COIMBATORE: Patience is something that Digveshwar Jamwal has learnt the most in his nine-month-old racing career. On a day marked by a handful of crashes at the JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship in Coimbatore, the racer from Jammu was one of the unluckiest people involved, forced to leave the track before completion of his Novice Cup race.
After the racers were, rather unusually, asked to start their fourth lap from the start line after a collision, organisers found that there was a leakage from his car. The 26-year-old was asked to step out as his car was unsafe to compete. But this is not the only such incident where things have gone out of his hands. In fact, Digveshwar says his journey from Jammu to the highest level of Indian motorsports has been full of challenges. “I came here to prove that even Jammu boys can do it,” he says.
“I started in the 11th position and was at fourth before the incident happened. One cannot control these things. But what hurts is how we are treated in this circle. One of the officials even questioned my ability because I am from Jammu.” “The problem is that people think the whole of the state is unsafe,” says Digveshwar. “When I was training in Bengaluru, one of the drivers actually asked me if I had a gun at home because of militancy.
It was shocking to hear. Why would I carry a gun? We know the army is there to take care of that. But people assume many things when they come to know where I am from.” Before this event, he competed in the MRF Racing Championships in Chennai in February. Following that, he represented Prudent Motorsports in Dubai Kartdrome Endurance Championship in April where his team finished second in Round Two.
He says that the Dubai event — where a driver has to drive 600 laps — has helped him to be mentally stronger. Most budding drivers ultimately want to end up in F1 but Digveshwar’s dream doesn’t stop with that. A law student from Jammu University, he wants to give exposure to amateur racers and start an academy in future.
Ashwin stays ahead
On a day of multiple crashes, Ashwin Datta made the most of his good fortune to hang on to his Euro JK 2018 lead in the 21st JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship. Joseph Mathew too continued his stunning run in the Suzuki Gixxer Cup, winning his fifth straight race to widen his Championship lead further. The LGB F4, however, saw a mini upset, with Delhi’s Rohit Khanna (Dark Don Racing) pulling off a stunning victory.
Results: Euro JK 18: Race One: 1. Ashwin Datta (15:38.306); 2. Karthik Tharani (15:42.598); 3. Brayan Perera (15:42.829). Race Two: 1. Karthik Tharani; 2. Nirmal Uma Shankar; 3. Nayan Chatterjee. LGB 4: 1. Rohit Khanna (Dark Don Racing; 23:28.307); 2. Sandeep Kumar (Dark Don; 23:28.592); Raghul Rangasamy (MSport; 23:29.337). Gixxer Cup: 1. Joseph Mathew (12:36.577); 2. Malsawmdawngliana (12:41.202); 3. Sachin Chaudhary (12:44.210).