Young Indian racers shone at the FIA Asia-Pacific Motorsport Championship 2025 in Bandaragama, Sri Lanka, grabbing two silver medals on Sunday. Fifteen-year-old Aarav Dewan from Gurugram claimed second place in the Senior Karting Sprint, while Tarushi Vikram from Chikmagaluru added another silver in the main Asia-Pacific segment—just a day after her win in the Asian Auto Gymkhana Championship.
Aarav pushed hard in the Senior final but couldn’t catch leader Yu Ka Po from Hong Kong, China. Instead, he focused on holding off challengers to secure his podium spot. “It was a good race, but I just didn’t have the pace to match the leader,” Aarav said. “So, I did the next best thing of defending my P2 position. I am thrilled to win a medal for India and it’s my first in an international championship.”
Tarushi’s back-to-back silvers highlighted a strong weekend for India’s young talents in karting and motorsport events. But not everything went smoothly for the Indian team. In the Juniors category, Kiaan Shah looked set for a podium while running second until his engine failed midway. Akshat Misra from Bengaluru finished a solid fifth, and Thomas Jacob George from Kottayam came in eighth.
The Cadet class brought mixed results too. Eight-year-old Arshi Gupta from Faridabad impressed with a fourth-place finish, missing third by just five-hundredths of a second against Sum Lo from Hong Kong. Rayan Gowda from Bengaluru ended ninth. Rehan Khan Rasheed started strong, leading the first two laps, but dropped to fifth before crashing due to understeer while pushing for a better spot. B Kumar Gowda from Bengaluru rounded out seventh in the Seniors.
Indian teams showed promise in the two-hour Endurance race, briefly challenging for podiums, but settled for fifth and eighth overall. They struggled more in the 30-minute Endurance Sprints, landing in midfield.
India missed out on medals in Karting Slalom, though some drivers came close. In Autocross, hopes faded early—Chetan Shivram from Bengaluru and Philippos Matthai from New Delhi finished outside the top eight, joining Pragathi Gowda, who got eliminated the day before.
Tarushi’s success contrasted with disappointments elsewhere. Gold medalist from yesterday’s Asian Auto Gymkhana, Achintya Mehrotra from New Delhi, racked up penalties for hitting cones and fell out of contention. Prateek Dalal from Bahadurgarh, Haryana, faced the same issue.
In iRacing, Pune’s Sai Shiva Makesh Shankaran was India’s lone entry but crashed in the semi-final, ending the challenge there.
Overall, these karting results from the FIA Asia-Pacific Championship mark a promising step for Indian motorsport, with Aarav and Tarushi leading the way for future international successes.
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