Chennai: Varoon Sadasivam, a 16-year old racer from Honda is making rapid strides in the motor-racing circuit. The Honda driver, who resides in Santhome started his racing career in 2016, participated in the Indian National Motor Racing Championship 2019, held recently and won the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup one-make championship.
Speaking about the win Varoon, who idolises racer Marc Marquez says, “Honestly, I didn’t expect to win since my timing was too low in the qualifying but I was very happy to win the race. There were two races and I won the second race while coming second in the first race.”
In an interview, Varoon speaks to News Today about his love for racing, his stint with team Honda and about his goals.
Excerpts from the interview
Q: How did you start your racing career?
A: I started to ride bikes at the age of nine and after that, I got more craze and at the age of 11, I started riding. In 2016, my racing career kick-started with me participating in the Suzuki Gixxer Cup and in Group D Championship. But since I had board exams at that time In had to quit the racing for sometime and in 2018 I was back in the circuit.
Q: How difficult was it managing both studies and racing?
A: It was a bit difficult for me but since I had board exams. My school actually supported me well during the school exams allowing me to participate in the races. But since I had board exams, for nearly four or five months I had to focus on that and hence didn’t go for practice. 2017 was a disappointing year for me but the last two years were good for me and hope to continue the performance.
Q: When did you join Team Honda and what did you learn from their training?
A: I started my training with Honda in 2018 after Round 1 championship. There was a trial to get into the Honda Ten10 racing team and I was selected. After that, I received the training twice a month from Honda and last year I went to Bangalore for fitness training. It was a great training experience that helped me enhance my fitness as well as the track performance. They had several fitness sessions and also taught us how to practice and what to focus on the track. On a monthly basis, we get trained on track.
Q: What kind of a difference did you feel within you after joining Honda?
A: Before joining Honda, I was trained under Rajini’s Academy of Competitive racing (RACR). It was good training but I realised that it was not effective in the track as I was not able to compete with experienced riders. So after joining Honda and receiving their training it has changed me completely. I gained very good experience and learnt how to compete with experienced riders. It was an enriching experience.
Q: How did you feel after winning the Honda India Talent Cup?
A: I was very happy to win the race. There were two races and I won the second race while coming second in the first race. Honestly, I didn’t expect to win the race since my timing was too low in the qualifying. My aim was to improve my timing from the qualifiers. However it was a very good race for me and I improved my timing as well.
Q: How supportive were your parents?
A: First of all I want to thank my parents and sister as they helped a lot. My father was very supportive as he took me to every training academy and every race. I also want to thank Honda and Ten10 racing as they have been very helpful in shaping my racing career for the past two years.
Q: What is your dream?
A: My aim is to win the NSF Cup and participate in international racing events. But my ultimate dream is to participate in Moto GP and win it.