These dads do more than back-seat driving

Fresh from a highly successful double-header weekend of karting at the Kartdrome, where apart from writing press releases for general media use (as my role at Dubai Autodrome decrees) I also enjoyed trudging along and taking photos of the action and soaking in the unique atmosphere on such race days.

There is a certain feel-good factor wafting through the Kartdrome paddock, taking in the camaraderie and sense of purpose that prevails amid the non-stop activity. One of the things that really struck me this weekend was the involvement of parents in the racing endeavours of their children.

I have always insisted that karting, arguably among the most important rungs on the motorsport ladder, is a family sport. On the surface it appears that a kid gets in the kart and drives as fast as he or she can until the chequered flag drops. But behind the scenes it is so much more than that.

Karts have to be prepared and maintained, tyres changed and pressures checked, tanks fuelled, chains lubed, fuel jets changed, helmets cleaned while drivers are kept fed, hydrated, psyched up for each and every race – on a typical day that is normally three races and qualifying.

Sure there is help available for hire to sort this out for you should it be needed. But the norm is to have a mechanic oversee the kart with help from a father, while the driver tends to be in the hands of the family especially at the junior level. Although driver-coaches are employed to help in this area too, they come at a substantial price most of the time and are not the norm on the local scene.

As a father of a seven-year old son who loves Formula 1, I am intrigued by the paternal dynamics that exist in the karting scene, especially in the UAE where it is somewhat different to the culture that prevails abroad.

In the past I have witnessed kids being dropped off at the Kartdrome entrance, presumably by parents, at 8am and picked up again around 5pm after a full day’s racing. Thankfully, to my knowledge, this has not happened for some time as parents are now far more involved. A child’s success in racing at junior level is wholly dependent on the family support network that exists around them.

With my son Luis, an avid soccer player, having declared recently: “Papa, I would really like to try out karting. I think racing will be cool” – I am preparing myself to get involved.

Much of what I have taken for granted before, I now have to study and absorb, particularly how fathers manage and relate to their sons while they race.

There are several instances of fathers and sons who race, albeit in different categories of course. Former UAE GT ace Raed Hassan is now an avid karter contesting the Max Masters category, while his son Ameer is one of the pace-setters in the Senior Max class. They have a crew who look after their karts and have a tight knit relationship that obviously works for them on race days.

Others I know of are Max Masters’ driver Kevin Day, whose son competes in the Bambino category and SWS Juniors; the UAE Max Masters’ champion Walid Al Qassemi has his boy Saquir also competing in the Bambino class.

What these fathers have in common is the fact that they are more concerned about the progress of their boys out on track than their own fate.

This applies even more so to the fathers who have raced before but have ‘retired’ to take care of their children’s karting exploits. Those that spring to mind are the likes of Michael Bale, chainsmoking as his son Tom competes in the Junior Max class; multiple karting champion Maurits Knopjes totally focussed as he keeps an eye on his boys Sem and Kris in the Micro Max and Bambino classes respectively; and Ronald Zouein beaming proudly as his tiny son steps on to the top step of the Kartdrome podium.

In fact looking at an entry list of junior drivers, there are none who are left to their own devices. A spot analysis suggests that the more involved the parents, the more successful the kids tend to be on track.

To the above mentioned, add kids such as Piers-Pakenham Walsh and the Al Rawahi brothers, Abdullah and Sanad, and the common denominator is that their parents get their hands dirty and are involved on all fronts. Success on track comes thereafter.

This brings me to the story of Shaikh Salman bin Isa Al Khalifa, chief executive of Bahrain International Circuit, whose son Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa was in action during the course of the weekend with a squad from Bahrain. They were making their first visit to the venue for a UAE championship round.

On day one, young Isa scored a second place finish in the Junior Max Finals, but the real eye opener for me was his dad, Sheikh Salman, getting well and truly involved. No airs and graces here.

As with other karting dads, he pushed karts to the dummy grid, watched the race from the Kartdrome viewing platform, rushed to parc ferme after his son’s race and, best of all, sported the biggest smile of all as Isa was called up to the podium to receive a trophy at the end of the day.

In fact, that was the overriding common denominator over the two days: huge smiles from parents as their youngsters climbed the podium to receive their well-deserved awards.

From my side, when my lad starts his karting adventure, I have some great role models to emulate in my quest to be a useful karting dad.

CREDIT: The writer is Corporate Communications Manager at Dubai Autodrome llc.