Student Success Stories - Zain
You may have seen Year 9 student Zain on our social media pages before. Zain's family along with all of us at Co-op Academy Walkden are incredibly proud of the work he puts in not only to his racing career, but to his school work and attitude too.
Zain took some time out to give us a little insight into a day in the life of a 13-year-old racing driver.
What does a day in the life of Zain look like?
I start most weekdays preparing for school and concentrating on my education. Once I’m home in the afternoon! After taking care of my homework! I’m onto my simulator, practising the next track I race at. This is online every other day, I have a home Gym that I attend to prepare physically for the challenges I come across while in my kart racing at 80MPH. I prepare my body the best I can to handle the G forces that are being put through my body as it’s a very physical sport.
When did you discover your passion for racing?
The racing passion and love for cars runs through our family and my love for motorsport in general has had a massive impact on my pathway to racing.
Which three words describe you?
Committed, focused, passionate.
Who would you say is your ultimate idol?
Niki Lauder
Do you have any race day rituals?
With 10 seconds to go I close my visor just before a race and close my eyes while waiting to go out of the dummy grid. It helps calm my mind, so my full attention is to get the best result once the racing starts.
How do you manage school and training life?
They both seem to work in a parallel universe as they are both educational and make me stronger as I carve my path through them. School has a big impact on my racing career as there are a lot of aspects of it that I can use whilst racing on track. And vice versa! Racing teaches me discipline and allows me to make new friends while doing what I love at maximum speed.
What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?
Always look at the positive side of any situation in life and give full focus and attention to your journey and not others, as we all move at a different rate of speed.
Tell us what goals you are currently working towards?
My goal has always been the highest there is, which is to make my way to the top of the motorsport ladder, but we don’t always get what we want, so my goal will stay the same and I will try to focus on the motorsport path and see where it leads to.
You can view some of Zain's racing performances on The Kart Championship YouTube channel.