Arjun Maini, who currently races in DTM for Mercedes AMG Team Getspeed, chats with SportsLumo on a variety of topics including his varied motor racing career, his goals for the future and why racing in India is yet to truly catch on.
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Indian racer Arjun Maini is only 23 years old but has competed in a number of motorsport disciplines around the world. His time behind the wheel has seen him in first race in the single-seater world of GP3 and Formula 2. However in recent times, he’s made the switch to endurance racing and taken part in European Le Mans, 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Asian Le Mans series. Currently he’s racing in the German touring car series Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, or DTM for short, where he is part of Mercedes AMG Team Getspeed. Yet it is also notable that he is one of few Indians making any sort of waves in the world of motorsport.
According to the man himself, this comes as little surprise. After all, motorsport is not only a tough world to break into – it’s also an expensive one. And therefore it is choice of sport that is unlikely to appeal to many Indian parents.
“To be honest, this is quite tricky to answer,” he tells SportsLumo in an exclusive chat when quizzed over what can be done to see more Indians take up motorsports.
“If you want to be a racing driver then you have to start really young. And of course have support from your family who would also need to have a lot of passion for motorsports.
“I don’t think a lot of Indian parents are going to try to push their kids towards an expensive hobby like go-kart racing. There, you have to be extremely dedicated and hope you are lucky enough or good enough to turn professional later on.”
He further adds that creating a racing culture and environment will help in the future. And – perhaps more importantly – the involvement of corporate sponsors is also needed.
“I think for more drivers to come from the country we need to bring in a real passion towards motorsport and create a racing culture and environment in the country,” he said.
“That, I think, will start to happen when an Indian driver or team starts to win really big events. We know Indian people will get behind you if you end up in this situation.
“We also need a lot more corporate sponsors to be a part of this, just like we see in Europe and the US. Unfortunately many corporate houses have not yet got involved. Once they do, we will start to see a lot more happening.”
There might not be a lot happening in that regard on a large scale, but that isn’t stopping Maini from aiming for the skies.
His racing career, which began at the age of 8, has seen him race everywhere from GP3 to now DTM. Indeed, he is the first ever Indian racer to be a part of the series. And while DTM is his focus now, there are things he would like to tick off from his bucket list.
“I think so far it’s been a really exciting career for me because I have tried so many different types of cars and forms of racing – all with the support of my long time sponsors JK Tyres.
“Of course, now I am with Mercedes AMG in DTM and that is my main focus. Other bucketlist goals for me are winning 24 hours of Le Mans.”
That Arjun Maini is excited to be part of DTM is evident from his responses. However, the start to the season has been somewhat tough.
Maini and the team had expected a difficult weekend on his debut and they were proved correct. Race 1 at the opening DTM weekend at Monza saw him finish 13th. Things did not get much better in Race 2, where he was forced to retire the car.
However, there were plenty of positives to take from his debut.
“For sure it was not ideal but we were expecting a difficult weekend having not tested before at Monza. In the end we improved a lot throughout and there were a lot of positives to take away from it.
“The pace in Race 2 was good but we had to retire the car due to an issue with the ABS following a coming together with another car.”
And while coming togethers are not entirely in control of the drivers, Maini is focusing on what he can improve. This includes qualifying pace, which he felt he lacked at Monza. “I think for now both the team and myself are focusing on qualifying pace as that is what seems to be missing.”
He did find some qualifying pace at the Lausitzring in Germany, the track where Round 2 of the series was held. But a points finish continued to elude him. He had to retire in Race 1 while finishing 12th in Race 2.
Overall though, he is happy with the car and foresees more improvement in the near future.
“I have felt quite comfortable. Of course there are a lot of areas I will improve with more driving time in the car. But comfort-wise, I really do feel at home.”
During a race, a driver is expected to live for the thrill of driving at the limit. However, all drivers start off as fans first and Arjun Maini is no different in that regard.
That is why, despite being a professional driver, he still finds time to watch whatever motorsports he can.
“Yes of course I watch a lot of motorsport. At the end of the day I am a motorsport fan and I love racing. Of course I prefer to be driving but if im not then I’m watching.
“I mainly like to watch endurance racing like the World Endurance Championship, European Le Mans Series and GT World Challenge. But I do watch Formula 1 as well.”
Maini’s love for endurance racing is something he touches upon during this coversation. But it is worth remembering he had a brief flirtation with F1 racing too.
In 2018, he was a developmental driver for American team Haas. However, the deal did not lead to a breakthrough into the sport. Would Maini welcome a chance to be back in F1 some day?
“Of course if the opportunity arises I will be open to it. But for now I am happy where I am in the DTM.”
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