After finishing in fifth place in the Asian Le Mans Series earlier this year, Racing Team India’s Narain Karthikeyan, Arjun Maini and Naveen Rao were all set to be the first Indian squad to compete in the 24-hour Le Mans, scheduled to take place on August 21-22. But due to a number of factors including travel restrictions due to the ongoing pandemic, Racing Team India has been forced to withdraw from the race.
The team has been working hard and practising for the gruelling 24-hour Le Mans after their qualifications in the 2021 Asian Le Mans. Despite the major setback, the team has already started preparations for their entry in the 2022 Asian Le Mans to re-qualify for the 2022 24-hour Le Mans and is confident that they will make it in 2022.
A statement released by Racing Team India says, “Despite being granted an invitation to participate in this blue riband event of the global motorsport calendar, due to COVID-19 related travel restrictions and other factors, it will not be possible for the teams' drivers (Narain Karthikeyan & Arjun Maini) and other personnel to travel to France for this event. The team has waited until the last possible moment to make this painful decision, but it now seems inevitable that this will not be feasible. The team has also considered the current ongoing COVID-19 crisis which is still prevalent in India, and felt that in the light of the continuing severity of the crisis, it would be prudent to delay our participation in this event to the 2022 edition.”
It is rumoured that the Racing Team India’s entry at the Le Mans will be run by their partners — Eurasia Motorsport competing under the name ‘Racing Team India Eurasia’ and will have no association with the Racing Team India crew.