Rayo razers

Now,let’s meet the drivers on his team. Rayo Racing is one of the few professional go-karting and car racing teams to have a female driver on its list — 19-year-old Sneha Sharma. And,Sneha remains undeterred despite having met with a nasty racing accident that fractured her ribs. She has been the lone girl contender in most races that she has participated in and being a girl neither daunts nor inspires her in any special way. “My parents were initially opposed to my choice of a career. Being a girl also raises some eyebrows within the racing circles. But I believe that once you put on the helmet,you are just like the other racers and your gender does not matter.”

11-year-old Jehan Daruvala,the youngest on the team,stood first in the micro max category at a national level championship held in Kolhapur last month. Professional Rotax go-karting standards have three age groups for competitors — 8-12 years for the micro max category,13-16 for the junior max and 16 and above in the senior max.

A shy child otherwise,Jehan zooms in his four-wheeler at a maximum speed of 100 km per hour. Jehan’s mother Kainaz was initially terrorised by her son’s choice,but is a proud mom today. “The first time I saw him racing,I was extremely scared. But his father convinced me that he should do what he likes the best.”

Arya Gandhi,all of 12 years,is also similarly confidence personified. “People make fun of me when I tell them that I am going to be racer. But I am confident of becoming a Formula one racer when I grow up,just like Narain Karthikeyan.”

While motorsport racing is an individual sport,racers do form teams for technical support and coaching purposes. Sourav Bandyopadhyay,the 20-year-old graduate,may be a close friend of 22-year-old Steve Hodges,another member of the team,off the track. However,Sourav will leave no stone unturned to beat Steve in a race. “As long as we win the game in a fair manner there are no hard feelings. Rivalry is limited to the race. But if we spoil the other person’s race by mistake,then we do have few tense moments between us for a while,” says Sourav.

Despite the race stress,the youngsters have great fun on their outdoor trips for training and races. Remembering an anecdote,15-year-old Ameya Bafna who stood first in the junior category in the Kolhapur event in April,said,“I almost rammed into one of the media photographers while racing in a game last year as the brakes failed suddenly. I hit him but fortunately did not knock him down.”

Asked about the cool quotient involved in being a racer,the young drivers say it’s not something that bothers them much. “There is always some glamour attached to being a racer. But racing for us is not just a hobby,it’s a serious sport and our career. That’s why the attention does not really mean anything serious to us,” says 15-year-old Raj Ganatra.

Contrary to common belief,racers too have to maintain their physical and mental wellbeing. “A lot of force is involved while driving and each part of your body endures jerks and pain during the race. Mental focus is also important as a small margin of error can put you on a stretcher,” says Steve.

The team,which meets weekly for workout and skipping sessions,got together in 2006 and has won six championship titles and 110 podium places so far. Described by the young racers as a ‘medium strict coach’,Banajee feels that the racing scenario in India is slowly shifting for the good. “After the Rotax tracks,the professional-level racing tracks,were brought to India in 1999,the infrastructure we have here is no lesser than world class. The problem of lack of guidance and sponsorships is gradually giving way and there are definite chances of producing international level F-1 racers from the country.”