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Fast track to fame
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Fitness played a major role in 16-year-old Ajay Kini's recent success
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Photo: K. Pichumani
DRIVE TO EXCEL Ajay Kini
On a hot and humid Sunday at the Irrungattukottai Track in Sriperumbudur, Ajay Kini is surrounded by his friends, mechanics and the media, soon after his successful completion of the inaugural JK Tyre Junior Racing Cup. The 16-year-old doesn't show any trace of emotion. He comes out of his 800cc Formula Maruti car, shakes his head like you see in a shampoo advertisement and gives a wry smile. The maturity of the youngster strikes you.
Like a veteran racing driver, Ajay takes all the compliments in a matter-of-fact way. His father, his benefactor and guide, at the side, watches his son revel in the limelight. The Bangalore-born boy deserves the accolades. Despite a clutch of young drivers such as Saran Vikram Tmars, Vignesh Devarajan and others posing a challenge, Ajay went on to bag the overall championship with ease.
Focus on fitness
Supported by Team Valvoline, Ajay dominated most of the six rounds (each round had two races). Driving at around 170 km/hour in humid conditions, Ajay says what helped him maintain his focus throughout was his physical fitness. "Earlier, I used to lose a competition because of lack of fitness. That's no longer the case now," says Ajay, a Standard XII student of Jaigopal Garodia Vivekananda Vidyalaya (Anna Nagar). "For the last 20 days (before the championship), I went to a gym. I could easily make out the difference."
Ajay did have problems with his car midway. During the third round in the second race, his engine conked out, but thanks to his mechanics, he was able to pull it off, finishing third. "My engine did give some trouble. The mechanics worked overnight to fit a spare engine. If not for them, I wouldn't have completed the race."
If Ajay is driving with confidence and conviction, he attributes it to his karting experience. He is of the view that karting enables one to drive with speed and control. "Only from karting can you graduate to racing," emphasises Ajay, who is being supported by KNK Karts (Goa). He continues to compete in karting championships. "Taking part in karting quite early," Ajay observes, "helped me beat my competitors."
Narain Karthikeyan, the first Indian to compete in Formula One, will sponsor four young drivers out of the 20 short-listed in the JK Tyre senior National Championship in the Formula Rolon category in August. Ajay is happy that his idol is doing so much to encourage youngsters. Ajay is also inspired by Sudanand Rajan, a pilot-cum-racing driver. "I want to become a pilot and at the same time involve myself in racing like Sudanand," he says.
Busy attending school and private tuitions, Ajay has quite a few options to choose from: get good marks in the Board exams and opt for engineering, or go for driving and explore the option of being a pilot.
Becoming a pilot is a distant dream at the moment, but Ajay, spotted by Akbar Ebrahim, is, nevertheless, flying high.
K. KEERTHIVASAN
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