Super fast to super slow

Driving fast might cost his life and that is why Ashwin Sundar’s mother does not allow her 18-year-old son to drive in the city of Chennai.

Driving fast might cost his life and that is why Ashwin Sundar’s mother does not allow her 18-year-old son to drive in the city of Chennai. Despite being national champion and among one of the promising youngsters in the racing field, she decided to buy a bicycle for his only son to use at home.

On Sunday, Sundar won the JK Tyres national road racing championship in the Hyundai category and his third title in this second year of the tournament. He still does not have a driving licence, but looking at his control over the car, one need not worry about this youngster passing his driving test. “It’s because of my dad and mom that I’ve managed to take part,” says the 12th standard student, who cheekily adds that due to the low profile he keeps, his neighbours do not know much about his exploits on the track.

Though Sundar has won the title in car racing, he is more interested in motorcycling. “I usually drive bikes, but I took part here because my team wanted me to,” he says.

Coming back to Sunday’s race, Sundar had a flying start but then allowed Rayomand Banajee of Team Gemini Racing to move past him. However, Sundar regained the lead in the fifth lap and then never looked back.

He consistently drove at a speed of 165 km per hour and his rivals found it difficult to match pace. And his first win of the day came despite having a collar bone fracture: “When you win, the delight you get is far more than the pain,” says Sundar, who decided to drive on pain killers.
Results
Formula Rolon: Race I: Saran Vikram 14:43:148, Race II: Saran Vikram 14:30:572; Formula LGB Hyundai: Race I: Ashwin Sundar 16:07:899, Race II: Karthik Shankar 15:53:586; Formula LGB Swift: Race 1: Aditya Patel 15:48:039, Race II: Ashwin Sundar 15:39:122.
Overall positions after Round 4: Formula Rolon: Aditya Patel — 51 pts 2. Rayomand Banajee — 45 pts; 3. Saran Vikram — 42 pts; Formula Hyundai 1. Ashwin Sundar — 80 pts 2. Narain Shankar — 43 pts 3. Karthik Shankar and Fazal Khan — 31 pts each; Formula Swift: 1. Ashwin Sundar — 71 pts, Joint 2,3 and 4: Aditya Patel, Ajay Kini and Karthik Shankar — 35 pts each.