This 11-year-old kart racer scored second position at the IAME Asia Series

While children his age are overjoyed to dash cars at amusement parks Hamza Balasinorwala draws satisfaction on a different track Earlier this week the 11yearold fought his way from the back to clinch second place on the podium in the 4th Round of the IAME Asia Series Asiarsquos most prestigious X30 Championship in Sepang MalaysiaSingaporean Michael Lederer eventually took the win two seconds ahead of Hamza The Class VI student of Podar International School Worli was hit by bad luck in the crucial qualifying round to finish 12th in the cadet class grid That was not it He suffered another setback in Heat 1 pulling out of the race in the first lap itselfThe Rayo Racing prodigy made a strong comeback in Heat 2 overtaking several experienced racers from Asia to finish an impressive fourth Speaking from his Worli residence the lean champ looks younger than his 11 years His room illuminated by LED lights is a temple to his other obsessionmdashgaming Hamza says ldquoI am really happy with my performance This is my first international podium and that too in my third international race It wasnrsquot easy but I managed I learnt a lot but I still have a long way aheadrdquo When not karting over the world as an only child Hamza likes to be with his cousins or playing football with friendsHamza with mother Jumana and father Murtuza BalasinorwalaPraising his ward coach Rayomand Banajee who has raced with Indiarsquos first Formula One driver Narain Karthikeyan once and helped F2 driver Jehan Daruvala in his initial years feels Hamza has the potential to be the next big thing in sport ldquoHamzarsquos journey with us started when he was maybe eight or nine before he joined our academy Rayo Racingrdquo says Banajee ldquoI would say that he has a lot of potential I would not want to compare him directly to Narain Karthikeyan or Jehan Daruvala but the kid possesses the right attributesmdashthe hunger to excel willingness to work hard and natural talent He is also intelligent which can go a long wayrdquoBanajee an eighttime national champion in formula cars and karting himself says Hamzarsquos success also depends on how long the family is able to fund him ldquoUnfortunately the sport karting has become extremely expensive the last race cost approximately R2 to R3 lakh Much is linked to how much sponsorship his family will bring in as he needs to participate in a bare minimum of 10 to 12 races a a year Right now he is in the lowest category cadet The moment he graduates in juniors roughly in 2025 things will become a lot more expensive At a very broad level the three main factors which determine your success aremdashhow good you are as a driver funding and the right guidance If that clicks he is definitely capable of going placesrdquo said BanajeeTalking about how Daruvala too joined the academy at around the same age as Hamza Banajee remarks ldquoJehan started off with us in a very similar fashion We achieved a lot together FIA Asia Pacific KF3 Championship for one Jehan was fortunate to be picked up by Sahara Force India then which was a huge validation of his talent The links to a Formula One team were a huge boost to his careerrdquoRayomand Banajee coachJumana Hamzarsquos mother tells us the family runs multiple businesses in Hong Kong Singapore and India are able to sustain the current expenses but will surely need external support going furtherldquoMy karting journey began as a sevenyearold in 2019rdquo Hamza tells us ldquoafter I saw my father doing it at Wadalardquo His father was also an enthusiast but financial crisis stopped him from pursuing it professionally For the first two years Hamza would ride in the rented baby kart and then COVID happened Post the pandemic the parents bought Hamza his own fourstroke cart which cost about R120 lakh By then coaches had spotted his potential and recommended preparing him professionally At first he was too slight to ride the twostroke Fitness sessions and kickboxing ensued and last year he started racing in a twostroke cartldquoInitiallyrdquo says Hamza about his journey ldquoa training programme got me hooked and I officially joined Team Rayo Racing at IndiKarting My coaches Rayomand Banajee Saurav Bandyopadhyay Steve Hodges and Aditya Pawar helped me immensely I train in Bangalore Meco Kartopia and Wadala Indi karting I am grateful that my previous school Christ Church and current one give me the liberty to join classes late and give me leaves when I travel My ultimate aim is to be a Formula One driver like his favourite Charles LeclercrdquoUnderstandably Jumana has fears about her only child speeding on the tracks ldquoI am scared of safety but my husband is not He encourages him saying lsquoWhatever is meant to happen will happen regardlessrsquo But I donrsquot watch him race I have seen karts collide and go over each other That freaks me out Even in the Heat his kart just missed a collision On the day of any Finals I prefer to stay in the hotel room as my son says he gets nervous when he sees me getting hyper Karting is my husbandrsquos dream and Hamzarsquos passion He is so occupied in karting and gaming that he has no complaints in liferdquo