Ajith Kumar Is Racing Towards the Life He Always Wanted
At the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Esquire India went behind the wheels with Ajith Kumar, the leading man of Tamil cinema who is also a seasoned race driver
ON PRACTICE DAYS AT THE CIRCUIT DE BARCELONA-CATALUNYA, A silver-haired driver in an orange-and-white jumpsuit walks the track with intent, pausing to greet the mechanics, engineers and even rivals that he passes. Once the visor drops, however, he is all focus. The fans in the stands, many of whom have flown across continents just to see him, fade into the blur. After major shunts, he shakes off the pain and gets back in the car. He doesn’t quit. He gives up seat time if it helps the team. His pursuit of excellence is relentless. He reviews every lap, again and again, constantly aiming to improve. In between races he’s always on his phone either watching his own racing lines, his mistakes or then the racing lines of the pros.
And then, when it’s all over, win or lose, rain or sunshine, injuries notwithstanding, he walks out to meet every fan that came to watch. Because “Thala,” as they call him, isn’t just any driver. He’s Ajith Kumar, recent Padma Bhushan awardee and the leading man of Tamil cinema for over two decades, a most beloved and bankable star whose grit and grace has powered blockbusters from Vaalee to Yennai Arindhaal, and a fiercely loyal fanbase that borders on the devotional.
I’ve been privileged to witness his passion for motorsport firsthand at race tracks across Europe. I’ll admit, when I first went to a race with him, I expected to see a film star indulging a hobby. Instead, I met a quiet, reticent man—someone I might never have believed had achieved such stardom if I hadn’t known it was him. He was completely focused on the sport, never too proud to admit failure, and always willing to learn from those around him. I came away convinced he’s a determined, disciplined competitor.
“Sometimes I think I’m misunderstood,” he tells me with understated charisma. The actor-turned-racer, now reviving his lifelong dream through Ajith Kumar Racing (AKR), wants to be seen for what he is—a competitor. “Sponsors may assume I’m indulging in a hobby because I’m a film star. But this isn’t PR. This is my life.”
BORN TO DRIVE
Ajith’s connection to racing goes back to childhood; he quite literally grew up with motorsport. His father worked for pharmaceutical company Biddle Sawyer, and one of the directors, Vimal Shah, used to race for the iconic Team Mc-Dowell, helmed by Vijay Mallya. During the early ’80s, races in Chennai (then Madras), Delhi and Kolkata would see mechanics working out of their home compound. As a young boy, Ajith would come home from school with his brother to find Formula cars being tuned in their backyard by renowned motorsport experts like Mohinder Lalwani. That exposure left a lasting imprint. “We’d help out—clean engine heads, run errands for the mechanics. I didn’t realise it then, but that was my first real education in motorsports,” Ajith recalls.
He learned to ride motorcycles and drive cars early. “Back then, we lived in those British-era bungalows with big compounds. We had space to learn and play with machines,” he smiles.
As soon as he could, Ajith found his way onto the racetrack—first on a motorcycle, and later behind the wheel of a car. The thrill of speed and precision had captivated him from a young age. However, sponsorships were hard to come by, a reality that most aspiring racers in India are all too familiar with. “My parents always supported my interest in motorsports,” Ajith shares, “but they also taught me a valuable lesson early on—do it when you can afford to do it on your own.” That principle stayed with him, shaping both his humility and his self-reliance.
While Ajith began his acting career in the early 1990s, he began his professional journey in racing officially in 2002, when he entered the Formula Asia BMW series. In 2003, he competed in the Formula BMW Asia Championship, consistently finishing in the top 10. In 2004, he raced in the British Formula 3 Scholarship Class, but professional commitments in film forced him to take a break. Racing always remained close to his heart, and in 2010, he made a brief return with the Formula 2 European Championship, only to step away again due to the demands of cinema.
Fast-forward to recent years, Ajith found himself in a personal comfort zone—but one that didn’t sit well with him. “I needed a challenge. I wanted to push myself again,” he admits.
After relocating to Dubai, he bought a Porsche GT3 RS for personal use. That led to a track day—and to his surprise, even after 15 years off the track, he was only a couple of seconds off the pace. Encouraged by local drivers, he tested in a Porsche Cup car, and the spark reignited.
RACING INTO HIS SECOND ACT
In September 2024, he founded Ajith Kumar Racing. What began with a single test session quickly turned into a full calendar of races. In 2024 alone, Ajith participated in over 30 races across multiple championships like the Creventic Endurance Series and the GT4 Championship. It wasn’t an easy year—a season marked by a mix of failures and successes, steep learning curves in team management, and the challenge of juggling dual responsibilities: financing the team off the track and performing on it as a racer. However as the year draws to an end his performances have silenced skeptics, with multiple podium finishes in Dubai, Mugello and Spa-Francorchamps, and a P3 finish in the AM class of the championship.
“This year was a challenge I set for myself. I knew people would question my seriousness. But I’ve stayed committed, and the results speak for themselves,” he says, matter-of-factly.
Perhaps the biggest endorsement of Ajith’s seriousness came recently when Narain Karthikeyan, India’s first Formula 1 driver, agreed to team up with him in the Le Mans Asia Series. “That meant a lot. Narain has been observing my progress, and for him to join forces is proof that I’m on the right path,” Ajith says with pride.
Karthikeyan is all praise for the actor-driver. “Ajith is a dear friend, and I believe our strengths complement each other really well. He’s undoubtedly talented—he just doesn’t have as much track experience as the rest of us. With more seat time in the LMP3 car, we’ll work on refining our lap times, and I’m confident we’ll become a very successful team,” he says.
Building a team, finding the right people to prepare the car, and financing an entire racing season is no easy feat. Most would have given up in the face of setbacks or when things went wrong—as they often did for the team. Yet I’ve seen Ajith and team manager Shiva, who had no prior experience in the racing world, quite literally pull rabbits out of a hat in crunch situations just to keep the wheels turning and the team racing. Proof of the pudding is the fact that they finished third in their championship category in their debut year.
Aditya Patel, another successful Indian racing driver with multiple international podiums to his name, has also tested with the team. If regulations permit—since teams must meet specific driver category requirements—he may soon join them. “Ajith making the effort to put together this team is an incredible opportunity for all of us,” says Patel. “He’s consistent and open to feedback, always willing to make changes based on what we share. Looking at the data, he’s been making huge improvements consistently. With the progress we’re seeing, I believe we have all the ingredients for a great season.”
Despite his celebrity status, Ajith is candid about the biggest challenge every racer faces—funding. The cost of a team varies by race, car and series, but running a full season can set you back anywhere between three to five million euros (depending on the series). Motorsport in India, he says, has never received the backing it deserves. Even champions like Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok have struggled to find sponsors. One solution, he believes, lies in bringing international series like GT3 or Le Mans Asia to Indian circuits. “If European drivers come here, it opens up opportunities for Indian drivers to compete at home, gain experience, and get noticed,” he says. Like me, you might wonder: why is it so difficult for someone of his stature to land a sponsor? “I want people to come forward to sponsor Ajith the racer. Put their logo on my car,” he says.
THE ROAD AHEAD
At Barcelona, I witnessed his entire family come out in support for the final race of the series. Ajith’s wife Shalini, a former actress herself, travelled with him to races before the children were born. Now, with their children’s education taking priority, it’s harder. “Being away from them, especially during tough race weekends, can be hard. It’s a lonely sport. Just like filmmaking—it looks glamorous, but behind the scenes, it’s very demanding. I couldn’t have done everything I did without Shalini’s support,” he says.
Family is his greatest strength — Shalini encouraging him when things go wrong, the kids cheering him on with unbridled enthusiasm, and all of them surrounding him with genuine love. When he stepped onto the championship podium, he called them up to share the moment with him, a gesture that perfectly captured how close-knit they are as a family.
Shalini, he says, has supported his racing pursuits from day one. “Her only concern has always been my safety,” he shares. The actor—who’s had his share of serious, headline-making injuries—is quick to clarify that they’ve all been film-related. “Everyone knows I perform my own stunts. And despite working with the best stunt professionals from India and abroad, and having all safety protocols in place, I’ve had accidents that required surgeries. So I told Shalini, look, it’s happened to me while filming, why does no one stop me from doing that?” he laughs. “God’s been kind that none of them left me permanently injured.”
For now, the couple and their well-wishers remain positive, leaving it to destiny and simply going with the flow. That support has clearly kept him going. At 54, Ajith is competing against younger, full-time professional drivers—and holding his own. “Racing demands immense physical and mental endurance,” he says. He credits his clean lifestyle—no meat, no alcohol, no smoking—and a vegetarian diet for his sustained fitness.
He draws inspiration from fellow racers who are still quick in their 60s. “You saw some of them, past 65, and still extremely competitive. There’s a 67-year-old I raced with—still fast,” he grins. “That gives me hope. If I stay healthy, I’ve got another 15 years in me.”
Currently, he’s eyeing a return to the track next season, competing in the LMP3 category of the Asian Le Mans Series and the AMG GT3 Evo in the Creventic Series. “I’m not doing this to prove anything to others. I’m doing it to stay true to myself. This is not a phase. This is my passion. And I’m here to race.”
He doesn’t see himself as just a racer—he feels a responsibility. “I know I represent a larger community, especially from India. If I falter, it reflects on all. One missed payment, one broken commitment—it could hurt the next young Indian trying to race in Europe.”
And that’s why he’s all in. From the chaos of film sets to the precision of apex corners, Ajith Kumar’s journey isn’t just a crossover—it’s a reinvention. Success, for him, isn’t about staying comfortable, but about testing his limits. After a season spent alongside him—watching the respect he has earned from fellow drivers, the admiration from rival teams, and the love of his crew and fans—it’s clear why he stands apart. Beneath the stardom lies a man of kindness and humility, one who treats everyone with warmth and respect. Yet behind that calm is a fiercely focused competitor, relentlessly committed to excellence. It’s this rare balance of grace and grit that defines him—on and off the track—and explains why those like me who meet him walk away not just impressed, but inspired.
Photographs Courtesy MS Media
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