Hes been racing since seven

At an age when most kids get a thrill from sitting on their dads’ laps, holding on to the steering wheel and pretending to drive, Vishnu Prasad was busy winning races at the kart racing tracks. Having been behind the wheel since the age of seven, he recently finished on top of the table in the Polo Cup championship. He has been addicted to racing for the past 11 years, says the young racer. “My dad used to rally and introduced me to this sport,” says the shy 18-year-old racer. “Since then, I’ve been hooked on to it,” he adds. Having been in the race tracks for 11 years, does he need to practise daily? “That’s true. I don’t need to practise much, just two or three days before the race,” Vishnu admits. But to be a champ, it surely requires more than just two days of practice. “Physical fitness is more important in this sport,” he explains. It is sad that he is travelling for 250 days every year (he apparently hasn’t been home to celebrate his birthday for many years now), but even on days he is at home,  he spends over five hours playing other sports and working out to keep himself fit. With so much time spent on his racing career, does he miss having a normal childhood? “I do miss spending time with my friends, but as I’ve made a name for myself in this field, I don’t think it matters,” says Vishnu, who has just joined a course in IT in SRM University. With four wins at the Roto Max National Championship and having represented India in the world finals at Egypt, Vishnu is looking to focus on formula cars, which are much faster and difficult to handle when compared to the karting vehicles. Vishnu has been training under Akbar Ebrahim, father of popular racer Armaan Ebrahim, for the past nine years. He has also taken guidance from Narain Karthikeyan on various matters. “Narain and Armaan have always been helpful. They have given me some valuable tips,” says Vishnu. Though Vishnu feels at home on the racing track, his father is still apprehensive about handing over the family car to him because of his fear that Vishnu might over-speed. The irony of life! Vishnu is all admiration for Michael Schumacher and hopes to race at the BMW Series at Malaysia next year, provided he finds a way to get the sponsorship he requires.