CHENNAI : Chennai’s 10-year-old Rivaan Dev Preetham dominated the Micro Max class in the third round of the MECO-FMSCI Rotax Max National Karting Championship 2023 which concluded at the Meco Kartopia circuit, Bengaluru on Saturday.
MSPORT’s Rivaan bounced back after a forgettable Round 2 and dominated Round 3, winning both the pre-final and final. He also clocked the fastest laps in both races. He dipped under the one-minute mark, the only competitor to do so in the finals of the Micro Max category. Round 4 of the five-round competition will be held in October.
Motorsports aficionados and officials of FMSCI who saw Rivaan in action believe that the kid has the potential to grate into an ace car driver in future. Rivaan’s thrill for speed, timing and fighting skills got noticed at the Kartopia circuit.
Rivaan is the son of noted bike racer Preetham Dev Moses, a seven-time national champion for TVS racing. He was India’s first representative for testing in MotoGP. “(I’m) pleased to do well in the Micro Max class in the third round of the MECO-FMSCI Rotax Max National Karting Championship. I worked hard for the event and the results are there for all to see. I am a part of MSPORT team and I am mentored by team principal Armaan Ebrahim during race weekends, and driver coach and data analyst Rakesh Ramkumar throughout the year. I thank them for their support without which I would not have won,” says Rivaan.
The class 5 student of Alphabet International school, Palavakkam, enjoys speed and thus took to motor sports. “It (karting) came naturally to me. I enjoy speed and anything on wheels. Recreationally, I took to karting as a six-year-old. I joined the professional circuit just over a year ago. This is my second season and it has been really good. I won the Meco Meritus Cup overall championship 2023 in the Micromax category, in July 2023. The first race I won was Round 1 of the Meritus cup championship in June 2023,” he says.
Rivaan travels to Bengaluru to train on the kart and works on his fitness in Chennai. “I have fitness training with Sports Dynamix every day after school. I travel to Bangalore once or twice a month to practise driving at Meco Kartopia. It is the only professional circuit available to all of us at the moment. It is well run and maintained with good amenities and facilities,” he says.
Rivaan loves watching F1. “My favourite drivers in motorsports are Fernando Alonso in F1 and Marq Marquez in MotoGp. I follow F1 closely and take inspiration from it. I admire Alonso because of his driving style and his achievements. I like the Portugal circuit the most,” he says.
He is now preparing for the next round of national karting and juggling his time between training and studies. “I am preparing for my next Karting event which is Round 4 of the national championship to be held from October 20-22. My immediate goal is to win the National championship and also win the World Finals. My goal is to do everything that eventually takes me to get into Formula 1 one day,” he says. “I study well, though it is honestly a challenge to keep up with missed classes and catching upon homework. I manage to make the best of my time in school and I’m also the Junior House captain of the Sphinx House. My school is supportive and understanding of the demands my sport and allow me to do as much as I can, whenever I can,” he signs off.