Interview with Neel Jani - 2012 i1 Super Series Pre-season Testing

What are your thoughts on the i1 Super Series? How did you get drawn into it?

The first time I heard about the i1 Super Series wasn’t too long ago. At the time I was busy with Khardung La. Immediately thereafter Darhan contacted me and told me about the new Series. It was satisfying to find out that the championship was scheduled to take place before the start of the European tour, and one thing in particular that caught my attention was that I would get a chance to race for a particular city.

Representing a big motorsport brand like Red Bull Racing what is your mental make-up like coming into a One-Make series like this?

I think the series is growing and developing every day. Two months ago nobody believed this series would actually take place, but today we know for fact that it will. Also, from what I’ve heard about the future plans for the i1 Super Series, I feel it will grow into something quite exciting for young Indians. 

Also, for young national level drivers this series will provide a great platform to exhibit their talents outside the JK-Tyre and MRF racing championships. On one hand we have a lot of Indian drivers, who are hungry for international success, and on the other we have a lot well decorated international drivers who are thrilled to be in India and race for team representing different cities here. 

With drivers from varied motorsport backgrounds like Formula One, Karting, GT3 etc coming together for this one-make series, do you see any particular form of experience providing an advantage to certain drivers, or will the competition offer a level playing field?

It will all depend on how the rules and regulations come into play. At this moment a lot is undecided like the overall setup of the car. It is very important to know to what extent we each team can individualize its car. If we are all using the same car, and one teams setup is better than the other that would make all the difference.  Where materials and infrastructure is concerned it is as much a level playing field as one could expect, so let us wait and see how things pan out in the first race.