MOTORSPORTS Kenyan autocross prodigy Amaan Ganatra casts his net wide in search of global racing glory

Youngster Amaan Ganatra has explained how is combining athletics and football to help him perfect his racing skills

Kenyan autocross prodigy Amaan Ganatra has a natural grasp on speed and racing technique.

This is a racing trend the 14-year-old adopted from his dad and he has had clear driving traits showing up early in childhood.

With an apparently insatiable appetite for success, Amaan is incidentally a jack of all trades- although motorsport remains the first thing on his bucket list.

"In my first race this year, I had to persevere the pain inflamed by a broken collar bone to finish third in Two Wheel Drive NT Car Class. It was a nagging injury that I had sustained in a school hockey match," he said.

"Last year while in the Junior 2WD NT Class, I won five out of 10 races which wasn't a mean achievement.”

Amaan also plays football but he's more into athletics which he says gets him fit for his scheduled weekend motor racing meetings.

His meteoric rise in the 'man and machine' game was not due to luck, it was blood, sweat, and tears.

This informs the reason why he uses other sports to gain the much-needed fitness to spin motor-driven race contraptions.

Now, the Year 10 student at Braeburn School is thinking differently. He has purposed to run selected national races next season to pave the way for a full season in the British Swift Rallycross Championship.

Launched in 2010, the Swift Sport Rallycross Championship was created to provide a tightly-controlled one-make championship designed to highlight talented drivers.

Featuring in The 5 Nations British Rallycross Championship, it offers a level playing field for drivers to develop their car control and showcase their driving skills in these equally powered Suzuki Swift Sport pocket rockets.

The Swift Championship has successfully proven to be an excellent platform for drivers to showcase their talents and help secure sponsors to aid progress up the motorsport ladder with a number of former Swift drivers going on to compete in the FIA World Rallycross Championship.

"I have always haboured the ambitious journey to advance my driving skills in motorsport and indeed become a professional race driver," he added.

Amaan participated in the 2023 Kenya National Autocross Championship and is currently ranked second behind newly-crowned champion Neel Gohil with one event remaining. He is also a contender in the Machakos-based RX Rallycross Championship's Two-Wheel Drive Championship.

With dedication and hard work, Amaan aspires to achieve several milestones in the next five years.

His aspirations revolve around rising through the ranks in national and international events.

All in all, the talented driver reckons that there is a need for a fresh impetus into his already blossoming racing career.

"I will be racing in the UK's Swift Rallycross Championship next season with the sole objective to gain requisite international exposure given their nature of high level of competition," said Amaan.

Amaan also had a go at the Cross Kart Championship run by WRC Hyundai Motorsport lead driver Thierry Neuville.

"Last year, I had a great experience in the Cross Kart Championship where I qualified for the final but unfortunately missed out on the podium," he said.

"In the Swift format, there is a level playing field as you get to drive the same car against your race adversaries with controlled fuel and tyres which helps to showcase an individual driver's speed and ability."

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