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12-year-old Pune kid biking his way to glory
He finished in an impressive second position at the Junior SX event held on February 10
The love and passion for motorbikes is something that drew young Sarthak Chavan to the sport of motocross.
At a nascent age of 12, he’s already doing wonders for himself as he is the current Junior National Motocross champion of India.
Competing with riders several years elder to him is something he has done from a very young age and it has never fazed him and probably never will.
Last Sunday, February 10 at Pune Invitational Supercross League Chavan lived up to his billing and finished in an impressive second position in the Junior SX event.
His performance was well received by the fans in attendance and the tournament organisers as he was the youngest rider and still ousted more experienced performers.
After the race, an enthusiastic Chavan shared his experience of competing in the event for the second time. He said, “The track was quite hard as it was made for a bigger bike and I had a small one comparatively. I had some disadvantages in terms of the distance I could cover in triple jumps but I knew I had to focus on my target if I was to finish in a respectable position.”
It was indeed a challenging race for the student from Rosary School as after the first few laps he found himself in a disappointing sixth position due to an accident that took place just in front of him.
It took him a lap and a half to get his mojo back but while he did so he always navigated his way past the chasing pack. He managed to leapfrog all but one, and given the circumstances of the race, it almost felt like a win for the 12-year-old.
Racing has been in the Chavan family’s DNA as his uncle Snehal Chavan, who has been a biker in his heyday and was a two-time dirt-track champion.
Looking at him riding motorbikes since he was born, Sarthak knew that motocross was a sport that excited him and the high risk-reward nature of it only spurred him on to defy the odds and triumph over the rest.
At four, when children aren’t even fully equipped to ride cycles without training wheels, Chavan was already jumping over dunes and troughs on his very own motorbike without any fear.
A basic Chinese bike was what he trained on when he started biking but now he has moved on to a Kawasaki 2016 edition one.
Speaking about the early days of his career, Chavan said, “Looking at my uncle with his biking stunts and the track titles only inspired me to get into the sport. Since an early age, both my father and my uncle have been actively involved with my coaching. My dad also helps me to modify my bike.”
It’s been an illustrious career for the 12-year-old thus far with 2018 Junior National Supercross Championship being the highlight of his career. However, this year he has a number of events coming up with the World Junior Championship, Asian Championship and National Championship all in the next six months.
