This Thorold father-son duo is racing for gold.
Ten-year-old Marley Chaudhary has only been karting for three years but he has already collected a shelf full of trophies.
“We’re still very new to it,” says his father Subhan Chaudhary, in an interview with ThoroldToday. “It’s only going to be our second year on the national level. He just fell in love with it and we’ve been committed ever since.”
Marley became interested in karting after watching a few online videos about it.
“I asked my dad: ‘Can I go karting?’,” he recalls. “I liked it so he got me an engine and a kart and I started racing.”
The Canadian karting season takes place between April and October, so during the summer months the Chaudharys spend most of their weekends up at the race track in Bowmanville, 70 kilometres east of Toronto.
“We try to practice at least twice that week if there is a race happening,” says Chaudhary. “We used to camp there a lot because we had an RV. It’s a lot more convenient to stay at the track than to travel back and forth.”
Before every race, Marley makes sure to walk the track.
“You’re supposed to walk it to see where there is grip on the track, to see where you could start turning in the corners,” he says.
While Marley scopes out the competition, Chaudhary keeps busy with the mechanical upkeep of the kart.
“I come from working on cars and trucks so I have that background,” Chaudhary says. “It’s also a bonding experience. I’ll teach him how to put the wheels on, It’s fun.”
Marley is part of the Kevin Glover Racing team. Glover is a seasoned karting champion and engine builder who is always there to provide advice.
“Kevin will guide us in how to set up the kart, how to put the tire pressure, how to change the gearing — the ratios matter,” Chaudhary says. “I have to learn and adapt. I have grown as his mechanic over the last couple of years. It’s very challenging for the both of us.”
Marley is the oldest of six siblings so spending time at the track has become a family pass time.
“There are definitely a lot of different families out there,” says Chaudhary. “After the racing we have the bubbles out and the dog, and a campfire and smores. It’s honestly a really great community.”
There's something addictive about being at the race track, according to Chaudhary.
“The sights, the sounds, the smell of race fuel — it’s wonderful,” he says. “There’s nothing like it. The energy there is amazing. You leave feeling electrified almost.”
Marley is counting down the days until the new karting season starts in April. This year, he will take part in the Motomaster Ron Fellows Karting Championship. Winning one of the eight races in the competition could win him a ticket to the ROK Cup in Vegas.
Marley has big dreams of ultimately becoming a Formula 1 racer, but Chaudhary says that for now it’s all about having fun.
“I don’t push it,” he says. “Once you start pushing you lose the fun. The only reason he has grown is because there’s no pressure. It’s all about going out and enjoying the time on the track.”
