Racer, wife killed in car accident

Chennai: The Indian motorsport fraternity woke up to the tragic news of racing champion Ashwin Sundar’s untimely demise on Saturday. The road accident has shocked fellow competitors and officials as an eyewitness footage of the BMW Z4 convertible engulfed in flames went viral on social media. His wife Niveditha, a Sri Lankan national, was on the passenger side of the two-seater when the high-end vehicle crashed in the early hours of Saturday.

When Ashwin burst onto the domestic circuit as a prodigious talent at the age of 14, he was touted as the next big thing in Indian motorsport.

A versatile racer, Ashwin excelled in all forms. After dominating the karting circuit, he switched to the two-wheeler category and left his mark there before shifting his focus to Formula cars.

The Formula Rolon championship he won in 2009, representing Narain Karthikeyan’s Speed-NK Racing team, underlined his growing reputation. More domestic titles followed, but his dream of racing abroad for a full season never took off. He had competed in a one-off ADAC Volkswagen Polo Cup in Germany as a guest driver.

Former F1 driver Narain was in a state of disbelief when he learnt of Ashwin’s death. “It’s tragic. I couldn’t believe it because I have always known Ashwin to be a disciplined driver,” said Narain.

Narain remembers Ashwin as a chirpy little boy who showed much enthusiasm to learn. “Without doubt, he was one of the best young drivers we have had. He won almost all the championships in India but unfortunately he didn’t get any sponsors to be able to race abroad,” he added.

Multiple national bike racing champ Rajini Krishnan who dedicated his Malaysia Superbike championship podium finish on Saturday to Ashwin said it was a sad day for Indian motorsport. “The fraternity will miss him. Not Many from the two-wheeler domain have gone on to dominate Formula car racing in India. He is a special talent,” said Rajini.