When on a motorbike, his legs barely touch the ground and he’s still too young for a license. But these things don’t bother Karan Kadam. Last weekend, the 14-year-old, ninth-grader from Bangalore defied all odds to win the Indian Experts Foreign Motorcycles Class in the Goa-leg of the National Motocross Championship. Something that moved current national champion C Vijayakumar to put in a morale-boosting ‘‘well done mate’’.Topping the leg (third place in Moto-1 and first in Moto-2) was Karan’s maiden success. It also made him the youngest ever to make an impact in this form of off-road racing.Despite being born into a family of racers — father Gautam was a 2/4 four wheel racer — Karan says that it was not his father but the thrill of speed that got him hooked. But at the same time, ‘‘if it hadn’t been for my father I would have been nowhere’’. Karan’s mother, meanwhile, plays nutritionist for the young champ.The proud father says, ‘‘Initially he (Karan) was a karting freak and his passion was a costly proposition. Honestly I was looking at a way out. That’s when Karan chose this, and I decided to buy him a bike and vowed to always give him a full fuel tank. It worked out better and more economical. And since then it was racing and nothing else for Karan.’’But despite the evident talent at such a young age, there has been enough reason for Gautam to miss a few heartbeats down the years. Gautam recollects a time when Karan cartwheeled and cracked his helmet. ‘‘But the guy was just not scared.’’Having learnt the hard way, Karan’s hard work bore fruit when his performances (read first places) impressed Team Yamaha Racing’s head Shekhar Bhojanna. Karan, who by then was the youngest to get an FMSCI Racing License finally earned himself a ride with Team Yamaha a season ago. The team’s first prime instruction to Karan was a simple: ‘‘finish the races’’.Karan was then packed off to Thailand for a two-month training stint. Back home, with a rigorous training regimen, Karan, living up to expectation, ‘‘finished’’ all races in the the four legs of the 2003-04 nationals. ‘‘He’s still a bit too eager,’’ Gautam complains, but adds, ‘‘it can be worked upon.’’With Team Yamaha having granted Karan two racing bikes — one of the YZ 250cc series and the other a trainer — it’s winning the national title that’s on top of his mind.Says former national champ Shyam Kothari, ‘‘Karan’s talent is phenomenal. What is nice to see in the youngster is he does not want to hold anyone behind, he wants to pull away. That’s what makes all the difference; constant pushing and eagerness to be in front.’’Recently, at a camp in Bangalore, former top-ranking Dutchman Lyon Giesbers was totally impressed with Karan.‘‘He can go a long way,’’ was the expert’s verdict, to which Kadam Sr. says, ‘‘I will do whatever to get him to the top.’’ For Karan then, the sky is the limit: ‘‘On the starting grid I don’t feel the others are competitors. Hit the front is all that matters to me. Victory follows,’’ is Karan’s simple sign-off.
