Speedy farang

But James Grunwell, an 18-year-old Formula car racer, says he considers himself Thai.

And his current mission is to put himself, and the Thai flag on his racing suit, on the top spot of Formula BMW Asia 2007, a junior racing format considered to be the first step on the career ladder to Formula 1.

"Racing is the only thing I want to do. I can remember that the only type of toy that captured my attention was a car, not a gun like other boys," he says.

James, a British national, was born in the Netherlands but moved to Thailand at the age of only one when his father was involved in a house-building project in the Kingdom. Since then, Thailand has become his real home.

James' first taste of motorsport came at the age of seven when his father took him to a kart circuit. However, it took him six years to own his first kart, and he admits he lied to get it.

"One of my friends back then was about to move to Australia, and he decided to sell his kart," he says.

"I lied to him that my father would buy me his kart. So he gave it to me, and then my father had to pay for it, because I had already taken the kart to drive."

James soon experienced his first "real" racing when he was 13 and won third place in a competition.

Next year, at the age of 14, he won the Bangkok Kart Championship.

Two years later, James, 16, became the winner of the Thailand Rotax Max Championship in junior competition and got a chance to enter the World Karting Championship in Malaysia. He finished ninth of 34 racers from all over the globe.

"After the tournament in Malaysia, I started my career in Formula BMW, and this is my second year in the event", he says.

It looks as if James' racing path is strewn with roses, but he insists that it is not as easy as some might think.

"In racing, you have to the be fastest on the track. In school, you could get a B or C grade, but as a racer, if you finish second or third, well, you can say goodbye to the job."

According to James, the budget is the most important thing for any racer. "Without money, there would be no chance for you to race," he says.

Before being sponsored by the Pizza Company Team Meritus, James went through a period when he was worried that his racing career would be finished since there was no sponsor to support him.

It was his Western appearance that caused him trouble.

"My farang look does not really help me at all in finding sponsorship for racing. When I told them that I would race for Thailand, they preferred to give money to support racers who looked more Thai than myself," James says.

"I think my appearance could help only if I want to be work in the entertainment industry."

Though now an international-level Formula racer, James still calls himself a semi-professional racer since he does not receive a full budget from his main sponsor.

"Each year competition, I need to spend a total of Bt5.4 million. The main sponsor pays 90 per cent of it, about Bt4.59 million, and I get the rest from other minor sponsors."

However, James hopes to receive a full sponsorship next year as he plans to travel to the United States and test for Formula-3 racing.

"If things go to plan, I would try to win the Formula-3 title first. Then I would enter the Formula Mazda event and the Champ Car World Series before finding a Formula-1 team in Europe," he says about his plans.

"I believe I can make it if I am given a chance."

For those who dream of becoming a Formula-car racer, James suggests they begin with kart racing as he did. This gives newcomers basic lessons in racing such as when to get ahead of an opponent or how to cover your racing line.

"All those Formula racers you have seen on television were karting champions at some level," he says.

"So forget about Formula cars if you've never won or tried any kart racing."

Asked about the future of Formula racing in Thailand, James says the country has quite a good future. He has heard of plans to build, within two years, a racing team to compete in A1GP, the World Cup of motorsport.

"There will be opportunities for racers to join the Thai team. Be prepared for it."

Watchara Saengsrisin

The Nation