Eshan Pieris is first Sri Lankan to win Rotax Max Asian Championship Race
Young and aspiring driver Eshan Pieris created history by becoming the first Sri Lankan to win the Round 3 of the Rotax Max Asian Championship held in Sepang, Malaysia last Sunday. He is the first Sri Lankan to win a race in the most competitive Asian Go Karting Championship and has succeeded in placing his country on the international karting map.
Eshan showed exceptional driving skills to win against highlyexperienced drivers and reigning champions from Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. An old boy of S. Thomas’ College, Mt. Lavinia and presently an undergraduate at the Monash University in Malaysia, Eshan represents the RL Karting Team from Malaysia.
Before the race and at the practices, it appeared that Indonesia’s Senna Noor was the one to beat with Prassetyo Hardja also showing formidable pace. Then disaster overtook both Eshan and Senna at the Time Trials, when technical issues meant neither turned a lap. This resulted in them starting the heats from second to last and last position respectively.
Brilliant driving in the heats then saw them both move up with Senna taking second place and Eshan coming in a close third. In the pre-finals, Eshan shot to the lead briefly but was soon overtaken by Senna, in a Praga, who romped home to a victory with Eshan settling for third place behind a very quick Prassetyo. The finals started very well for Eshan and he soon passed Senna to take the lead which he held till the end.
“It was amazing to win the 3rd round of the Rotax Max Asian Championship. I came 18th after some issues in qualifying but kept fighting in every subsequent race to finish in the top three and then eventually took the lead in the second lap of the finals,” Eshan stated after the race.
This win is even more commenda- ble given the fact that Eshan only started racing at the late age of 14 or so. Most go kart champions, who then go on to F1 careers, start at around the age of six. His success was clearly the result of very hard work, focus, passion and dedication, especially as he is juggling a full racing calendar while pursuing his university education.
“I couldn’t be happier with the support I got from my team RL Karting, my superstar mechanic Raj and my manager and friend Aaron Lim all who worked super hard to get the best possible setup to ensure my success. I should thank my parents and to all the people who contributed to my first ever international win. Now we push on to become the Asian Champion for 2017,” he added.
It was recently announced that an Asian X30 Championship would be held at the Sri Lanka Karting Circuit in Bandaragama. This would be the first time an X30 race is being conducted outside of SE Asia. Ability to host such as event that would showcase over 50 of Asia’s best karting talent and reigning champions would put Sri Lanka on the karting map internationally and also give young Sri Lankan motor enthusiasts the exposure to the highest level of karting. Eshan’s success and the exposure to international races will be the start to Sri Lanka producing more go kart and potential F1 champions. Next Eshan goes to France for a round of the Euro Championships after which he will fly to Singapore for the next round of the X30 SEA series.