• ROK Asia karting Champion 2023 Charya Seneviratne on competing on the international circuit

When a 16-year old burns the karting track with his own brand of speed, then it is time to sit up and take note. What is significant is that the King of Thailand took note of this young karter two years ago, conferring the Thailand King’s award for the “Rising Star in Karting” during the Annual Thailand Motorsports Awards in 2021. Since 2019, Charya Seneviratne has been showing promise and the prize for his hard work, dedication and commitment to fuel his passion came when he won the Asia ROK Cup Championship 2023 and not too long after that, became the ROK Thailand Cup Champion for 2023 at Thailand’s ROK Cup. With these wins, Seneviratne qualified to race at the ROK World Championships to be held in Italy next month (October) and is just one of the two Sri Lankan drivers to represent Sri Lanka at the Asia Pacific Motorsport Championship 2023. Seneviratne has overcome various challenges and been through intense competition to get to where he is, overcoming financing difficulties and pushing forward in the face of adversity to come out on top, leaving his opponents literally on the track.

Seneviratne, who is based in Thailand, was on Kaleidoscope last week, discussing the epic highs and lows of karting, hot off the podium after his Asian crown. 

Following are excerpts from the interview:

Why did you choose karting?

I chose karting as it was the first step of many to get to Formula One and other major disciplines’ top drivers. Karting builds skills and habits that benefit anyone’s future racing career. It has a written path to grow and prosper and is the dream of many young aspiring racing drivers.

What is it about karting that gives you an adrenaline rush?

The sense of speed and precision required allows for karting to be an adrenaline filled sport. The opportunity to win and to become the best is very motivating and allows me to push myself to the limit both mentally and physically. Often, it’s a lot of work to get everything together to be at a good point for the race, but, with enough experience, it starts to become more consistent, the feeling of being able to fight at the sharp end of the field gives a real exhilarating sense that cannot be fully put into words.

How do you juggle school and your racing?

I make sure that my teachers know and understand the event I am going to participate in and inform them about the dates of the races. This allows me to get work from them early. This also means that I can get in front of the class before race weekends, when I inevitably start to drop back to their pace. I will most likely be back in school at the same point as the class and wouldn’t have lost any progress.

You are now the Asian Champion. When you were placed second in the Superkart Championship in Thailand in 2019 in the Cadet category, what were your goals?

At the time, I was in the Cadet category and it was my final year so I was focusing towards the future. I was focusing on trying to become the number one driver in Thailand in the Junior category, which is the category above Cadet. We aimed to do this by going to the X3 Asia event, which unfortunately got cancelled in 2020 due to Covid. We had plans to go with a Malaysian team named RL Karting, but, since everything was cancelled, we had to return to Thailand. However, the goal remained the same: trying to become as good as I could be and as fast as I could be, while improving all the time. 

What has been the most challenging for you when it comes to karting?

The most challenging part of karting for me has been funding. Going against other drivers who have a much larger financial backing makes it a lot harder for me to keep up with them. As soon as we get on the track, they already have a bigger advantage, because they spend money on getting tuned engines and good coaching. Having a lack of that going in means that I’m already a couple of steps behind. Catching up to them and trying to be quicker than them can be a big challenge.

What’s most rewarding?

There is a direct correlation between the amount of effort that you put in and the results that you get. The harder that I work and the more that I learn about karting – the setups and the way that the engines are built – the closer I get to matching up with what the other drivers are doing and eventually gives me a little bit of an edge on them. 

Do you fly under the Sri Lankan flag?

I race under the Thai flag because I have a Thai licence. However, we are going to change that, because there's a big event coming up, for which Sri Lanka has picked me to race. I am one of the two drivers representing Sri Lanka in the Senior category, so, in order to race under the Sri Lankan flag, I need a Sri Lankan licence, and we are in the process of obtaining it. 

Would you encourage other young people to kart? What lessons have you learned in life through karting that you can share with them?

It depends on the situation and the facilities of the country that the young people are in. Oftentimes, it is hard to reach the top flights of motorsport if you are not starting in Europe, but, it is becoming easier to get into respected communities and racing organisations renowned for talented drivers and fields. Series like the SODI World Series allows for a more affordable way to make a name for yourself and to make it to the top of the world. Another route is sim racing. I started doing some work on an entry level simulator, competing in leaderboards and also a national series that allowed me to gain the skills that I still use today. Throughout the last few years of karting, I have learned many lessons. The simplest and perhaps most important one is that the more you work to get somewhere, the more of a chance you have of making it. Life has its ways of pushing your career in different directions but oftentimes, if you put more effort into improving yourself, the options that life will present to you will be a lot better. 

In Sri Lanka, the prospect of any kind of motor racing is an expensive business, so it can put enthusiasts and potential champions off. What would you say to them?

There’s a quote in my head that I’ve been using for the last few years – ‘freedom is on the other side of discipline’ – and I’ve been using this quote through the tough times that I’ve been facing in my racing. We’ve been doing all that we can to find different ways of funding so that we can enter a couple of races and push forward during those final few months, to see how we perform. Things swing around very quickly and many people will quit at the point where they’re so close to success whereas those who push a little bit more are the ones who will eventually reap the rewards. I was in that struggle a couple of years ago, and no longer than a month after, from being in the mid pack, I climbed to the top three in every single race that I entered. It’s all about perseverance – keep going, keep pushing, keep giving it your all.  

What’s next for you?

In the near future, we have the ROK World Finals coming up – it’s the world championship for all national champions, who come together in one race, in Italy. This year, the finals are on 14 October. As I am the ROK Asia Champion for 2023, I have a ticket to race at the World Finals representing Asia. Another driver and I from Sri Lanka will be in Italy this October, driving against all the other champions from around the world. There’s also the Asia Pacific Motorsport Championship coming up mid September and early October. This championship picks two drivers from each country to race and there will be two of us selected to race for Sri Lanka. Looking at my pace from the last race at that track, I think that there’s a good chance that I will perform well there and hopefully bring home a gold medal for Sri Lanka. Later on, I have the goal of trying to move to cars. In Thailand, we have the Super Series, which is a major championship for car racing - it is the main next step for many drivers who have achieved what I have. Hopefully, after winning the Asia title and going to the World Final to represent Asia, I can skip a few categories and get into the bigger machinery pretty soon. 

What would it feel like racing under the Sri Lankan flag?

It’ll be very nice to finally be able to race for Sri Lanka. I’ve had my Thai licence for a long time, but, if everything goes to plan, it’ll be great to race for Sri Lanka and bring home a couple of trophies and championships. 

Is karting going to be your career throughout? Are you looking to move upwards and outwards?

I am planning to move out of karting at some point. I am now in the highest category that is available in Thailand – the Senior category. There’s not much further to go in terms of what I can do. It’s better to move on to cars and slowly make my way through the ranks there. The Thailand Super Series has so many different categories, so, there’s much to achieve and lots of great opportunities on the way. Moving to smaller hatchbacks or GT4 cars are my main goals for now and we’ll see how I can progress from there. 

Would things have been different if you had pursued this in Sri Lanka?

It would surely have been different. Sri Lanka’s track in Bandaragama is very nice, but, it’s a different style compared to the Thai track. Also, in Thailand, there are a lot of different elements that impact your racing that many don’t think of. There are different teams and the sponsorships that we have there may not be available in Sri Lanka. This means that it may be more challenging to secure funding. This makes it tougher to level with the rest of Asia if you’re in Sri Lanka. However, Sri Lanka has definitely proven to have talented drivers and a couple of them have ventured into the world with European championships, for instance. Sri Lanka has the facilities to start a good racing championship – one of the Asian rounds was held in the past – so, it’s just a matter of putting everything together and sorting out plans for the future. 

Who is your inspiration in the karting world?

Some of the other Asian drivers who have started their careers at the Asian level karting championships and eventually made their way up to the top steps of Europe and world Championships – Indonesian karting champ Prassetyo Hardja and Malaysian karting champ Amer Harris are good examples. Those drivers were the ones I looked up to when I began karting and to be able to race against some of them now shows how far I have come as a driver.  

(The writer is the host, director, and co-producer of the weekly digital programme ‘Kaleidoscope with Savithri Rodrigo’ which can be viewed on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. She has over three decades of experience in print, electronic, and social media)