13-year-old Zubair Hoque – a racing star of the future
AN indoor karting venue in Manchester is proving to be something of a testing ground for motor racing’s young stars of the future, and has tipped 13 year old Zubair Hoque as a racer we should be keeping our eyes on.
Youngster Zubair began his racing career at the age of eight and first honed his skills at Daytona Manchester as part of the venue’s Junior Race School. Since then Zubair has obtained his outdoor license and now races at circuits all over the country and in Europe.
The talented young racer recently took part in the 2009 Formula KartStars Championship – a top-level junior championship event, patroned by Zubair’s racing hero, Lewis Hamilton.
And he didn’t disappoint last year’s Formula 1 world champion, finishing in an incredible 4th position out of 34 drivers in his class – not bad for a ‘rookie’ and one of the least experienced drivers on track.
“It’s my dream to follow in the footsteps of Lewis and I think that if I remain dedicated and focused maybe one day that ambition will become a reality and it will be me who is driving for McLaren or Ferrari,” Zubair said.
And the youngster can take great heart in his current position as high-profile British racers Jenson Button, David Coulthard and Lewis Hamilton all took the Formula Kart route to the heady heights of Formula 1.
Consistently performing and remaining dedicated to the sport is no easy feat – Formula Kart racing is extremely demanding and requires participants to be in top physical and mental shape.
And, according to Zubair’s father, Mashukul, if it wasn’t for the opportunities and training Daytona has provided, Zubair wouldn’t be where he is today.
Mashukul said: “Daytona Manchester stood out for its high levels of professionalism and we haven’t looked back since!
“Those first early years at Daytona were very important to Zubair and the personal one to one tuition he received was second to none – we owe a lot to Daytona’s staff for his successes.”
In 2010 Zubair is the outright favourite to win both Formula Kart Stars in Mini-Max and the Super 1 British Championship – no more top-ten positions are in store, Zubair aims to get first place every time!
Mike Yau, General Manager at Daytona Manchester, says: “Zubair is an outstanding young driver and we are delighted he is doing so well. He is among the elite of young drivers in the North West who we’ve seen display exceptional talent.
“As well as being an excellent driver, he possesses other qualities needed to succeed in the world of motor racing – dedication, determination, personality and, of course, the confidence to succeed. We look forward to keeping an eye on his future career and are proud to be able to say that he started out at Daytona Manchester.”
