Young Ruhaan soaring high in the karting lane

Karnataka is renowned for producing good motorsport talent. Among the latest young talent to emerge from the State is 12-year-old karter Ruhaan Alva.

Ruhaan made a mark in the Indian National Championship before taking on tougher competition in Italy.

In 2015, he was the winner of the standalone Rookie Cup here. He was also the runner-up thrice (2015, 16 and 17) in the Micromax category of the National Championship. He then went all out in the Easy Kart Championship in Italy. Thanks to four wins, he emerged as the runner-up in 2017.

It was a bit of a struggle last year but he did manage second and fifth places in two races. He finished seventh in the championship despite not finishing in the first two races of the season. He was not able to participate in the National Championship in 2018 as his family members suffered health problems.

“There have been mechanical problems on the kart and that restricted us. The competition was tough as Italy has a large grid and the grip levels are high. Hopefully, 2019 will be better,” said Ruhaan, who drives for Birel ART team.

It was natural for Ruhaan to take up motorsport since his father Umakanth was a rallyist in his younger days. From the age of three, he showed a liking for cars and it was pretty clear that motorsport was the discipline for him. He joined Fusion Motorsport for training at the age of seven and began racing for them a year later.

There is no doubt that this kind of a schedule is taxing for a 12-year-old since he has to juggle between karting in India, Italy and studies as well. “It is tough but my mother (Dr Neeta Alva) helps me with schoolwork and studies. My father travels with me and manages me on the track,” he explained.

The sixth standard student of National Public School (Koramangala) is eager to make an impression this year. “We are looking to participate in the Indian National Championship and the Italian Easykart Championship in a new class called the BMB Challenge,” said Ruhaan, who hopes to drive for Ferrari in Formula One some day.

“If the budget permits, we want to race in a couple of rounds of the World Super Karting Championship. Getting sponsors has been difficult but we will try our best,” he concluded.