3 things it takes to be a race car driver- The Nayan Chatterjee edition

We’ve given you the race report, a detailed look into the race car and now, here is what it takes to be a race car driver. Our guide into the amazing community of men and women who like to live it on the edge is Mumbai born and bred Nayan Chatterjee.
All of just 20 years, Nayan began his racing quest in 2012 and since then, has never looked back on the road to motoring stardom. In these six years, he’s raced small go-karts, big go-karts and even one that accelerates akin to an F1 car (more on that later).

Well here are 3 things we learnt on what it takes to secure a place in the world of motor racing.

1.    Fitness is the key
Ahead of the 2018 season, Nayan shed 7.5kgs to make himself lighter and be a bigger asset in terms of overall weight. In the run up to the race weekend, Nayan ran 6kms every morning and worked out in the evening to build his racing physique. In the larger scheme of things, he will be participating in the Formula Renault 2.0-litre which requires the kind of dedication he has put in.

2.    Experience always counts
In his six years of racing so far, Nayan has gone fast in everything including the Rotax Max Asia challenge where he drove a 175cc engine go-kart whose output was 52bhp. That kind of combination gives this little tray on four-wheels an F1 car like acceleration number, 3.8G cornering forces and ever present possibility that even a single error meant the kart ate you up and spat you into the corner.

3.    Prepping your car = knowing your car
In the lower to mid-rungs of motor racing, it is not uncommon to see racers do their own prep work ahead of a racing session and here it was no different. As I chatted with Nayan between races, about various aspect of the car, he went about taping up stuff, bolting on wheels and even making adjustment as per his requirements. Well, I believe that working on your own car will give you better insight into it and this helps in telling your mechanics and engineers exactly what you want and how you want it.