Rising Indian racer in the UK: Alok Iyengar

It is a rather small paddock at the iconic Brands Hatch circuit in UK with a couple of Toyota Celicas parked outside in complete race-trims with some engines left to run on idle. Amidst all the burble of the Japanese cars, a young lad named Alok B. Iyengar is preparing for his race in the Nippon Challenge. It is a race series for production and modified Japanese sports and saloon cars plus other Asian makes such as Proton and Hyundai held across United Kingdom that offers level-playing field for racers on a budget. It consists of fully modified GT classes as well as the single make Subaru and Evo cups to participate in. Alok was racing in the GT 200 class running a tuned 200-bhp Toyota Celica GT weighing about 1200kg. His Indian origins were evident from his look and the lack of a typical Brit accent was enough to tell that he hadn’t been in the UK for long. And he hadn’t been.

That was last year, but the 27-year old Alok has been pursuing racing as a profession for almost a decade. His first tryst with racing happened at the age of 18 when he participated in the MRF as well as the JK Tyre Karting Championships in 2003. Finishing 5^th overall in his third ever race at the Hyderabad JK Tyre Karting round, Alok continued karting till about 2005 with respectable results as a privateer entry all this while. In 2005 with enough experience in karting competitions, the young lad decided it was time to sincerely pursue his talent and he moved up to the Junior National Formula Maruti Championship. Being a privateer entry means it is always a stretch to get a good car that is fast and reliable. Despite qualifying 10^th out of 21 drivers, Alok’s 2005 try was shadowed with mechanical issues resulting in DNFs for most part of the 2005 season. Not losing heart but on a shoe-string budget, he ventured into the 2006 JK Tyre National Championship in the Formula Swift class posting times in the top six during the tests. A fatal crash in the opening round ended his efforts for 2006 as money was short and it took time for him to recover from the crash.

Lack of sponsorship deals in India often ends the dreams of many upcoming racers in car as well as motorcycle racing. Unless there is a god father looking after one, it is indeed extremely difficult to convince a sponsor to invest in your talent as there is a severe lack of awareness and coverage about motorsports in the country. But not the one to bow down in front of circumstances, Alok’s passion for racing gave him the idea to head to the center spot of motorsports, United Kingdom. From 2007 to 2009 Alok focused on gathering funds doing odd-jobs, finishing his education and charting a course that would take him to UK where he could fuel his passion for racing. In 2009, the Indian driver moved to UK and participated in some karting races while working side by side. Bettered prepared for 2010, Alok entered the Whilton Mill Club Karting Championship in UK, but a Novice racing license meant he had to start from the back of the grid of 24 drivers for five out of the six rounds of the season. Despite which, he scored two 10^th place finishes driving the 29 horsepower 2-stroke karts, much powerful than any of the karts he had driven before.

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Last year he raced in the afore-mentioned Nippon Challenge and this year Alok continues to pursue the Nippon Challenge again while participating in the highly competitive open-wheel Formula Jedi series under class B, which consists of cars having lightweight spaceframe chassis and are powered 1000cc motorcycle engines from Honda, Yamaha or Suzuki. A tried and tested series started in 1996 in UK to present a cost-effective racing environment for new and upcoming racers giving them a chance to shine and showcase their talent, the Formula Jedi series has been highly popular in the UK racing circuit. Alok’s performance at the first round of the 2012 Jedi Series held at the legendary Silverstone circuit has been a mixed bag with a 13^th place qualifying finish for race one and 8^th for race two on the grid of 14 racers with drivers from 3^rd to 10^th place being covered within just .350seconds of each other. His first ever race in the Jedi series and debut at Silverstone, Alok managed to make up places from 13^th on the grid to finish 9^th in the race. Race two was more demanding since running on slick tyres Alok spun off as rain came down but recovered back to 6^th place before spinning out again and eventually finishing in 10^th place.  Currently the Indian lad is placed 7^th in the Formula Jedi series in class B and is determined to make it stick as the season progresses.  Kudos to this young gun and we wish him all the best for the future. Godspeed.