Life on the race track

Karting is more than a weekend pastime. It is a serious sport, says Sawan Sathyanarayan, who is pursuing it professionally

Sawan Sathyanarayan started driving when he was eight or nine. Little did he know this headstart would go on to define his career.

The 32-year-old is a motorsports professional today. He has competed in over 70 races and bagged 47 podium finishes across the formats of karting, endurance karting, cross country rallies and off-roading. Most recently, he stood first at Edra’s Kartopen Racing Series in Vadodara.

Based in Bengaluru, this native from the ‘toy town’ of Channapatna quit his corporate job in four months to return to the racing track and burn rubber.

“The adrenaline rush I get when I am racing or when I am on the track is unparalleled. No other sport makes me feel this way,” says Sathyanarayan. Motorsports, according to him, is also a social leveller. “Everybody from a mechanic to the CEO of a racing team works together to finish a competition successfully.”

Sawan Sathyanarayan

His journey into motorsports started at the age of 12. “My mother took me to a go-karting arena in Bengaluru on a weekend. I knew driving, so I was at ease in the kart. It was actually quite liberating to drive on a circuit because, in those days, I had to hide and drive my father’s Omni ambulance because I was underage,” he laughs at the memory. Go-karting was certainly more thrilling than dashing cars at amusement parks, he chuckles.

A year later, in 2003, he entered a national-level MRF karting championship in Bengaluru and then a JK Tyres karting event. He stood sixth and seventh in these races respectively. It was a bittersweet time for him. “My father was a popular doctor but also somebody who loved cars and bikes. He wanted me to pursue motorsports. He passed away the year I started karting.”

In fact, many racers have cut their teeth at karting arenas. This includes Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Raikkonen and India’s very own Narain Karthikeyan.

“A lot of people in India aren’t aware karting is a serious sport, that it’s more than a weekend fun activity. It’s the foundation for all motorsports, especially circuit racing,” Sathyanarayan chimes in and says that go-karting refers to leisure racing whereas karting is competitive and it deploys powerful karts that can go from 0 to 100 km per hour in seconds.

However, the scene is changing. There are more karting competitions now, more racers, and more participation by young girls and women. “Cities like Bengaluru, Chennai, Coimbatore, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Delhi are most active on this front. Bengaluru is number one in terms of coaching facilities, also the number of teams and racers,” he says.

But just doing motorsports won’t pay your bills, especially if you are in the early stages, warns Sathyanarayan. “It will take at least five more years for the scene to mature in India.” And so, he restores vintage vehicles to make a living, also to afford his passion. It costs Rs 4 lakh to Rs 12 lakh to play five rounds at top championships.

“Racing has made me a better person. It calls for a lot of focus, imagination, dedication, and patience. One also needs to control aggression and keep mental health in check to be the best on the track,” Sathyanarayan says why he can’t get off this sport, also why he wants to introduce it to more youngsters, including in villages.

In this race for speed and excellence, we wonder if Sathyanarayan likes to slow down and go go-karting like he would as a kid. “I do sometimes but I get frustrated. The rental karts are slower and everything outside the kart feels like a slo-mo scene. But I have fun driving it sideways and sliding it, which I don’t do during a race.”

Go-karting venues in Bengaluru

“Meco Kartopia at Hennur is good. Grips Go Karting & Bowling along Mysore Road is one of the oldest. Torq03 at Marathahalli and Aruani Grid at Dommasandra are other tracks,” says Sathyanarayan. Meco, Kartkrew Motorsports, and Red Rabbit Racing are top institutes in Bengaluru to learn from, he adds.