Dubai: It all started less than a year-and-a-half ago. Kyle Kumaran was your normal sort of child, growing up with the love, care and attention of doting parents Kumaran and Denys. Everything was normal, and it was out of sheer necessity that father and son started a practice of escaping to the indoor kart drome every Friday morning so that the mother could get that extra rest.
It was then that the teenager was bitten by the karting bug, and today, after just 16 months he is within reach of making it to the BRP Rotax Max Challenge Gran Finals that draws the best drivers from all over the world, to be held in the last week of November at the International Karting Circuit Paladino of Conde in Paraiba, Brazil.
As per international regulations, the top two finishers at the end of the 13-round UAE Rotax Max Challenge earn the right to represent the country at the season-finale in South America. But before that, Kyle will have to win the UAE Grand Finals scheduled to be held at Al Ain Raceway on April 7.
“I really want this badly, not merely because of the hard work put in by all concerned, but because I feel this will very much be an important part of my learning curve as a circuit racing driver,” Kyle told Gulf News.
“I am focused that I need to do well. I am also convinced that I can do well. But first things first … I need to win the championships this season so that I can achieve the first of my goals as a new driver so that I can make an impact in my sport,” he added.
Growing up, Kyle liked the normal sort of things. He loved football [with a preference for Manchester City], trained as a swimmer while also dabbling in martial arts and getting himself a Level 1 Black Belt in Karate and also getting involved in arts and creative design. “But after all this I could see that Kyle was somehow not happy doing what he was onto. He would come home and ask ‘Mama, are you happy I’ve done this.’ I simply didn’t want my child to do something just to please us,” mum Denys related.
It was at about the same time that Kumaran started taking his young son to the autodrome, with hardly any expectations. “At first I thought this was all a passing phase. Slowly he not only started showing a keen interest but he was good in what he was doing with the kart. People older than him were finding it difficult to get past him,” dad Kumaran related.
Slowly his hard work and dedication started paying off. His first karting experience was participating in the Emirates Schools Karting Championships (SKC) as part of a hastily rustled up team of friends including Rashid Al Awadhi, Hugo Gid and Ethan Watt. That bit of success was all that was needed as young Kyle started becoming a regular at various karting circuits in the country. First came the SKC followed by the Al Ain 12-hour endurance races, the SWS Junior Series, the IAME Juniors and even the more challenging RMC Seniors Championship.
- Kyle Kumaran » Karting racer
However, the young Kyle doesn’t mind this workload and he has shown it by completing at least 60 races in a 16-month time frame, not to mention the time and effort spent at practice sessions. Further commitment came when Kyle became a part of the Brand Racing Team (formerly Sodi Kart Middle East) exactly one year back. This has given him the impetus of tapping into an innate talent while growing his skills as a driver and understanding what he was doing in his chosen world of motorsport.
“The one advantage I have is passion. I am passionate with what I am doing and what I need to achieve as a racer. And one of the most significant disadvantages that I have to put up with is the fact that I have started quite late in life. Others start their careers in racing when they are as little as five or six years old. But I’ve just about started now in my teens, so the best way to get around this is to put in that extra bit of work and play catch-up,” he stressed.
“I am very clear with what I want from this sport. I want to take the next logical step and go up achieving what I think I am capable of. Let’s say in the next three years I would love to see myself behind the wheel of a GP2 car and a couple of years later driving in Formula One. The sky is the limit really,” Kyle added.
“I started off with a helmet and a pair of gloves. But now I’ve got a huge stockpile of the finest in racing gear, and yet I know I’ve got a long way to go.”
FACT FILE!!!
Name: Kyle Kumaran
Date of Birth: December 3, 2002
Age: 15 years
Place of Birth: Trichy, India
Height: 5.6ft
Weight: 62kg
Hometown: Chennai, India
Achievements:
*Won the Al Ain 12-hour Endurance Series for Juniors
*Currently fourth in the IAME Junior Karting Championship in Ras Al Khaimah
*At the end of 12 rounds, leading the UAE Rotax Max Challenge (RMC) Seniors in Al Ain
*Crossed the line in second place, but was classified as fifth due to a three-seconds penalty in 2018 Dubai ‘O’ Plate Championship for Juniors at Dubai Kartdrome.
