Ishayet Hossain: The 17-year-old Bangladeshi junior champ on the race track
The 17-year old became the first-ever Bangladeshi to win the Junior Champion crown of the VW Polo Cup race series in India earlier this month.
While his friends were mostly into either cricket or football, Ishayet Hossain had a powerful attraction for cars from a very early age. He started driving cars, unbeknownst to his family, when he was only 10 years old.
Well, he doesn't have to hide it anymore. The 17-year old became the first-ever Bangladeshi to win the Junior Champion crown of the VW Polo Cup race series in India earlier this month.
It was the proudest moment of his life. A novice racer with no prior experience, from a country that has no race track or any facilities for new-gen racers, winning an international championship is indeed a huge achievement, both for him and the country.
"When they announced the winner 'Ishayet Hossain from Bangladesh', I felt proud. Maybe I did something so big that I can't even imagine myself. So it was a great feeling and I cannot express that in words," a proud Ishayet couldn't hide his happiness as he was speaking to The Business Standard (TBS).
"When they announced the winner 'Ishayet Hossain from Bangladesh', I felt proud. Maybe I did something so big that I can't even imagine myself. So it was a great feeling and I cannot express that in words."
What's even better for Ishayet is he had his first inspiration and mentor Avik Anwar with him during the whole tournament and the prize-giving ceremony. Avik finished fourth in the same championship, in the senior category, and had a couple of podium finishes in the race.
"My first inspiration was Avik bhai (Avik Anwar). My interest in racing grew after watching him bagging success without any kind of guidelines or facilities. Then I followed his guidelines and started racing on my own."
"It was special, definitely. My mentor, my brother, Avik bhai supported me all through the championship. He even concentrated on my race before his race and was instructing me to do this and that. And when I won the race, he was so proud. I could see it in his eyes," Ishayet added.
Ishayet dislocated his shoulder while doing the NGK Pro Car Racing in UAE just a week before the final of the Indian championship. He fought through the pain, took painkillers, kept on racing and eventually won it.
"I was second in my category until the accident. I crashed my car and dislocated my right shoulder. After that incident, I couldn't feel my shoulder in India from the second race. I had to take painkillers."
He had to experience difficulties, apart from that accident. With no race tracks in Bangladesh, all he had to do was practice on simulators. Ishayet thinks a simulator can't give a total real-life idea of a race track.
"There are no facilities here. No race tracks, no go-karting. How far can you go with simulators, really? A real racing track is totally different. A simulator cannot really capture the different real track conditions, ever. Simulator gives you a thorough idea, but the real-life experience is different," he said.
"When I went there for the first time, I noticed everyone else was good. I was probably the one who was not good. I was scared and kept thinking about whether I would be able to do it," Ishayet added.
"But when I first got on the track, after five laps, my timing was better than theirs. That's when I regained my confidence that maybe I can do it."
And boy did he do it in style!
Ishayet has been pretty lucky to have the support of his family all through his racing journey. He still faces financial obstacles as a race costs around BDT 30 to 35 lakhs. But the encouragement from his family, especially his dad, keeps him going.
"Mental support is the most important, I think. One may get a sponsor and can race, but mental support from friends and family is very important. If you don't get inspired by people, how will you get inspired to do something big?"
"Mental support is the most important, I think. One may get a sponsor and can race, but mental support from friends and family is very important. If you don't get inspired by people, how will you get inspired to do something big?"
Ishayet just got admitted to a university and is currently looking after his dad's business. He believes it's possible to continue education, business and racing altogether if someone is passionate enough.
"I will participate in international events and try to represent my country."
He is planning to do the next full season of the NGK Pro championship in the UAE. He also has a plan to do a full championship in Sepang, Malaysia this year.
His proud mentor, Avik, said Ishayet has improved a lot since he first saw him. But Avik urged him to lose weight as this matters a lot in the racing arena. Avik doesn't want Ishayet to make the same mistakes he did during his early racing days.
"Ishayet has improved a lot even though he has been practising on simulators for a few months. And the raw speed is there in him. But he needs to lose weight, massively. Every 10 kilo is like one second on the track, which means a mile in a race. You need to look like an athlete, or else you're done in the long run."
Ishayet is here for the long run. And there are so many raw talents like him in Bangladesh who are yet to announce themselves on the big stage. It's about time proper facilities are provided to passionate motorsport drivers like Ishayet to unleash the champs in them on the international circuits.
