Striking balance between motorsport and flying drives Ajay Kini

Among the drivers competing in the Euro JK 16 category of the 19th JK Tyre-FMSCI National Racing Championship, Ajay Kini stands out. At 27, he is the oldest racer in the category, being as much as 10 years senior to some of his competitors.

Among the drivers competing in the Euro JK 16 category of the 19th JK Tyre-FMSCI National Racing Championship, Ajay Kini stands out. At 27, he is the oldest racer in the category, being as much as 10 years senior to some of his competitors.

Kini (left, in blue overalls) finished second in Sunday’s first race at the Kari Motor Speedway, but admitted that his body often struggles to keep pace with those of his younger, more conditioned rivals. (Photo: Artsmith Concepts and Visions)

He finished second in Sunday’s first race at the Kari Motor Speedway, but admitted that his body often struggles to keep pace with those of his younger, more conditioned rivals.

“Driving these cars is physically taxing. I’ve got pace in my car, but I’m not able to get the best out of my body. For the first time in my life, at 27 I’m feeling old! In a 15-lap race, I struggle after the eighth lap. My shoulders and neck feel the strain. All these guys here are so fit. They do a lot of work in the gym to keep their bodies in shape. Some of them do cardio for two hours a day. Where do I have the time for that?” he says.

The reason Kini does not get time to work on conditioning is because he is a pilot with Indigo, flying five days a week, which translates into 25 to 30 hours of work per week.

“I sometimes have to get up at 3am or at odd times to fly out. At other times I come back home at 12 in the night. Where do I go to run after that,” he asks.

He reveals that he started out with wanting to make a career in motorsport, even winning the JK Tyre National Carting Championship in 2003.

“Flying is my bread and butter, racing is my passion. I took up motorsport initially to make a career out of it,” he says.

But then reality hit home. Coming from a middle class family, his father works in a bank while his mother is a housewife, he felt he needed backup. He took a two-year break and went to the US for his pilot training.

“Now I can fund myself. I don’t have to ask my parents for money.”