Karun in pole for Indian hat-trick

All this has added to Chandok’s confidence. ‘‘It’s a great feeling,’’ he told The Indian Express from London, ‘‘my best can only make it better.’’

Karun will be driving for Italian squad RC Motorsport, having tested their Renault 3500cc V6 powered cars capable of attaining speeds of over 300 kmph. So how’s the experience been so far? ‘‘Ok so far’’, he said. ‘‘Not as good as we had hoped.’’

Tough? ‘‘We (RC Motorsport) are paying for missing the first couple of test sessions. But I think we will get stronger as the season progresses.’’

And like every junior who seeks advice from their seniors, Karun sounded out Narain for first-hand insight on Zolder. ‘‘I’ve never been to Zolder so the best thing was to seek help from Narain, who has.’’

And the advice from Narain was simple: ‘‘‘It isn’t a particularly hard circuit to learn’, he told me. ‘Get going.’’’

Well aware of the competition, and recalling his experience of driving the Formula Nissan Series last year, Karun explains, ‘‘I qualified 1.3 seconds off pole at Jerez and was fifth, but this year 1.3 seconds puts you 19th…that’s how fierce it’s going to be.’’

For the record, drivers like Ryo Fukuda (DHG Saulnier Racing) and Australian Will Power (Carlin Motorsport) — both both F1 testers for BAR and Minardi respectively — make the grid. As do Italian Enrique Toccacelo (Victory Engineering), second in last year’s Formula 3000 championship and F3 regulars Adrian Valles and Marcus Winklehock.

‘‘All are tremendously experienced at this level and very quick drivers,’’ he went on.

And like any go-getter on the eve of their big day, the 21-year-old Chennai lad says, ‘‘The aim in the first 2-3 races has to be to score some solid points, to get the season going.”

The two races for the weekend are to be held on Sunday, following the two qualifying sessions which are on Saturday. For Karun top of the mind is the ambition to follow in the footsteps of Karthikeyan, who finished sixth in the World Series in 2004.

This year Narain is in a whole new league. And that’s something Karun too has set his eyes on.