Mallya dismisses criticism of Force India

LONDON, England (AP) -- Force India owner Vijay Mallya has moved quickly to dismiss criticism of his team by A1GP chairman Tony Teixeira, who claimed they were sending the wrong message to Indian fans.

Teixeira told Reuters on Wednesday that Force India had no Indian drivers and no chance of winning.

He said his own series, with India's Narain Karthikeyan already a race winner, sent out the message that Indians could be winners.

However Mallya, who bought the Spyker team last year and renamed it Force India with the Italian Giancarlo Fisichella and German Adrian Sutil as drivers, said he found Teixeira's remarks amusing.

"Mr Teixeira is better advised to comment on his native South Africa and his self-styled World Cup of Motor Sport that is nothing more than a single-seater series," Mallya said.

"Trying to reach out to India's youth by encouraging participation in and the temptation of winning a title in a series that does not even begin to compare with GP2 or F1 is just promoting mediocrity among young Indians who aspire to be world class."

Mallya labeled Teixeira's comments an "act of desperation."

"The Force India team is the first ever Indian entry in the FIA world championship and has harnessed international resources.

"I question Mr Teixiera's competence in speaking about the aspirations of our Indian youth and what message should be sent to them in the context of motor sport."

He said the world champion Ferrari team had the Finn Kimi Raikkonen and Brazilian Felipe Massa driving, and was "no less Italian in the process."

The Indian billionaire said his goal was to bring an Indian driver to his team.

"I have committed that Force India will identify and groom and Indian driver to eventually participate in F1 through national and international karting and GP2. I hope to achieve this over a period of five years."

Moreover, Mallya said a considerable amount of money had already been invested to build a new track to host a grand prix outside New Delhi in 2010.

"This is a ample demonstration of support from this who are developing large stakes in the sport."