The Fastest
Pakistani
By Ahmed Ali
Move over Shoaib Akhtar,
there is a new speedster in Karachi. And he’s
now just chucking balls at fearless batsmen; he’s
grabbing speed by the guts and whizzing past amazed
onlookers. He is Nur Ali, Pakistan’s first
A1 driver and he is set to blaze the trail on the
international circuit this coming September.
Recently, this speedster was in the country and
we got a chance to hook up him. Brought up in the
US, Nur is now enjoying cult status throughout Pakistan
following his announcement. “I was approached
with the offer (to drive a Pakistani race-car) sometime
last year, when the two principals of the car, Arif
Husain and Salik Hussain (both car enthusiasts)
contacted me and offered me to lead their team in
the competition. How could I have refused?”
Born in Karachi, Nur’s family initially moved
to Germany from where they later shifted to the
US. It was finally in America that the Alis settled
and Nur got an opportunity to pursue his dreams.
Eventually that turned out to be car racing. But
the question is: why car racing? Why not baseball,
ice hockey or American football or even cricket
for that matter?
“For as long as I can remember, I had always
wanted to be a race-car driver. I had always dreamt
of it since I was a kid - since I was eight really,”
Nur says adding, “I didn’t just get
up one day and thought ‘oh my gosh I want
to be a race-car driver’, no. It has always
been there. I knew I wanted to do it.” By
the way, Nur is not without formal education. He
has a BA in International Relations and has also
attended a car-racing school.
But unlike what many would expect of a father’s
reaction to his son’s car- racing ambitions,
Nur says that his father wasn’t upset to hear
of his dream at all. The elder Ali’s reaction
was a go ahead. But, of course, education should
come first and then he could do whatever he wanted
to. So, it was after taking care of his formal education
that in August 1998, Nur joined the Skip Barber
Racing School, in Ohio, where he attended training
to be a race-car driver for a week. But that was
no ordinary week
“Driving is a very dangerous thing. But the
people there have taken some of the best trainers
in the world, that include former F1 drivers and
they’ve turned this school into a one week
deal. You can come there, of course you have to
pay and then after a week of strenuous racing, you
learn everything about racing.” Still Nur,
one week only?
“See, if you cannot learn how to drive a racing
car in one week, then you shouldn’t be driving
racing cars at all. The pressure is so much, it
is very dangerous. I wouldn’t want anyone
to drive with me at 200mph if that person cannot
handle the pressure. You can kill yourself and anyone
of the fellow competitors. So that’s why this
one week is so sensitive. They want you to know
what the hell you’re doing, They want you
to come in with some idea what you’re doing,”
Ali stresses hoping that the one week question won’t
pop up again. It didn’t!
Coming back to the racing track, Ali has so far
participated in 75 races and has won close to 10
of them. His biggest achievements came in 2001 and
2002 when he won, back to back, the Formula Mazda
South-West Region championships.
Currently, he is the member of the A1 Team Pakistan.
In the coming months he will be competing against
25 drivers from different countries in no less than
14 races. The eventual winner will be adjudged on
the number of points he makes from all the races.
Trying to clear the confusion between A1 and F1,
Nur says that while he former is a battle between
cars with similar engines and chassis, the latter
is a game of war between different manufactures
from around the world.
With more than 200mph under his seat, Ali says he
can feel the pressure of representing Pakistan.
“I can feel the pressure to do well at the
competition but I still want to give the race my
best shot,” he says. At the same time he adds
that this is a team game. “A team effort is
required for me to win. So if, at any point anything
goes wrong during the race, it shouldn’t be
me that bears the brunt alone,” Ali says,
almost making sure that he isn’t singled out
for any follies. Nevertheless, Nur defends his sport
against any criticism.
“It’s a sport like boxing, hockey, cricket.
Yes it’s not part of our culture, but no sport
can have a bad impact on the people,” he says.
Fitness, he says is a very important factor in race-car
driving. He says that the driver of a racing car
has to be super fit because of the varying pulls
of the G-force. So much so that it can actually
break the driver’s neck. “The turns
and the speed all play their role,” he adds.
It’s not only a mental game but also a physical
game. You have to be fully fit. I go to the gym
and spend hours there, also I eat only nutritious
food and I have never touched tea in my life,”
Nur says, almost sounding like a coach! He is a
hearty eater, though and never lets go of a good
chicken!
By the way, there’s sad news for all damsels
who are running after this hunk in the hot seat;
Nur Ali is also a devoted husband. Talk to him about
his wife, and Nur puts on an affectionate smile.
“She is the source of my inspiration during
the races. Farah (of course his wife) and I met
in college. She is always at my races and I can
hear over the radio while I am driving, encouraging
me to give my best. My parents have also been very
helpful and they are also very supportive. “Wish
me luck,” he rounds off with his request to
the people.
