“I hope to see India on the WRC calendar soon,” said Jean Todt, president of the FIA (Federation Internationale de l'Automobile) in an interview with CarWale.com. The legend behind Michael Schumacher’s string of Formula One titles from 2000 to 2004 was here to be a judge at the 2013 Cartier ‘Travel with Style’ Concours d’Elegance which will take place on the 9th and 10th of February in Mumbai.
Our first question to him was that when F1 cars switched from the 2.4-litre V8’s mills to 1.6-litre V6 turbocharged engines next year would the soundtrack (which we feel is the lion's share of what races are about) remain the same and generate the same level of excitement. He said that the sound would be as different and as it was 30 years ago when turbocharged engine were in force in the sport but would still be as exciting as ever to watch.
He said in a response to a question on the future of motorsports in India, he said that most major forms of the sport were moving away from mainland Europe which had been their traditional home for the last 50-60 years. Todt said that there was great potential for it grows in India and that the opening of multiple non-European venues over the last 10 years would give motorsports a much wider display and reach.
Todt lauded the effort of various persons involved in promoting motorsports in the country and said that we have to now take initiatives at the grass root level to ensure that racing grew at the regional, state, national and then the international level.
The FIA president also spoke on the FIA’s Action for road safety and said that the Road safety in India was a far off from where it should be and that much work had to be done in this regard. He emphasised on the need for road safety education at the school level and this was so that the training and knowledge would go a long way in life.
Commenting on the Parx supercar club Todt said, “India is developing as a country and there is obviously an increase in the enthusiasm from people towards the super cars of the world. It’s great to see Gautam Singhania (president of the club) who is so passionate about motorsports to take this initiative and fulfill dreams of thousands to be able to witness the best cars in the world on the streets of India.”
On a lighter note, Todt said that being on the podium at Suzuka in 2000 (Michael Schumacher’s first title for Ferrari) was one of the greatest moments of his life and joked that Schumacher was extremely heavy to hold. He has a picture of this occasion at his office in Paris.
