Karthikeyan faulters, India to race from 5th spot in A1GP finale

Brands Hatch, Apr 29 (UNI) Team India will start their race from the fifth position in the grid as Narain Karthikeyan had a disappointing outing in the final qualifying round of the A1GP in his favourite track here.

Karthikeyan, who earlier sizzled in familiar conditions recording the second quickest time after Team Great Britain in the practice sessions two days back, was all set to secure the fourth place on the grid until his final flying lap was hampered by a slowing car.

Team India recorded the fifth fastest time yesterday, after a number of teams opted to use fresh tyres while Karthikeyan conserved his supply for the afternoon's qualifying session.

Meanwhile, commenting on his performance in the final qualifying session, a disappointed Karthikeyan said, ''I'm not really happy with how it went in qualifying, we should be further up the grid. I was blocked by France on the last lap; we were a minimum P4, maybe even P3 before that. We still need to find a couple of tenths in the car, and I think if we had been doing this all season as a team, we would be right up there.'' ''I think the weather's going to play a big part in the final as the forecast doesn't look very promising and I've heard there's a good chance of rain, which will make the race even more entertaining.

It could also be my first time driving this car in the wet. We've found a pretty decent set up this weekend, and we just need to be consistent to get a podium,'' he added.

UNI