ARTICLE – COURTESY SUNDAY OBSERVER
PICTURES BY – HERBERT PERERA
Thushira Radella, parent and Manager of teenage karting sensation Tanasha Radella, hoped that her daughter would end up in F1 racing in the future after
some tremendous performances in local events.
He said it is very tough for a girl to come up in motor racing and there is a long way to go both physically and mentally and hoped that she will be strong enough to handle
the chief forces in F1.
Following are the excerpts from the interview.
Q: How did your daughter actually start her career in karting?
A: It was actually a sudden thing. Last year, I took her to the SpeedBay Circuit, Bandaragama for fun kart racing where you get hobby karts to drive. After a couple of rounds she was showing some pace and speed even in these fun karts.
And one instructor there spoke to me and said that she got this in her blood and why not send her for a couple of training sessions and see whether she got more pace.
After that I took her back to the track like in one week’s time and then she showed some serious development in her pace. So, then I thought OK, as it is my duty as the father to support her and help her to go in this racing field.
Q: How about her school career?
A: She is a student of Elizabeth Moir International School and we must also thank the school authorities as they have helped her a lot in her career. Whenever she misses classes because of races, the school uses to give all the work that she has missed and support her to do all the catch up work and studies from home itself.
Q: How did your daughter perform in the recent events?
A: Last week we had the IAME Sri Lankan races in Colombo. IAME is a World Series and a well known brand in karting engines. So, they do a world series and every country has this IAME series going on.
There is a World Series going on as well as an Asian Series. So, Tanasha was the first in all the heats, super heats, qualifiers and even in the finals and she became the first female winner in karting history of Sri Lanka. She was the first female winner in this IAME series.
Q: How about any international events?
A: Yes, she is also taking part in the Malaysian IAME Series as well.
Next week she will be taking part in the IAME Asia Series. So, all the Asian racers will be there. There will be 39 competitors from different countries.
It is a bigger race where all the best racing drivers from Asia are coming to Malaysia to race. So, it will be a tough 39 karts and all the
best talents in Asia and Asia Pacific including Australia, Hong Kong, China and India will be competing in this race.
Q: How well has she performed in other sports at school?
A: She is very much into sports at school. She is still nine years old but she is the youngest basketball player in her team playing for the Under-13 side. She is the athletic captain at school for the last three years as well. She won the Combo Inter-International Schools competition. She got all the medals last year at the Combo Athletics Meet as well. Also she is part of the schools’ Under-13 football team.
Q: Have you been associated with motor racing events?
A: Actually, as a child I wanted to do racing from my small days but that was the only thing which my parents did not allow me to do
because they were a bit scared as it belonged to a dangerous sport. But as a parent I am now happy that my elder daughter has a passion for racing and I want to support her.
Q: What are the challenges ahead in her career?
A: It is very tough for a girl to come up in motor racing. The ultimate target is F1 racing but all along this journey there is a long way to go. Physically and mentally
she must be strong enough to handle the chief forces in F1. But we will continue to support.
