Ajit Kumar & Kush Maini on Indian motorsport dreams

Actor and racer Ajith Kumar sits down with F2 driver Kush Maini to talk about the challenges and triumphs of Indian motorsports.

Transcript

00:00We are here in Barcelona for the 24-hour Kermitik Tri-Farsies.

00:06It's the last round with the championship.

00:08And this happens to be a 24-hour race.

00:10And since you mentioned the tri-colour,

00:13Nareen Kartikeyan, Karun Chandok, Jahan Daruwala,

00:17Khushmaini, they have all raised the Indian flags on podiums in different series.

00:22So I'm not the first, but yes, it is a proud moment when, you know,

00:26you see the Indian tri-colour in the pits or, you know, on the podium.

00:31It's a wonderful feeling.

00:33See, firstly, unfortunately, racing motorsports is considered glamorous.

00:40I mean, it is anything but glamorous.

00:42They think, yeah, it's a rich man's sport.

00:44If you look at most of the drivers on the grid in any series,

00:49be it Formula One or the World Endurance Championship, any format,

00:5380% of the drivers are struggling to find sponsors.

00:56And believe me when I say they're some of the best drivers in the world.

00:59Let us take India, for example.

01:02It's a country of 1.4-plus billion people.

01:05It is wrong for us to expect funding from the government,

01:10because there are so many other important issues.

01:12But yes, what the governments can do is probably direct the corporates to support this sport.

01:18F1 is very rare, especially for people from India.

01:22When you watch cricket on the TV, it's like you can go out and hold a bat and play with your friend.

01:26When you watch F1, it's like, what do you do, you know?

01:27And it's one of my goals, really, to, you know, one of, after I make,

01:31hopefully make my first goal of Formula One, I want to make it easier for,

01:34you know, the, I want to be, I want to make it easier for Indians to be more enthusiastic about racing,

01:40because right now it's like, it's tough to connect with the sport when you can't really do it.

01:45to be representing, you know, the film industry here on international circuits,

01:50and represent the country as a racing driver.

01:53Because, like I said, I'm really blessed.