He aspires to be a Formula One driver one day.
It is anybody’s guess if Suriya Bala Kerisnan Thevar, 16, will achieve his dream, but at least he has the full support of his parents.
Just last year, the Bala Kerisnans, who live in a HDB flat, spent about $190,000 - more than what an average Singaporean earns in a year - to fulfil their son’s racing dreams.
Like most Formula One drivers, Suriya is using karting to hone his driving skills.
The bulk of the money is spent on buying new karts and tyres.
Suriya owns five karts - each with different specifications to suit different races.
For every race that he competes in, he has six new sets of tyres.
Last year, Suriya participated in 14 races, namely the 2008 Asian Karting Open Championship (AKOC), the Rotax Max Challenge Asia and Malaysia, and the ROK Cup International Final in Italy.
“His passion for karting was evident from the beginning, but I was reluctant to get him his own kart till he was 12. Even then, it was a second-hand kart bought with my savings, without his father’s knowledge,” said his mother.
He hopes to enter Formula BMW by 2011.
“Not many kids have the opportunity to kart competitively because of the immense financial commitments. I’m very lucky to have my parents’ support,” said Suriya.
“The only way I can pay my parents back is to train hard, do my best and make them proud.”
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