It was a slightly overcast afternoon. It had rained a little before 19-year-old Jamie Shaw could get into a go-kart for one of his practice sessions at Mumbai's Ajmera IndiKarting race track.
Shaw seemed to have misread how moist the track could have become due to the light showers. Shaw, who aspires to become a grand tourer (GT) car endurance racer, puts the kart into the wall after a few laps. Thankfully no harm was done and Shaw and the kart had another go in sometime. When Shaw emerges from the kart after a while, he doesn't seem even a bit shaken. He walks confidently towards me and seems to even enthusiastic and excited to explain the reason for the crash.
Why would such minor accidents bother a racer, whose hero is the legendary driver Niki Lauda?
After getting into the physics of the sport, Shaw is raring to go on a few more laps. The teenager's knowledge about the sport and his curiosity is apparent when he speaks.
Jamie Shaw during his practice session at Mumbai's Ajmera IndiKarting race track.
Shaw entered his first go-kart a little four years ago, and since then — about two years since his first local go-kart race — he has gone on to represent India at the 2020 Dubai Kart Drome Endurance Championship. To give context to Shaw's achievement, he was the least experienced driver in his team of five; in fact, he was the least experienced driver in the entire event. To further put things in perspective, Shaw was for the first time racing on a track other than Ajmera IndiKarting race track, that too in a race that is widely regarded as one of the most iconic endurance kart races in the world, one which permits only limited entries from around the globe. The karts were a little heavy and the race track a tad faster, but they were no deterrents to this young driver. Shaw's team, EBC Brakes, finished runners-up, even though their lap times were incredibly close to the champions. The boy managed to obtain faster lap times than other experienced drivers.
Shaw's other achievements include winning multiple podiums in the 2021 MRF Saloon Series, testing the Indian LGB Formula 4 cars, becoming vice-champion in the 2020 Pro Senior IndiKarting National Series and winning several other interstate karting races. What makes Shaw's achievements bewildering is that the boy has learnt the tricks and the trades of motorsports via YouTube. He is a completely self-taught driver with no coach or no mentor.
That's right. Shaw is a completely self-taught driver with no coach or no mentor in a sport that is heavy on resources, support staff and capital.
And it is this last component that is Shaw's biggest hurdle.
Despite the encouraging results, Shaw is finding it tough to convince his family to come along on his journey to be a world-class driver. Shaw feels that his family wants what is best for him but they believe motorsports is not a sustainable career to pursue. There are financial constraints.
Shaw doesn't have his own go-kart. For his practice sessions, he uses one of his friend's go-karts. For owning one of those go-karts, one has to part ways with several lakh rupees, and that doesn't even include the cost of the tyres. Shaw explains that to register for the cheapest championships in India one has to spend around Rs 3.5 lakh. For that amount, an aspiring driver just gets a practice session, a qualifying round and the race. A driver has to give a sum as a "deposit" against possible damages. On top of all this, there are expenditures during the practice sessions.
"Only the rich are able to practice. People who have moderate means maybe cannot practice and directly register, and people who have a budget close to mine cannot even register. So if we cannot register, we cannot showcase our talent and our skills," says Shaw.
But Shaw's desire to succeed has enabled him to jump over the financial barrier hurdle. Shaw runs his own online motorsport course, in which he teaches the theory of racecraft, the rules and terminologies of motorsports and a racer's perceptive and ends up making some money. The money that comes in, Shaw uses to fuel his dreams.
He sometimes takes up gigs as a freelance videographer to keep the money coming in. Shaw says he will do everything within his control to keep participating in races. This year, he plans to participate in the Volkswagen Indian National Championship. For that, he is running an online fundraiser on Milaap. The competition requires a steep entry fee of Rs 17 lakh, and he has managed to raise just a few thousand rupees so far.
Shaw is driven to grow as a person and as a racer. Along the way, he has picked multiple skills, which in the long run could start reaping benefits. Shaw is good with social media. His Instagram handle has over 7,000 followers. He has his own YouTube channel. For a year, Shaw managed Ajmera IndiKarting race track's events and sponsorship deals. He does all this all the while being enrolled in a college — Shaw is currently in the third year of his B Com degree.
Lest we forget, he has yet to turn 20!
Shaw shows promise, but it has not been a smooth ride for him.
"I was very unhealthy and unfit just before I joined motorsports. I was incredibly spoilt as a child growing up. I was used to the easy way out in life. I use to get terrible grades in school... I used to be a terrible person overall," a good-natured Shaw recalls his childhood.
Shaw is showing promising signs but it has not been a smooth ride for him.
Shaw was borderline obese and he could not even fit properly in a go-kart the first time ever he attempted to sit in one. At one point, Shaw wanted to be a singer too, but his parents wouldn't allow it as he was just all over the place. Shaw had to work hard in his studies. From failing in his sixth grade to being the topper when he left his school, Shaw came a long way in his studies. Only positive results in academics could convince Shaw's parents to give the green light to his dream of pursuing a career in motorsports.
Given all this, Shaw's maturity — especially at his age — is impressive. He has learnt to be grateful in life. He has learnt to differentiate between happiness and satisfaction. He has no complaints if a fellow competitor has more funds and gets to practice more. Shaw only tries to be happy always.
Shaw is at that stage of his career, where it is do-or-die. He either has to keep churning out results on a consistent basis or simply get out of the sport, as several talented racers already have in India.
If you are wondering what makes young drivers like Shaw keep pushing the limits, in his own words, "to still want to go ahead you have to be a little crazy to join motorsports".
Words to drive by.
First Published:Jun 25, 2022 11:01 AM IST