Season of victory

Revving his racing fortunes, Rayomand Banajee won the most prestigious racing title in India – the Formula LGB Championship – in December 2005. "Formula LGB cars have a modified Esteem engine and can reach speeds of up to 200 km an hour,” he says. Banajee becomes the only driver in India to win both a national go-karting title and a national Formula racing title, with the added distinction of holding both the titles at the same time.

"Formula LGB is the highest level of Indian racing,” notes Banajee. "It is part of the JK Tyre National Racing Championship along with the Formula Maruti which is the entry level category.” Banajee was the only driver to take part in both categories, though it meant driving four arduous races at each event. The Championship consists of seven rounds in different cities in India. Each round comprises two races on Sunday in each category, with qualifications on Saturday and practice on Friday.

"Recently I have been struggling immensely for sponsors. In November it looked as if I would not have been able to complete the season. I was really fortunate, for Godrej Soaps decided to sponsor me through their brand Cinthol,” Banajee touches upon one of the sport’s most difficult and deciding factors. "I am really thankful to Cinthol for the much needed sponsorship at the last moment. Valvo­line Cummins (oil and lubricant manufacturers) too have supported me from mid-season. I owe this Championship to Cinthol and Valvoline.” Banajee now aspires to drive in the Formula BMW Asia Championship, whose rounds will be held in different Asian cities, provided he can raise the big sponsorship money required.

Rayomand Banajee

Banajee made a dream start to the Indian racing season in Coimbatore with two pole positions (fastest in qualifying), two race wins and two fastest laps in the Formula Maruti. It was precisely the opposite in the Formula LGB as, handicapped by a weak engine, he managed only fifth and fourth place finishes in the first two races. Pitfalls in subsequent rounds included being hit by another driver, forcing him to retire due to car damage. Banajee however finished the season with 98 points, with Madras’ Sarosh Hataria tied on the same number of points. Hataria however lost out due to the fact that he had less podium finishes. Banajee also created a record for the maximum number of podium places (19) in Formula racing in a season, winning a new Maruti Esteem as the reward.

Keeping up the kinetic energy in karting as well, Banajee stood second at the Indian Rotax Karting Championship in 2005 (he was the winner last year). "This is the highest level of go-karting. These karts are very fast and the Coimbatore track is the only one which allows karts to be driven at such speeds,” he explains.

Banajee also participated in November last year in the 2005 Taiwan Auto Gymkhana Team Championship along with ace driver Gaurav Gill. "Auto Gymkhana is a kind of grassroots motorsport. The organizers had invited the two best drivers from each (Asian) country. The aim was to popularize and increase participation in motorsports,” he explains. The cars were left-hand-drive Hyundai Getz, and Gill and Banajee powered their way to a second place team finish.