Karting
At just 16 years old, Kush Maini is already making big waves in European racing circuits. Will he have enough to take his talents to the highest level?
Growing up watching your dad, a former Formula 3 racer and your elder brother, who is also a racer, the desire to become a racer comes naturally to you. Like his father, Gautam Maini and his brother, Arjun Maini before him, Kush Maini launched himself into racing.
One could argue that in today’s world, family tradition has taken a backseat with the younger generations looking to excel on their own. But when it comes to a racing family, perhaps it's in the blood. 16-year-old Kush’s journey kicked off in 2007, at the tender age of seven, when he started karting. This is probably the right age to push towards a career in motorsport.
It was bold choice at such a young age, especially in India where so many kids can’t decide on their future, even during their teenage years. But of course, family support played a part for Kush to eventually go this way.
“From a young age I used to go watch my dad race in the Indian National single-seater championship, so I grew up around cars all the time,” Kush says about his first contact with racing.
“When I was a little older I went with my brother for fun karting and I loved the feeling in the karts right away! To be honest, I was racing for fun until I was 10-years-old."
Kush notes the exact moment when he took a new approach towards racing. “What changed my mind was my first race win in Malaysia in the Yamaha SL Cup, that’s when I decided this is what I want to do,” adding that he was training hard as an athlete to become a runner.
His career so far
Once he got into the groove, he immediately showed the talent he possessed with a title-winning campaign in 2011. Winning all six rounds, Kush captured the Indian National Karting Championship in the Micro Max category.
The Bangalore-born driver’s progress only continued by finishing as the runner-up in the Junior Max category in 2012, before his timely move to the European karting circuit, where he impressed everyone in the World Karting Series.
His impact in Europe was immediate. Kush finished second overall in the Euro Series, while he was third in the Masters category in 2013. The 2014 season was even better as Maini was able to finish fourth in the CIK-FIA World Karting Championship. He was the youngest Indian driver to achieve this feat.
Kush's impressive run continued into 2015, where he won the Trofeo Andrea Margutti, finished runners-up in the Gold Cup, fourth in Champions Club and ninth in the European Championship by eking out several podium finishes. It was also the year when Maini made his single-seater debut, racing in the JK Tyre National Racing Series, where he was able to claim his maiden Formula car podium in Round 2.
For 2016, he made his European open-wheel racing move, competing in the Italian Formula 4 championship with the BVM Racing squad. Kush showed immense potential to finish fifth in the rookie standings and he ended up 16th in the main championship with a podium finish to his name.
He chose to spend another year in the series, moving teams with Jenzer Motorsport, an outfit which led Marcos Siebert to the drivers’ title in 2016. In the two rounds so far, Kush has had a mixed run. he has shown glimpses of pace against some of the solid young racers, but results haven’t gone his way.
After an up and down Round 1, Kush had a consistent run in the recently-concluded Round 2 to put him in the Top 10 in the standings with five more rounds (15 races) remaining in the season.
Mental Toughness
For a 16-year old, when the hype gets real, racers need to build their mental toughness. It’s key for them to learn at this age to keep themselves level-headed, which is one area Kush is focusing on these days.
“The main thing I am working on with my mind coach this year is to try and keep myself calm and focus on the process. Go corner by corner and not focus too much on the end result, because if you follow the process, then the results will follow,” he says.
When things didn’t go his way in the 2017 season’s first round at Misano, Kush admitted to being annoyed at himself and the situation. “It was really frustrating [after Round 1] and for a few days after the race I was really angry at myself," he laments.
“A few mistakes cost me a huge chunk of points and even silverware, so I was really frustrated, but I have worked a lot with my mind coach, especially on this. And now, I am confident not to make to same mistakes and come back stronger.”
Idolising his dad Gautam and the great Ayrton Senna, the Bangalorean depicts the exuberance any young driver would possess, but at the same time, he knows that mental toughness is a major requirement for any racer before a session or a race.
“Pre-race or session, I always warm up physically and get my heart rate pumped, and I make sure that I am awake and pumped up. A little bit of music also helps keep the mind ticking.”
What's next?
Self-assessment is the first criteria in the road to success and it comes naturally to many talented individuals. As a racing driver, you are the first person to know where your weaknesses lay and what your strengths are – it’s all about honing your strengths and working to overcome the weaknesses.
It’s the same with Kush. “Generally, I would say I am a quick driver on any track and one of my biggest strengths is that I don’t take much time to get back into race mode after a break,” he explains.
"The main thing probably I need to work on is not to be over aggressive, which sometimes works as a deterrent. You always want to win but then we have to realize that it’s a long championship and there will be many chances to get that top spot, consistency over the year will put you in the best position to eventually take the title.”
His race engineer in the Italian F4 championship is Nicolas Caillol of Racing Lines Driver Development. “Kush is a good and talented driver and he has a lot of potential," says Nicolas. "At the moment, due to his youth, he is still on the aggressive side."
“Sometimes, he rushes a bit too much in the races while performing the moves and at the same time, sometimes a bit of a calmer mind could save him some positions. I would say his strengths definitely would be the ‘natural speed and commitment’, while the weaknesses would be the ‘mental strength’ which is down to his relative inexperience."
Caillol also remarks on Maini's dedication and work ethic. "One thing is for sure. He is very committed and wants to succeed. Off the track, he's very dedicated to improving his fitness and building up his strength."
Kush's brother, Arjun, who currently competes in the GP3 championship (and won the GP3 round in Barcelona last weekend) with Jenzer feels his sibling should just be himself. He is of the opinion that drivers should adapt their style to the kind of races they take part in.
“We [me and Kush] have quite different styles of driving, but as I have learned through the years, you sort of adapt to each car and category you drive in to make sure you extract the most,” says Arjun.
“I think also in terms of driving it's better to focus on improving your own style rather than trying to do something that does not come naturally to you. So, even though we are quite different in terms of driving, also outside the car, he has his own style and he tries to improve the package that he already has and I do the same.”
Another important assessment for racers is the circuit they race on. They have to make it their own. So that any corner or line they take, they know where to brake or how much to throw into a particular corner.
“It’s true, many racing drivers don’t like certain corners or tracks. For me, I just try to keep all that out of my mind, if I don’t like a corner, then I try to work harder in that corner throughout the weekend and I try to make it a favorite corner. The key is, I like to treat all corners the same. If believe that I can be quick in one corner, then I ask myself, why can’t be I quick in all the other ones too?" Kush explains.
Rivals?
Motor racing or any other sport has seen its fair share of a sibling rivalry. In Indian motorsport, it is of course, rare. The battle among Arjun and Kush is brewing much like between the Schumachers (Michael and Ralf), Franchittis (Dario and Marino) or even among the newer generation, Palmer (Jolyon and Will) and Fittipaldi (Pietro and Enzo) brothers.
“We get along really well,” says Arjun. “Of course, we are both extremely competitive at everything we do and maybe sometimes a bit too much for our own good. Whether it is a gym session or a race on the simulator, it gets very serious and one of us always leaves a bit disappointed, but that's how we push ourselves and it's brilliant.”
Even though it is family first outside the track, when it comes to racing, everyone is on his/her own. Arjun feels the same way. “I can help him and guide him to the right road, but in the end, he is his own man and it is not going to work for him to do exactly like I do."
“I think he has proved that he is very fast on track, and as he matures he can only get better so I'm sure he is going to have a bright future! And yes, I would love to have a duel with him in Formula 1 one day.”
Having worked with both brothers, Nicolas Caillol believes that if both drivers channel their talent along the right path, they can attain glory for themselves and India.
“As everyone knows, Kush’s brother is calmer on the track than Kush himself. I feel that this is the main difference between the two of them."
Yes, being a professional racer is a whole different ballgame but in reality, Kush is just like any other teen. He has home tuition and he studies diligently. In his free time, he watches his favourite shows, which include DC Originals such as Arrow, Flash, Super Girl and more recently, Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why.
Kush is aggressive on track and he is not afraid of the challenge thrown at him. He has time to learn and gain experience. There’s still a lot more to come from him, not just from the Indian racing fan's point of view, but for the global racing community as well.