Mumbai’s Kiaan Shah Grabs Double Podium In Star-Studded Asia Series In Thailand

Mumbai, March 31: Rising Indian racer Kiaan Shah of Rayo Racing delivered an impressive international debut in Round 2 of the Senior Category of the IAME Asia Series and IAME Thailand Series, securing a double podium finish late on Sunday night.

The 15-year-old from Mumbai entered the weekend after a challenging build-up, having fractured his arm in a snowboarding accident in late December. The injury forced him to miss two months of testing and racing. Undeterred, Kiaan stepped up from the Junior category into the highly competitive Senior field, which featured a World Champion and multiple Asian and European Champions.

Kiaan impressed in the heats with his speed and composure but could only manage the 14th position in the grid for the Final Race. He moved up steadily and finished a highly commendable fifth place, just 1.6 seconds behind reigning Asian Champion Yu Ka Po of Hong Kong. It was good enough to fetch him a place on the podium as the first five finishers are celebrated as winners in this competition.

With the IAME Asia Series doubling up as the Thailand Series, Kian moved up to the third place for the second runners-up trophy as two of the racers had not entered for the Thai Series. He finished behind Singapore National Champion Dillan Tan and eight-time Thai Champion Toby Gale.

Reflecting on his comeback, Kiaan said, “The last three months have been tough. I’m grateful to my doctors, physiotherapists, and my trainer Rohan for helping me recover and prepare for the demands of the Senior category.”

Coach and mentor Rayomand Banajee added, “A podium on his Senior international debut exceeded expectations. Competing against such a high-calibre field makes this result even more special.”

Earlier, having missed Round 1 of the Asia Series due to injury, Kiaan made an immediate impact in a 39-driver grid at the Bira International Karting Circuit, qualifying seventh in his group. With the large entry list, the field was split into four groups for the heats.

In Heat 1, Kiaan made a strong start from seventh and drove a clean race to finish fourth. Heat 2 proved more challenging—after losing positions early, he recovered with consistent pace to climb back to seventh.

Heat 3, however, was a disaster. An incident on Lap 2 saw Kiaan’s kart struck from behind by an Indonesian racer, resulting in significant damage and forcing his retirement.

Starting tenth in the Super Heat, Kiaan quickly moved up to sixth before dropping back to finish eighth eventually, due to rivals with a different strategy, on fresh tyres gaining an advantage.

With grid positions for the Final determined by cumulative heat points, the DNF relegated Kiaan to 14th on the grid. He responded with an excellent start, moving into the top ten early. As the race progressed, he steadily closed the gap to the leading pack, which ran nose-to-tail. Kiaan then worked his way forward to finish a highly commendable fifth in the Asian category, just 1.6 seconds behind reigning Asian Champion Yu Ka Po of Hong Kong.

Kiaan will return to action with two more rounds of the Asian Rotax and the IAME series in Thailand in the coming weeks.