Walking along an aesthetically appealing sidewalk of one of Bangalore’s most expensive apartments, it was easy to understand why the Maini brothers were out and about racing across the world while the rest of the karting fraternity in India had nothing but the National championships to fight over.
Copious use of Italian marble, giant beige couches, beautiful porcelain vases and designer lamp shades only added to the thought. But shaking hands with the humble ‘Three, ushered in by a well-trained, salt and pepper Cockerspaniel, changed the perception.
The Mainis –– Gautam (father), Arjun (14) Kush (11) –– may be a well to do bunch with grandfather SK Maini’s foray into high-precision engineering tools and several other businesses yielding by the truck load. It is, however, their humility, racing prowess and ability to stick together in adverse times that adds a whole new dimension to karting’s premier family. While the grandfather makes an occasional visit to karting centres to watch his grandchildren, Gautam, a racing driver in his time, spends most of this time getting the little ones to circuits, cheering them and video tapeing their each and every second in a kart.
“Tapeing them helps me get an idea of what can be done to improve timings,” said Gautam. “Once the race is over, we sit down and look through the videos. These boys are very quick learners… by the second race there is already an improvement in timings. It helps them to clock quicker times the next time they come to the same circuit.”
It would be ludicrous to think that only a bunch of tapes helped Arjun win the JK Tyre Junior Max National Karting Championship title with four wins out of six races.
There are other shining nuggets like -- AKOC race in Macau, Ask KF3 Race in the Elite category in Malaysia, a runner-up finish in the AKS Malaysian Championship, representing India in the Rotax World Finals at the AL Ain Track in UAE, and the Sahara Force India’s ‘One from a Billion Hunt’ title. Kush’s triumph in the JK tyre Micro Max National Championship by winning all six races was a feat to savour. He also displayed his skills at the Phillipines AKOC round in the Minirok category, in the ASK round in Malaysia and a runner-up finish in the ASK Malaysian Championship in the Yamaha Cadet Category.
The tapes do help the Maini brothers assess their shortcomings on the track, but there is a lot more that goes into their winning formula. Working out at a state-of-the-art gym, cycling around home, skateboarding along the sidewalk, football in the basement, fighting over a Cockerspaniel named Love, attending school, Indus Valley, and lounging on a couch while Gautam talks about cars give these kids a world of their own, a special environment where they can develop their special talent.
“Sometime back we were cycling and Arjun pushed me and I fell into a pond,” said Kush abruptly while consistently thwarting Love’s persistent attempts at getting his attention. “I don’t like losing, and I get really angry when I do. I pushed him back the other day. He always nudges me out on the final corner and pushes into the bushes.
“In one race something similar had happened. In Italy, I was making my way up the grid and this guy pushed me out onto the gravel. I got out, clawed my way to top, and instead of going safe and finishing on podium, I rammed against the guy who had hit me and lost the race. I was really angry,” added Kush, who has a reputation of confronting kids almost twice his age and size on the National circuit.
While an ever-charming Kush went on about how big his arms are and how he has an ‘eight pack’, a more reserved Arjun opened up about his Force India experience. “I am thrilled to be a part of Sahara Force India. I was very happy to win the Hunt, and go to Silverstone. It was very nice and I did well. Mallya sir came up to me and praised me for how well I drove,” said Arjun. “I will train and become better with time. My ultimate dream is Formula One.” The statement drew an immediate response from Gautam -- “it takes a lot of hard work and luck.”
By the look of it, the dream could be a reality in future.