Watch out for him in F1 - Vrooooom Ahead Abhi!

Sometimes, winning is not everything. The number one may win the trophy, but not the highest applause. At a racing event held recently in Coimbatore, a nine-year-old kid from Bangalore came fourth, but the audience rooted for him all the way.

No prizes for guessing why. Abhirath Shetty, at 9, was the youngest of the lot.  It was the first national event he was taking part in. But if he had any goose bumps, he did a good job of hiding it! Added to that, his six opponents were all hardened pros, with overseas racing experience in Malaysia and Thailand.

A 5th standard student of BNM School, Banashankari, and resident of 7th Block, Jayanagar, Abhirath had hit the driving circuit just eight months back when he developed a fancy for go-karting and had some experience practicing on 4-stroke 10 bhp karts.

At the Coimbatore event, he was for the first time riding a 2-stroke 22 bhp kart. Well, when the going got tough, this tough and gutsy lad got going. During the practice session he did the fastest timing and the next day he created a buzz in the audience. In the finals, Abhirath was unfortunate to get off the block with a crash, but still, he managed to get past the others and finish fourth. For someone his age making a debut at the national level, it’s a performance that is more revealing than the score at the finish line. His goal: To make it to Formula 1. Vrooooom ahead, Abhi!