When you have talent like 17-year-old Sarath Kumar, nothing and no one should stop you.
Sarath, the ace rider of the Bangalore based WTR-Ten10 Racing Team made his debut as the first Indian rider in Moto GP history, at the Jerez Circuit, Spain for the pre-championship IRTA test, on Friday, March 4, 2011.
This Chennai-based lad started riding in 2008. What started out as “something that I had gone out for fun with my friends” became something that he realised he has immense potential in. The Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix is the premier championship of motorcycle road racing which is currently divided into three classes: 125cc, Moto2 and MotoGP. The MotoGP bikes use four-stroke engines.
Sarath started out as any Indian kid would — on a moped at the age of 10. Now he rides an Aprilia 125 RSW bike with the team. Speaking about his experience at the Jerez circuit in Spain, Sarath said, “It was raining in Jerez during the pre-championship test, but my experience was one of a kind. The conditions were different everyday and the challenge was to adapt to the ever-changing weather conditions especially riding a GP bike that no one in India has experience with. It was amazing when I first rode with the best in the world and found myself very competent to race with racers of world class standard and confidence as well”.
After Jerez, the next pit-stop for Sarath was at Qatar GP which took place in Qatar on Sunday, March 20.
Bangalore-based team Ten10 partnered with Italian racing team WTR. Ten-10 is the first team to represent India in the MotoGP. Ramji Govindarajan, who is a former racer himself, wanted to provide a professional platform for unnoticed young talent in the Indian motorcycle racing scene. “I joined Ten10 Racing in 2009 to be a part of there Group B national championship team and we won the championship in style in 2010. Ten10 Racing partnered with WTR to take me to the World Championship”, said Sarath.
Sarath started riding in 2008 when he visited the Chennai race track along with his friends. He always was a fast rider and lover of two wheelers but never had an opportunity to put his talent to test. So when he got the chance he decided to take to up as profession. Speaking about the support from his family, Sarath said, “Initially they were hesitant like any other parents but when they saw my talent and winning ways they accepted my decision to take this sport professionally.”
Speaking about the track conditions and competition Sarath says, “The conditions are for sure far better than we have in India especially the infrastructure and the track conditions. The competition is also intense but with the right mindset and bike set-up we can be competitive in the world class racing”.
The young lad thinks that motorsport like any other sport requires a lot of financial support to compete at world level, and in India the exposure to this sport is new although motor sports has been active in India since the 60’s. “The fan base has always been there for Moto GP and there are many niche followers for this sport. With India getting exposed to performance biking and having young population, this sport will get a lot of support in the days to come”, said Sarath.
In India, Sarath has grown as a racer in Chennai MMRT and he loves racing in Kari Speedway at Coimbatore as well. What’s more? Sarath is pursuing his BBA in an open university through correspondence.
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