BOY RACER
I got behind the wheel of a car at 7 years old – now I’m set to become one of the world’s youngest rally drivers at 9
The promising racer has his own karting team led by his ex-rally-driver dad
A BOY who got behind the wheel of a car at seven years old is now set to become one of the world's youngest rally drivers.
Aleksander Pelikański, from Poland, fell in love with driving after his parents bought him an off-road buggy at just three years old.
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He went from enjoying kart high-speed rides as a passenger in the car with his dad Mariusz to competing in big events.
Since getting behind the wheel, Aleksander has competitively driven in more than 10 motorsport events, reaching speeds of over 85mph.
He practises his driving two to four times a week with his dad and a coach at Parolin, a karting team.
Mariusz said: “As an ex-rally driver myself, I wanted to show him what it's like, and he fell in love with this.
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“He started when he was three years old with a small custom buggy.
“After that buggy, we went on do some karting, Aleksander was driving in a showcase class of karting with no points and lap timing.
"But we were counting the laps on our own so we knew he was fast.”
The mini racer already owns two cars including a BMW E36 with a 3.0 240HP engine, and a Toyota GR Yaris with a 1.6 Turbo 300HP engine.
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The motors fan made his competitive debut last year after starting to learn to race in his BMW, alongside his father.
He was able to secure a first place in the podium at the ROK Cup Poland Karting Championship this year.
Despite missing some lessons due to racing, Aleksander still gets good grades at school.
He is not planning to stop driving any time soon and plans to become a professional rally driver.
He dreams of competing alongside top racers in the World Rally Championship and Formula 1.
The talented boy said: “I’ve been driving for more than half of my life and I would love to keep it going like that.
“I love racing because it’s fun. At first, I didn’t know what it would be like to be a driver, but I just loved being behind the wheel."
Proud dad Mariusz is convinced his son has a bright future ahead of him and is encouraging him to fulfil his goals.
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He said: “I believe he's got every tool to be a pro-driver. It would be impossible to be a rally driver and an F1 driver, but he doesn't have to decide yet, and we don’t want to make the decision for him.
“I used my own experience to teach him. He's very passionate about cars and racing. We want to keep it fun for him and it looks like he has a lot of fun."
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