Disaster struck India’s Narain Karthikeyan when he injured his left shoulder prior to the start of the all important Le Mans 24-hour race at the Circuit de la Sarthe in France on Sunday.

Narain, who had come up with strong performances in the practice and the qualifying, was scheduled to do the opening double stint. But 10 minutes before the start of the formation lap, after the warm up and sighting laps were done, disaster struck the Indian driver.

He climbed over the pit-wall to visit the rest-room, a task undertaken by all drivers before the start of every race, when he slipped and fell dislocating his left shoulder. “The pit-wall was quite high due to safety reasons, and what can I say, I must be the unluckiest driver in the history of Le Mans,” said Narain.

Narain was quickly attended by the Audi doctor, who re-located the shoulder joint and put his arm in a sling. He was advised rest for a minimum period of 10 days.

With the pain fast subsiding, Narain was hell bent on racing but failed to get the medical clearance from the doctors. “I have been training so hard, and I was pumped up to do this race. To get injured minutes before the race is the most frustrating experience,” he added.

[source: thehindu.com]