COIMBATORE: Ishaan Madesh is cruising towards success. From admiring equestrian horses to oozing class with his car, his impressive rise makes him a future prospect in Indian motorsport.
After five podiums and three wins in the F4 National Championship this season, his chances of clinching his first Formula title remains strong. After finishing fourth in the first race of Round 4 on Saturday, he will be determined to improve his points tally on Sunday's double-header.
The Bengaluru boy is enjoying a stellar season. Earlier this month, Ishaan clean swept the senior max category by topping the practice, qualifying and heats sessions and both the pre-final and final at the MECO-FMSCI National Karting Championship in Bengaluru. In September, he won both the races in the premier MRF Formula 2000 category in Chennai.
Representing the Kolkata Royal Tigers, owned by former cricket great Sourav Ganguly, the teenager reflected on the day's race. "The championship is really tight right now. I think I'm in third spot after the last race, but I was on old tires and I saved my new tires for tomorrow (Sunday). So, tomorrow (Sunday) is going to be a much better day for me," he told this daily.
Growing up, Ishaan's eyes glowed, not by the glossy racing machines, but by watching equestrian horses. When he was seven years old, he was persuaded by his father Madesh Lakshman to take up karting, "(At first) I was not great at it. It was not my favourite thing to do. After a lot of driving, I developed a love for motorsport," he explained.
As he stood beside his gold-clad car, he seemed to be surprised about the fact he had come to a crucial stage of a formula championship. "Feels good," he said, with a wide smile.
In his motorsport journey, Ishaan has evolved to become a mentally sound driver. "As I went to higher levels in the sport, I changed the way I drive a lot. Even on Saturday, the drive was for the championship. I could have taken some risky moves for the podium, but I decided to hold back and just save everything, you know, damage control," he added.
With that maturity to take on seasoned drivers, it was important for Ishaan to learn the technical know-hows. His personal coach and former national champion, Raghul Rangaswamy, has played a big role in guiding him in the formula discipline. "He has taught me ways to avoid dirty air, make overtakes, and helped me unlearn a lot of things I had in karting," he said.
With the right guidance and the right motivation, Ishaan is well set to go higher. He aims to now take part in Formula events outside the country after the season ends.
Results (Winners): LGB Formula 4 Race 1: D Goswami (Msport): 19:58.578, LGB Formula 4 Race 2: M Agarwal (Dark Don Racing): 24:20.393. Royal Enfield Continental GT Gup: A Shetty 14:02.338. Levitas Cup: Rookies: B Raju (Race 1) 14:47.508, A Murlidharan 14:32.046 (Race 2), Gentlemen: S Balasundram (Race 1) 14:32.727, Jai Prashant V (Race 2) 14:30.848; Novice Cup Race 1: B Bonu (MSport) 13:57.813, Race 2 B Bonu (MSport) 14:07.700. F4: S Rotge 26:50.931 (Kichcha's Kings Bengaluru)