Karting
Karting in India: The drivers' perspective
Four stalwarts at different stages of their motorsport career tell us how the karting scene in India has progressed and how it has helped them form a base for higher levels of racing.
Karting is often hailed as the stepping stone for a motorsport hopeful. It offers a chance for them to test whether they are ready to take up racing as a professional career. While it isn’t yet on par with international competitions, karting in the country has grown over the last few decades.
Karting in India began in 1999 with a few local level events, eventually leading to the launch of the National Championship. JK Tyres initiated the championship with four-stroke karts on tracks in Faridabad, Delhi and Hiranandani Gardens in Mumbai. The format saw winners and second-placed drivers of the local events competing in a National Championship Finals.
The JK Tyre National Championship ran for five years between 2000 and 2004 before Rotax karts came to India. Now the championship is known as the National Rotax Max Karting Championship and is sanctioned by the Federation of Motor Sport Clubs of India (FMSCI).
Along with the premier championship, an amateur-level karting programme named IndiKarting National Series is also being run to give young racers an affordable chance to compete in a safe environment.
The national championships today
The Rotax Max championship has three categories, namely Micro (7-12 years), Junior (13-16 years) and Senior (15+ years). Drivers use two-stroke Rotax karts with an open chassis, with Mojo medium compound tyres being the preferred choice of tyres for most drivers. Currently, teams like MSport (formerly Meco Motorsports), Rayo Racing, Birel ART India, BPC Racing, Peregrine Racing, Erda’s Racing and Race Concepts, are represented by the drivers.
The two-stroke championship largely takes place at Meco Kartopia (Bengaluru), Chicane Circuit (Hyderabad), Kari Motor Speedway (Coimbatore), Mohite’s Racing Circuit (Kolhapur) and Lahiri (Hyderabad).
IndiKarting has been introduced for amateur racers
© IndiKarting
On the other hand, the IndiKarting series uses four-stroke karts and has two categories for drivers — Pro and Support. The Pro category is divided into Cadet class (7-12 years), Junior class (12-16 years) and Senior class (16+ years). The Support category classifies drivers under InterSchool, Amateur, Senior, Corporate, Masters (Age 32+), Women, etc.
The four-stroke racing happens at IndiKarting Kharadi (Pune), IndiKarting Dorabjee Mall (Pune), Go A Karting (Nuvem, Goa), Erda’s Speedway (Vadodara), Torque 3 (Bengaluru), Patels Inn (Bengaluru), F2 Speedway (Ludhiana), Snow World (Hyderabad), Freeway 19 (Hyderabad), and other tracks in Chennai, Bhopal and Visakhapatnam.
As far as finances are concerned, the Rotax National Championship could cost drivers Rs 6-20 lakhs to compete for a full season. The IndiKarting series could cost Rs 1-2 lakhs for someone in the Pro category but just Rs 2,500 per event in the Support category.
Biggest drawbacks
According to former karting champion and Rayo Racing man Rayomand Banajee, karting in India still has several limitations, a key one being a shortage of racetracks.
“We severely lack circuits in India. If we take France, for example — a country the size of Maharashtra approximately — has over 100 circuits of approximately 1km length. In comparison, here we have just four similar circuits. This is our biggest drawback,” explained Banajee. “Other than Bengaluru, Kolhapur and Hyderabad which have proper two-stroke tracks in regular use, the other big cities do not have such facilities, apart from few which have four-stroke arenas.”
Banajee also feels that the recent introduction of the Goods & Services Tax with an umbrella taxation scheme is detrimental to the growth of the sport since sales of all karting equipment are now taxed at 28 per cent.
Jehan Daruvala was third in 2014 CIK-FIA World KF
© CIK_KSP
Banajee’s thoughts have been echoed by one of India’s most promising young racers Jehan Daruvala, who currently competes in the FIA European Formula 3 Championship, and has risen through the ranks having karted in India, Asia and Europe.
“The three main limitations in India for karting are the lack of quality tracks across the country, fewer competitors, and very few races in the year,” said Daruvala. “The quality of karts has always been good, but the three limitations make it difficult for drivers to gain experience since it reduces opportunities to practice and race.”
By international standards
It has been close to a decade since Banajee stopped racing to start coaching, but the Rayo Racing boss feels little has changed over the years. The 2008 national karting champion believes the awareness of motor racing has risen along with the competitiveness, but unfortunately, costs have shot up and caused a reduction in the number of drivers.
However, despite the obstacles, karting in India is still paving the way for racers like Daruvala, Arjun Maini, Tarun Reddy, Ricky Donison, Akhil Rabindra, Kush Maini, Akash Gowda, Mohammed Nalwalla, Krishnaraaj Mahadik, and others, to progress to higher levels.
“The Rotax series in India is on par with any other Rotax championship in the world in terms of equipment. This has made it easier for Indians to jump to the Asia level. As we can already see, numerous Indians are making a mark in international circuits having used karting in India as a foundation. This is more than enough proof that we have a very good structure in place,” explained Banajee.
One of India’s rising stars Shahan Ali Mohsin, who is a multiple Micro Max national champion and Asian karting champion, also believes India has a sound foundation in place.
Shahan Ali Mohsin won the 2016 Asian championship
© Shahan Ali Mohsin
“We genuinely have a very strong karting scene, especially for someone young. The competition is strong and if you can consistently win in the Micro Max class — in your second or third year — it means that it is worthwhile pursuing motorsport as a career,” said Mohsin.
Recent single-seater graduate Mira Erda, racing in the Euro JK championship, also feels that the professional karting scene in the country has improved since she started racing. Erda hails the fact that teams have started training programmes for amateurs so they get some knowledge before they start racing.
Ultimately, the karting scene in India is always compared with that in Asia and Europe. This is because once an Indian driver enters the European circuit, they immediately sense the increased levels of competition.
“The karting scene in Europe is completely different,” said Daruvala, who stood third in the 2013 FIA CIK World Championship KF category. “There are so many races in the year and very often there are more than 50 competitors in a race. So, when you head there from India, you are racing against drivers who have raced a lot more and are much tougher opposition.”
He points this out as the prime reason Asian drivers find it difficult to break into the European top-20 straight away. The ideal progression according to Daruvala is for a 10-year-old Indian driver to kart in India and Asia for a few years, move to Europe by the time they are 13 years old, and jump into the European single-seater circuit by the time they are 16 so they have formed a good base.
Future of karting in India
Banajee believes not much will change in two-stroke karting competitions in India in the next five years, but feels the affordable four-stroke category will grow.
He feels Mohsin and Birel ART’s Ruhaan Alva could be the next Indian racers to excel in Europe, while Aadityansh Kaulshi also has potential but is limited by budgetary issues. Other racers like Karthik Tharani, Vishnu Prasad, Nayan Chatterjee, Anindith Reddy, Ishaan Dodhiwala, Raghul Rangasamy and Sandeep Kumar have also been unable to progress to single-seater racing or GT cars in the international circuit because of financial difficulties.
It is quite difficult to erase the financial limitations of motor racing, but Mohsin feels costs can be cut down if India were to produce engineering talent dedicated to motor sport. Currently, very few mechanics and engineers are graduating from IT colleges in India with an aim to take up a career specifically in motor racing.
“We don’t have enough race engineers and mechanics, and not many institutions are catering to this. Nowadays it has become important for top karting drivers to bring engineers from Asia and even Europe to be competitive. This eventually increases the cost and at times stops drivers from competing,” elaborates Mohsin.
Rotax karts are used in the Indian championship
© Indian National Championship
Proper karting before the single-seater jump
Banajee feels moving up from karting is about taking the right step at the right time, which often doesn’t happen. Pressures to excel in the sport lead to many jeopardising their careers by rushing into single-seaters or GT racing.
“A kart racer needs to race as much as they can. The more competitive grids they race in, the more they will learn. The entire development and foundation as a race driver is based on what is done in karting. Every good Formula 1 racer has had an extensive karting experience. Unfortunately, it is only now that this point is getting highlighted through Max Verstappen’s performances,” says Banajee. He also feels young racers need to pay more attention to fitness and nutrition.
Daruvala is one of the racers to have kept his fitness standards high to stay competitive with the best racers in karting and the junior formulae. Since graduating to single-seaters, Daruvala has had limited opportunities to kart, but he stresses on its importance in helping someone who wants to race in Europe.
“Karting in Europe teaches you things very quickly. It shows where you are benchmarked and what you need to work on. When you have strong teammates, you realise the level of competition around you. When you are fighting with over 50 drivers from all over the world to win a race or a championship, it develops you in more ways than you realise. I feel that if you do not get this grounding, it is nearly impossible to succeed in motor sport,” explains Daruvala.
Mohsin feels the same. He is just graduating from the Micro to the Junior level of karting and has at least four years to go before moving into single-seater competition. “I am constantly learning, but every level is different and the approach is different. Staying hungry and learning constantly even when you’re at the top is the key,” said Mohsin.
The motor sport scene in India already has success stories with Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok having made it as Formula One drivers. Experienced names like Armaan Ebrahim and Aditya Patel in the GT championships are other great examples. All of these accomplished drivers started with karting. And with more grassroot-level championships emerging, there is hope for young racing enthusiasts.
Red Bull Kart Fight is one such stepping stone to motor racing. It gives amateur racers the chance to experience the thrill of professional karting.