‘He was born to race’: Bengaluru racing fraternity mourns death of 13-year-old rider Shreyas Hareesh on Chennai track
One of India’s youngest riders to have caught national attention, Shreyas Hareesh lost control of his bike while negotiating a turn during a race in Chennai on Saturday.
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Shreyas Hareesh. (Image: Twitter) Hailed as a rising star, Copparam Shreyas Hareesh was all of 13 years old and said to be brimming with potential when he died Saturday in a crash during the third round of the FMSCI-Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship at the Madras International Circuit.
“He was the growing face of Indian motorsport, he had all the potential to be on a global platform. We will miss him,” said Arvind Singh, a race organiser and former racer himself. The death has devastated many in the racing fraternity, including Singh.
One of India’s youngest riders to have caught national attention, Shreyas lost control of his bike while negotiating a turn during the race. The bike skidded, causing his helmet to fall off. He was immediately run over by a rider from behind, leading to a head injury that killed him on the spot.
Born and brought up in Bengaluru, Shreyas was a student of Kensri school in Bengaluru and celebrated his 13th birthday last month. According to Singh, there are more than 100 young riders aged below 16 years in India, but Shreyas was “phenomenal”. “He was very good at racing and we always believed that he was born to race. He has won several awards in India and abroad. His father Hareesh was a great support,” he said.
Right at a young age, Shreyas began to ride bikes with his father Hareesh taking the lead. Every Sunday, Hareesh took Shreyas to Cubbon Park to teach him bike riding. When Shreyas started dreaming of becoming a MotoGP champion, Hareesh – who worked for a pharmaceutical company – resigned and devoted all his time to preparing his son for a future in sports.
“His father took him wherever there were racing competitions and gave him great exposure. In 2021, he participated in a race near Sringeri which I had organised. I spent two days with him and most of the time he spoke only about racing,” Arvind said.
Anand Hariharan, a former racer, said Shreyas was very young and highly talented. “He had a bright future, but gone too soon. It is an unfortunate incident and we lost him,” he added.
At age 11, Shreyas got a license from the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) to participate in races. He was also provided redesigned bikes for his height and was given the opportunity to race in the events, but not on public roads. The rules also mandated that an adult must accompany him while training.
M Srinivas, steward and FMSCI senior scrutineer told The Indian Express, “A father lost a son and we lost a great racer. He was preparing to participate in MotoGP 250 CC group B. It is an unfortunate incident and a massive loss for the racing fraternity. He had a license to ride in closed circuit and was a very good racer.”
Shreyas is the first Indian MiniGP champion and runner-up in the rookie class at the FMSCI-Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship 2022. He also participated in the Mini Velocity Spanish Cup this year where he impressed the bike-racing fraternity.
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