Zabaniyah
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Just like in many other countries across the globe, Formula race, the motor racing sport is extremely popular amongst sports lovers in Bangladesh. In the history of Formula series which includes different levels like F1, F2, F3 and F4, nobody from Bangladesh has ever participated until this year. Twenty four year old Md Mahfuzur Rahman Tushar is the first one from the country who qualified in 2012 to enter the Formula 4 championship this year that will begin on Chennai, India on July 19.
Tushar is flying to India to attend the single seat open wheel class enabled car racing F4 competition titled 17th JK Tyre FMSCI Racing Campionship-2013. From July 19 to 21, the race will be held at Kari Motor Speedway, Chennai. The prize money for the champion, first runner up and second runner up are 60, 40 and 35 thousand Rupees respectively. Tushar is set to compete against 23 racers and play for Madras Motor Sports Club.
F4 is a platform, which is very useful for drivers for gaining experience and aiming to enter the upper tiers like F2, F3. Formula 4, first organised in England, in now held in a few countries including India, Malaysia and Singapore. It is a preliminary stage for Formula 1, the most expensive racing event of the world. Only a qualified racer of F4 can participate in F3 and following the same course, one can step up to enter F3.However, only the top three winners of an F2 competition are eligible to take part in F1.
How it all began
In 2002, on TV, I watched F1, where the legendary Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher became the champion of British Grand Prix by beating his other Ferrari team-mates, Rubens Barrichello and Juan Pablo Montoya. Thats when I became motivated to participate in Formula series and become a legend in racing, says Tushar, the aspiring and ambitious racer while recalling his early days.
Tushar sat behind the steering wheel at a very young age and on one occasion, he managed to park the car safely near his grandparents residence in Gazipur. He learnt to manipulate the vehicle by watching his driver manoeuvre the car earlier.
In 2011, he became the champion of the Speed Racing Go Kart Track Master-2011, a national racing competition that amassed 300 participants from all over the country. Although in Bangladesh, the speed limit of Go Kart is set quite low, winning the competition fuelled the fire to chase my dream. It was a milestone in my life, said Tushar.
Overcoming barriers
Tushar, like many other young talents had to overcome obstacles in his journey. In 2012, he got the necessary training and passed the qualifying round held in Chennai for the F4 competition, but due to a shortage of funds, he could not participate in the expensive racing event the same year. However, this did not deter Tushar from trying harder and making it happen for himself. He got lucky in 2013 as a local company has stepped forward to sponsor him.
Tushar has completed his graduation in automobile engineering from Dhaka Polytechnic Institute. Being the son of a devout Muslim, Tushar spent about nine years of his childhood in a city madrassah, from where he completed his Dakhil (SSC equivalent) in 2006. Though I had spent years abiding by the stringent rules of madrassah, I managed to find ways to stay in close touch with cars and the racing world, Tushar said while narrating his experience.
A chance for glory
The Bangladeshi racer vows to bring back glory for his country through participating in the upcoming racing event. He aims to compete eventually in the prestigious Formula 1 within the next five to six years. He wants to establish a motor racing association that would train and groom aspiring racers of the country. He hopes that the government and private organisations will become interested to hold motor racing competitions in Bangladesh. Narain Karthikeyan is an F1 racer from India. He is largely the reason F1 started happening in India. I wish to see that happen soon in my country, says Tushar with his fingers crossed.
Source: Bangladesh for the first time in Formula
