When Kumar lines up on the grid for the Grand Prix of Qatar on March 20 next year, he will become the first Indian to race in the 125cc world championship.
When Sarath Kumar lines up on the grid for the Grand Prix of Qatar on March 20 next year, he will become the first Indian to race in the 125cc world championship. “I never expected to get an opportunity to race on world’s biggest stage so early in my career,” said the 18-year-old, who started racing in 2008.
Sarath will ride for the WTR-Ten10 Racing Team, who announced their partnership in Mumbai on Tuesday. Ten10 Racing is owned by Bangalore-based Ramji Govindarajan, who participated in national championship during the 90s. WTR are based in San Marino and have been participating in the world championship since 2004.
“We opted for Sarath because of his age and the results he
has shown in short period he has been with us,” said Govindarajan.
Sarath got attracted to bikes when he accompanied his friend to a race. “From then I decided that I’ll make a career out of it. I entered bike racing with an aim of winning and not just as a passion,” said Sarath, who has signed a three-year contract.
The Chennai-lad proved how hungry he is to succeed when he won the Group B 165cc-four stroke expert class national title, winning five of the eight races, representing Ten10 Racing.
Govindarajan talks highly of Sarath’s fighting spirit. “He’s very humble off the track but when he’s on it there’s no one as aggressive as him,” said Govindarajan, adding, “What also works in his favour is that he’s has good technical knowledge and knows his bike in and out. I’ve seen most of the riders enter the pits and start whining about the bike being not fast enough. But that’s not the case with Sarath. He’ll give his inputs to the race engineer to get the maximum out of a bike. Very few riders can do that.”
While the team doesn’t have high hopes for the 2011 season, they have some serious ambitions for 2012. “Next year will be a learning curve for us. But in 2012, we plan to show some fireworks,” said Govindarajan. In 2012, the 125cc class will be replaced in Moto3, with the more powerful 250cc four-stroke bikes taking the place of the two-stroke ones.
For Sarath, it’s about achieving his dream. “I know it’s going to be much tougher than the national championship. But I’m up for the challenge,” said Sharath, who rides a scooter while commuting around Chennai. “I hope this will help me buy my dream bike (Yamaha R6) sooner than later,” he signs off.
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