A fast and furious formula

Living on the edge is a mighty good thing if you are focused and revving it up on the race track — Ace car racing champion, Armaan Ebrahim’s journey is a testament to that. The motor racing enthusiast walked away with the Motorsports Man of the Year trophy awarded by the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI), held in New Delhi on February 28, 2016.

Raised in a family closely associated with go-karting and car racing, it might seem like a gradual progression at first blush that Armaan followed his father, erstwhile Indian F3 Champion, Akbar Ebrahim’s footsteps — but the effervescent 26-year-old racer begs to differ. “Car racing was never on the cards. Yes, I was exposed to the game since childhood as my father was hugely involved in the sport and was doing really well. But growing up, I was always keen on cricket and other sports activities,” he says.

So what egged the youngster to steer towards racing The athlete traces his stint with car racing back to the year 2004, at the age of 14, to mere curiosity. “As a family, we were involved in go-karting and similar businesses. But for me, it was just out of mere inquisitiveness. I soon realised that this was something I was quite good at,” he adds. The youngster went on to win the National Karting and the Indian National Racing Championship’14 in Chennai, and hasn’t looked back ever since. Fast forward two years, and he was the youngest driver in the world to sit behind the wheels of an A1GP car.

His recent feat — being awarded the Motorsports Man of the Year, he says, “It’s indeed is a great feeling to see your efforts being acknowledged. I owe this achievement to my family and peers for their unwavering faith in my abilities.” The Chennai-based racer won the Raymond Gautam Singhania Rolling Trophy and a cash prize of Rs 2,00,000 for his commendable performance in the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo Asia Pacific Series’15. The racer and his racing partner Dilantha surpassed expectations — they won the Fauji race and qualified for the world series.

On his interests beyond the race track, he says, “I love surfing over the weekends. I also try to hit the beaches as frequently as I can. Other than that, I like bingeing on different cuisines and watching TV.”

On his future plans, Armaan look forward in anticipation to a promising journey ahead with his team Dilango. “While a lot of things are still up in the air, My racing partner Dilantha and I will be gearing up for the next edition of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia Pacific Series’16 that’s slated to take place early this May. Let’s see how that goes,” he ends.