It’s a story of a life cut short. But even after his death this man leaves behind a legacy that every racing driver of the country looks upto. Last weekend as I visited the Kari Motor speedway in Coimbatore a sparkling image struck my eyes. As I entered the speedway I saw a memorial with a image of a man on it. I guessed that a memorial at this speedway must be of a motorsport legend and it was important for me to know who that person was if I really wanted to cover motorsports in depth. The man whose memorial I had seen was Sundaram Karivardhan or Kari as he is fondly known. He was a legendary figure of Indian motorsports. Apart from being a successful formula car racer, he was also a designer and constructor of several formula cars, his most famous design being the Formula Maruti open wheeled race car. His low cost cars helped other racers, notably Narain Karthikeyan, Karun Chandok and Armaan Ebrahim , to their entry into motorsports.
Quiet and shy in nature from a very young age, he showed a keen interest in bikes and cars. In the UK he attended the Jim Russel racing school. Later, when he returned to India in the mid-70's, he started participating in the Chennai's Sholavaram. His first race was 1973 Sholavaram Grand Prix meet, later he appeared every year in newly constructed formula cars from his own garage. He raced until 1995, the year of his demise. .
But more than racing Kari is credited with building the FISSME (Formula India Single Seater Maruti Engine) widely known as formula Maruti which was launched in 1988 Notable drivers who took part in the inaugural race in this class were J Anand, Akbar and R Gopinath , all of them would later become national champions in Formula 3.
Later years saw drivers like Narain, Karun, Armaan and other future national champions making their debut races in a Formula Maruti series.
But Kari had another passion- Aviation as his family owned a Cessna airplane. In 1989 he started a small manufacturing plant near Coimbatore to manufacture Power Gliders.
However this legends life was cut short by one of his passion. He died on 24th of August 1995 while flying a Puspak trainers aircraft. The purpose of flying was to log some additional flying time as required to retain his flying license. The accident was widely mourned by the racing scene.
His demise almost created a vacuum in Indian Motorsports with dwindling crowds in the Chennai track and after the 1997 season made the MMSC scrap the All India Grand Prix Meet altogether. In 2002 his long-time friend and co-racer B. Vijaykumar stepped in to build and launch Formula LGB and Formula Rolon race cars and also constructed a race track in his hometown- The Kari Motor speedway, which is a major motorsports hub.
Widely known as a gentleman racer, his unselfish ways and dedication to the development of Indian motorsports attracted many new talents into Motorsports. Kari also earned admiration from several quarters more for his character than his racing talents. Though born in one of Coimbatore's wealthiest families, Kari was easily approachable by several people irrespective of social barriers. Kari was nevertheless considered a unique man with his soft-spoken nature and publicity shy nature. He was good in spotting new talents and training them to become professionals like Akbar Ibhrahim and five time national Rallying Champion Hari Singh.
Today India may have many drivers on the international driver, but whenever one has to speak about Indian Motorsports, you can’t forget the Legenday Kari.
Quiet and shy in nature from a very young age, he showed a keen interest in bikes and cars. In the UK he attended the Jim Russel racing school. Later, when he returned to India in the mid-70's, he started participating in the Chennai's Sholavaram. His first race was 1973 Sholavaram Grand Prix meet, later he appeared every year in newly constructed formula cars from his own garage. He raced until 1995, the year of his demise. .
But more than racing Kari is credited with building the FISSME (Formula India Single Seater Maruti Engine) widely known as formula Maruti which was launched in 1988 Notable drivers who took part in the inaugural race in this class were J Anand, Akbar and R Gopinath , all of them would later become national champions in Formula 3.
Later years saw drivers like Narain, Karun, Armaan and other future national champions making their debut races in a Formula Maruti series.
But Kari had another passion- Aviation as his family owned a Cessna airplane. In 1989 he started a small manufacturing plant near Coimbatore to manufacture Power Gliders.
However this legends life was cut short by one of his passion. He died on 24th of August 1995 while flying a Puspak trainers aircraft. The purpose of flying was to log some additional flying time as required to retain his flying license. The accident was widely mourned by the racing scene.
His demise almost created a vacuum in Indian Motorsports with dwindling crowds in the Chennai track and after the 1997 season made the MMSC scrap the All India Grand Prix Meet altogether. In 2002 his long-time friend and co-racer B. Vijaykumar stepped in to build and launch Formula LGB and Formula Rolon race cars and also constructed a race track in his hometown- The Kari Motor speedway, which is a major motorsports hub.
Widely known as a gentleman racer, his unselfish ways and dedication to the development of Indian motorsports attracted many new talents into Motorsports. Kari also earned admiration from several quarters more for his character than his racing talents. Though born in one of Coimbatore's wealthiest families, Kari was easily approachable by several people irrespective of social barriers. Kari was nevertheless considered a unique man with his soft-spoken nature and publicity shy nature. He was good in spotting new talents and training them to become professionals like Akbar Ibhrahim and five time national Rallying Champion Hari Singh.
Today India may have many drivers on the international driver, but whenever one has to speak about Indian Motorsports, you can’t forget the Legenday Kari.
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