Pune-ite Oshan formulates his Formula one dream

(Sakaal Times, (Pune) India) 

This doesn't come anywhere close to Formula racing. Formula One is a distant dream, but Pune boy Oshan Kothadiya has given himself a ray of hope to be involved with the F1 Grand Prix when India hosts its maiden event next year in Greater Noida.

"Formula One is a dream, but I know it is for only select few so I have decided to get my racing license and then apply for volunteer marshal when Formula One comes to India next year," Kothadiya told Sakal Times on Wednesday, soon after he was launched along with 19 others as the first batch of 20 drivers for the debut race of the Polo Cup India 2010 organised by Volkswagen India.

Kothadiya is a first-timer to racing and it was an inspiration he got when he visited Auto Expo in Delhi this January that gave him an idea of competing in anything like this.

He is among the three drivers from Pune who made it through tough selection process that pruned 1,100 drivers to 45 and then to final 20.

"I watch car racing on television and was enamoured by Sebastian Vettel, the German who races for Red Bull in Formula One," said Kothadiya. 

"It was just a fluke than I applied and got the call and then went through the selection and during the time learnt a lot about racing."

The recruitment for marshals that will be required during the F1 Grand Prix in Greater Noida has already begun, and Kothadiya hopes him knowledge of the sport will help him get the dream job that many would be aspiring for.

But first, Kothadiya is aiming to win at the Polo Cup India race that will be held on May 30 Balewadi Sports Complex. Pune was chosen as first city because it is the hometown of Volkswagen India.

The drivers will compete in a series of six races held between May and December 2010 before the overall winner gets decided in this manufacturer-backed series, to be held also in Coimbatore and Chennai.