Kush Maini is now an Indian Formula 4 driver and has even raced alongside FormulaOne legend Michael Schumacher's son, Mick, at Misano Adriatico.
Kush Maini is surely going places. The 15-year-old is on a high after a rookie podium finish in all his three races of the Italian F4 Championship held on May 8-9. In doing so, the lad from Bengaluru leads the rookie drivers' championship with 91 points.
He's come a long way from racing on local tracks at the tender age of five. Yes, you heard that right.
"Racing runs in my family. My dad Gautam was a racer, and watching him go wheel to wheel with Narain Karhikeyan inspired me to take up the sport. Even my brother Arjun took up the sport after watching my dad race," he said.
Maini is now an Indian Formula 4 driver and has even raced alongside FormulaOne legend Michael Schumacher's son, Mick, at Misano Adriatico. For the record, the race took place at the tail end of April 2016.
His driving skills were first noticed when he participated at the MRF championship at the age of seven. And then there was no looking back. The following year, he took part in the Asia Max Challenge held in Malaysia & Indonesia and had a podium finish. In 2010, aged 10, Maini tasted victory for the first time, winning Yamaha race in Malaysia.
His big breakthrough came when he jumped to World Series Karting in 2013. Maini immediately impressed, finishing second overall in the Euro Series category and third in the Masters category, including a win at La Conca International Circuit.
When asked about about his favourite race, Kush picked the Heat in Sweden, 2015. "I started at the 22nd position and finished first. So it was really memorable. Another unforgettable accomplishment was in 2015 when I won the Trofeo Margutti Trophy in Italy. The victory was special as I was the first Asian to win this competition after 26 years," he told dna.
But with every sport, there are injuries, and they could be fatal when driving fast cars. ''At the age of 10, I flipped on my leg which resulted in several stitches and kept me out for 3 weeks. My worst injury so far was in November 2015 when I crashed in a race and broke my collar bone. What hurt more was the fact that I couldn't race for the next three months," said the adrenaline junkie.
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