busy weekend in Barcelona in terms of PR. It's part of my life as a driver."

Geistorfer said Alex Shnaider, owner of Midland Group who bought the Jordan Grand Prix team over the winter 2005, will entertain about 20 guests at the Spanish Grand Prix.

He said another of the team's sponsor, the Russian cigarettes Sobranie are also staging a dinner for their customers and guests tomorrow evening in downtown Barcelona.