[akshye]

For the parents in us, I am creating this thread to compile all the information together.

Athletic/Motorsport or any sport for that matter is a serious stuff. You can't really start it when you're in your 20's or 30's. To make it a career choice or compete internationally, one has to start early in. I believe its too late for most of us BHPians (unless you're extraordinarily talented), but if we wish to train our children for formula Motorsport, what are the means present in India?

To be in Formula, I see that the drivers start their Motorsport career when the're 7-8 years old (Senna started when he was 4!). There is lot of money involved. But what about the facility or training? In India, how can kids be prepared for international championships?

Any information that would help the parents here, is welcome! And thanks in advance.

[FourWheelDrift]

Originally Posted by akshye

if we wish to train our children for formula Motorsport, what are the means present in India?

....

But what about the facility or training? In India, how can kids be prepared for international championships?

Any information that would help the parents here, is welcome! And thanks in advance.

Fortunately for us in India, karting is fairly well developed and easily accessible for beginners in most large cities.

The better tracks will hold training sessions for youngsters, usually conducted by the local racing veterans of that city.

Where are you located ?

You can start looking here https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...-included.html (Data Bank Of Racetracks Across India (Go karting & dirt tracks included))

In Mumbai, I'm aware of https://smaaash.in/mumbai/attraction/go-karting and https://www.facebook.com/IndiKarting.Aj/. The latter offers training for anyone interested.

To search for other tracks around the country, you can type kart india at https://www.google.com/maps/

Our national motorsport body, the FMSCI, lists the most serious kart training academies here http://www.fmsci.co.in/karting-academies/

The FMSCI also conducts a national karting championship. For more information, please see http://www.fmsci.co.in/fmsci-events-karting/

Over the years, there are quite a few kids who have reached a very good level in karting, some of whom are racing in higher categories now.

Cheers,

FourWheelDrift

[landcruiser123]

Originally Posted by akshye

Any information that would help the parents here, is welcome! And thanks in advance.

Writing this post, I assume you've deep pockets - racing in India is a rich man's sport. I wish your child godspeed - I'd love to see more Indians representing their country on the world stage in motorsports.

Can't see where you're located, but I've once seen this particular track (https://torq03.com/go-karting/) used by a kid for practice in Bangalore.

[GTO]

Your kids are lucky . There are a couple of threads on go-karting training on Team-BHP - click here to see them. The first result you'll see is from BHPian psn who organised a workshop.

[arun_josie]

Volkswagen Virtual Racing Championship (Polo TSI) is a good place to start too. There is no age limit here and this gives a good opportunity to get a feel of car racing for kids. Registration for this year championship is over though. Qualification is happening on Monza track.

This is conducted in the Assetto Corsa gaming software so you can still get this installed and get access to various tracks.

https://www.autocarindia.com/motor-s...n-india-418259

[WhiteSierra]

I started Gokarting when I was 7 years old, my Dad used to take me and my elder brother to Runway9, Kompally, Hyderabad. We used to go there every Sundays and drive around the tracks, there used to be 4, 8, 16 lap tickets. We used to enjoy those track days. But unfortunately one day, all that was spoilt by an elderly guy of 35+ age who rammed by brother's kart from behind. My brother did not get any physical injuries but complained about back pain. Dad immediately took my brother to hospital and got MRI done, the report was fine, Dad being a doctor, did not want to take any risks further and he stopped us taking to Gokarting after that incident
My brother used to sneak out and silently go to Gokarting with his school friends later though. Runway9 is owned by Mody group, they have hero honda, ford and many more dealerships in Hyderabad. Based on their different car collection, they are true car enthusiasts.

Even Telugu actor Nagarjuna Akkineni used to bring his kids (Naga Chaitanya and Akhil) to Runway9. I saw them many times. They used to be very fast and extremely competent on karts. I actually thought they would be professional racers as they could afford more expensive motorsports like F3 and F1, but they became 3rd generation actors.


My Dad, my brother and me are avid F1 fans. Back then the rivalry was between Mika Hakkinen vs Michael Schumacher, Mclaren vs Ferrari. While most supported Ferrari and Schumacher, we used to support Mclaren and Mika Hakkinen. We also used to call our Red sierra a Ferrari and White Sierra a Mclaren Mercedes (technically it should be silver back then) lol. I used to feel like an F1 racer when I used to drive the kart.


This is me when I was 7 or 8 years old. Now the minimum age limit is 10 at R9 I guess.

[akshye]

Alongside, I have also been looking at Sim Racing and I came across this interesting article on OverDrive:
irush-a-guide-to-building-a-sim-racing-setup-on-any-budget