Exclusive: ADAC Junior Cup champion Jaden Immanuel on “living the dream” and MotoGP aspirations
Written by Isha Reshmi Mohan and Vyas Ponnuri
“If you have a dream, don't try to just have it as a dream. Instead, live the dream.”
Jaden Immanuel’s mantra is simple. Introduced to the unforgettable sights of a rapturous crowd and the roar of MotoGP bikes at Sepang, aged two, this sparked a burning desire to be a part of the sport itself and go where no Indian has ever been.
Born in the bustling South Indian metropolis of Chennai, this journey has taken him across Asia and now to the finest racetracks across Europe, translating into success on the track.
At 14, Jaden recently became the first Indian rider to win the ADAC Junior Cup. He sat down with DIVEBOMB Motorsport during Hairpin Media’s Next Gen event in Bangalore to talk about his career and his aims for the future.
The tryst with Sepang and the birth of a lifelong dream
Every young talent’s first foray into motorsport can be traced back to one defining moment. For Jaden, that introduction came at the famous Sepang International Circuit, when his family travelled from Singapore for the MotoGP event.
“The only thing I remember was all the bikes going really fast, the starting procedure, the racing culture and all of the fans,” Jaden responded, speaking on the first introduction to the sport.
Safe to say, the first outing captivated Jaden right from the outset. His father, Immanuel Vijay Kumar, also had a keen interest in motorbike racing, with both often spending race weekends following MotoGP action.
“I love motorcycles and follow the sport very closely,” Immanuel said, speaking to DIVEBOMB at the event. “Ever since he was a baby or a toddler, he had a vision towards motorsports.”
Jaden also recounts watching and reliving MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi’s final victory at Assen in 2017. Jaden fondly remembers Rossi’s famous last-lap, last-corner overtake on rival Marc Márquez through the final chicane. “That was one of the most interesting overtakes of all time for me,” he responds, with a smile.
There is always a moment of glee when Jaden talks about the Doctor. Much like plenty of motorbike racing fans at the time, Rossi’s speed and personality bode well for Jaden’s interests, captivating him and drawing him to watch the sport. “I really liked it,” he recounts, on the famous rivalry between Rossi and Márquez.
Tuning in to MotoGP every weekend and watching Rossi’s heroics from afar lit a spark in Jaden. But pursuing this long-standing dream within the family brought a journey into the unknown. Few have made it big from India, and for Jaden, this journey was expected to come with its own uncertainties and challenges.
But Jaden and his family found answers and support at every step, one at a time. Jaden was first introduced to cycling, excelling in mountain biking and taking 11 victories for the Harding MTB Racing team across a four-year span.
A stable beginning on two wheels was the order of the day for father Immanuel. “Cycling was more like a transition before going onto bikes,” he expressed.
“He was doing well; he was training well and giving good results. And we thought, when we had a chance to train on the bikes, give it a try,” he added.
This first foray into bikes came at the age of seven. It was the family’s biggest decision at the time, with Jaden finally living out his dream.
There’s not much you’d expect from a seven-year-old apart from just enjoying himself out on a racetrack, with a powerful machine underneath and a tenacious desire pushing him all the way. “We introduced him to the sport. He liked it, he enjoyed it. He was having fun,” Immanuel recollected.
While Jaden’s father believed his son would eventually reach motorbike racing’s top class one day, he also clarified that if Jaden had lost interest, he would not have pushed him to continue.
“Both (fun and results) went together. And that's how it all started,” Immanuel recollected.
Now more certain than ever, Immanuel believed in elevating his son’s career to the next level. With the MotoGP goal in mind, they knew they would eventually have to move to Europe. Immanuel switched careers, flying halfway across the world to Germany in 2022. Jaden commenced the next stage of his career competing on the same European circuits he once dreamt of racing at.
Moving to Germany
“As soon as I knew I'd be racing on the tracks where Rossi, Marquez and everyone rode, I was really excited. When I actually raced there, it took me some time to realise where I am and where I'm racing.”
Every young kid who grows up watching motorsport has this feeling, the desire to eventually make it to the same tracks as the racers they follow intensely on television. They aspire to be at the centre of the action and soak it all in.
For a young teenager making his first foray into racing, it’s no easy feat to encapsulate the surreal feeling of standing on the same tarmac as his racing heroes.
The joys of racing on the track, though, are only one part of the journey. The bigger decisions happen behind the scenes, with Immanuel finding every possible pathway to help his son be ready for the big leagues.
Yet, the pieces of the puzzle fell into place, and Jaden began to pursue his dream, one race at a time. Three seasons of racing in the 160cc ADAC Mini Bike Cup and the FIM Mini GP Germany eventually earned a move up to the 190cc class and the ADAC Junior Cup in 2026.
This brought a new dawn in Jaden’s career, and with every step up the motorbike racing ladder, the costs only grow. For a single season of racing, the entry fee stands at €2900 (approx. $3224).
The cost for a Honda NS250R, a KTM RC4R, BeOn Promo3 or Ohvale GP-7 bike, used by the riders in the championship, stands at approximately €15,000 (approx. $16,677 for the Honda NS250R Jaden raced with), and another €2500 (approx. $2779) to add an engine suited to motorbike racing.
A Pirelli tyre set of two comes up to €290 (approx. $322), and all this is before taking into account the logistics and transportation costs coming into the picture, repairs and maintenance during a single season.
Immanuel has tried several methods to put together funding, including starting a GoFundMe in December 2025 and finding ways to reach out to the community to support a rising star’s career.
He acknowledged the support he had received. “They observe the story, and they try to contribute. What we are getting is helpful,” Immanuel recollected. “There is a larger portion of the fund we are filling from a personal perspective,” he expressed, from the perspective of arranging funding.
The road to ADAC Junior Cup success
It was safe to say this 14-year-old wasn’t just enjoying his time on track, but getting results that proved his mettle.
Riding for F. Koch Rennsport, Jaden made an immediate impression on debut at the iconic Sachsenring, sealing both pole positions. He came home second in Round 1, but took to the top step of the podium in Round 2, much to the delight of his family and supporters back home.
Jaden embraced the patriotism on unfamiliar land, with the Indian National Anthem playing on the top step of the podium. With his pride overflowing, Jaden ensured he stayed at the top of his game, keeping the Indian flag flying high.
He sealed both victories in Rounds 3 and 4 from pole at Brno, laying down a strong marker for the rest to chase.
The defining weekend, though, came at the following round in Oschersleben. After a strong Friday, Saturday got off to a difficult start as he dropped back to 13th. While fighting his way back through the field, Jaden climbed up to third, only to crash at the final corner just metres from the finish line, as he attempted to gain another position.
“I was really disappointed. It took me a few hours to realise what I had done wrong. I realised and just thought about what I should do differently,” Jaden shared, and he made sure to put it into action, ending the weekend on a high note with a Race 2 victory.
He vividly remembers the last-lap showdown for the race lead, though. Starting the lap in second, Jaden briefly trailed his rival, running lighter on weight and faster down the straights.
Getting ahead of his rival in the corners, the two engaged in an exciting duel. “He overtook me again, then I took back the position on the inside, and it worked,” Jaden said about this duel. He then kept it clean through the rest of the lap, coming home to cap off an emotional weekend.
Banking points through the next race weekend in Assen, Jaden built up a 44-point lead coming into the final weekend at Hockenheim. Finishing fifth in the penultimate round, he took home the title. A final hurrah followed as Jaden took the victory in the final race of the season, with eventual winner Louis Wolff a guest racer, ineligible for points.
He eventually took the title by 42 points from closest contender Ole Sauberlich, capping off the emotional highs of being the first Indian motorcycle racer to win a title in Europe.
Jaden has received praise and applause from several high-profile figures, but the most prominent has been from Tamil actor and racing driver Ajith Kumar, apart from his passionate fans back home.
Training and staying in shape
Fitness is a key element for any budding talent, and for Jaden, the goal has always been to stay prepared and ready for every race. He even recollects visualising himself racing on the track when not in race mode, ensuring he stays locked in all through.
Jaden and his team have found a versatile adversary in Josita Francis. Based in Bengaluru, she is a national-level kickboxer and Muay Thai gold medalist. The journey to training Jaden, though, has been an unconventional one.
Josita had served as a fitness trainer for fellow Bengalurean Shreyas Hareesh, who lost his life in a fatal bike incident at the Madras International Circuit.
Her prior experience of training a young, up-and-coming motorbike racer comes in handy here. Their activities involve working on building Jaden’s strength, not just through cardio sessions, but on building core body strength to handle the intense forces of motorbike racing.
Inspired by Jaden’s story, she has been training him virtually so far, interacting with him for the first time in September this year at The Next Gen event in Bengaluru. She delivered insight into Jaden’s fitness routine, keeping in mind the racing action Jaden takes on in Germany.
“It's a video call, and we do our training for athletes. It's not just physical fitness; it's a lot to do with the mind-skill,” she explained.
Despite the Oschersleben incident and scrapes in his career, Jaden remains immersed in the sport to date, training to get over the setbacks. “We have to come out of that sensitive sphere. We can do great things if we have the will,” Josita reflects when asked about the challenge of motorbike racing.
One of the hurdles for young Indian athletes is the lack of support in terms of infrastructure, for sure, and also, in many cases, the pushback starts at home due to the lack of success seen in the field to justify investing time and money in it. Jaden, now having won the ADAC Junior Cup, emerges as one of the first success stories for people to look up to.
Josita added a key pointer to parents of such aspiring talents, advising them not to set a high psychological barrier for the kids to constantly chase and overcome.
“If you make trophies and P1, P1, P1 as the goal, that's when pressure kicks in. That's when you are afraid to make mistakes,” Josita says, advising families of future talents to allow their kids to enjoy the fun of motor racing, with the results naturally following in sync.
The next step in Jaden’s journey
While Jaden takes to the track, his father Immanuel must stay several steps ahead behind the scenes, working out the next steps of his career. “The end of a season is the start of the new season,” he says, highlighting the level of preparedness and the scale of talks happening behind the scenes.
This differs from when Jaden was younger, when they had more time to make decisions. Beyond being selected for championships, they must look for sponsors to support the financial demands of racing.
He also mentioned the existence of motorcycle racing clubs and companies that support young riders, along with potential sponsors who identify promising young talent. If the riders perform well, they can be “absorbed” by teams that are often supported by former World Champions or MotoGP riders, such as Valentino Rossi’s VR46 Racing initiative.
This level of talent scouting and robustness is different from the pathway in India, leaving riders to develop independently. This can lead to them starting later in their careers and potentially missing their opportunity to progress in the sport.
Based closer to the scene of the action, Jaden was able to learn from the faster riders, and Immanuel believes he was in the right place to develop.
With Immanuel’s support, and deep interest in MotoGP spurring this dream on, he shared that they have broken down the pathway year by year, earmarking championships for Jaden to race in, and the skills needed to progress further.
The resounding success in the ADAC Junior Cup will reap plenty of reward, being a key pathway towards top-flight motorbike racing. Riders have an option to graduate to the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup, racing alongside MotoGP on European race weekends.
Riders can also move to several regional Moto4 championships, such as the Moto4 European Championship, Moto4 Asia Cup, and the Moto4 Northern Cup, among others. This then takes them towards the familiar Moto3 and Moto2 championships alongside the main MotoGP events.
As such, future roadmaps must be ironed out well in advance to ensure smooth progression and a steady career in junior motorbike racing circles.
Jaden’s team have reached out to renowned figures, finding every way to bring together major stakeholders to gain more eyeballs and visibility towards Jaden’s budding career and aspirations. Building a steady system of well-wishers and supporters isn’t just a necessity; it is the very reason that motivates Jaden to close in on the ultimate dream.
His father, Immanuel and mother, Vineetha, have served as the bedrock of Jaden’s fast-paced racing career, alongside him during race weekends. His trainer, Josita, delivers the crucial encouragement and training required to keep him sharp and ready. His teachers and classmates in school have remained supportive of Jaden’s ambitions.
But amidst the closeness of his family, acquaintances and well-wishers, Jaden’s resounding success now means he has garnered a strong following. With nearly 80,000 followers on Instagram, his success resonates strongly back home in India.
A vast support system can make a major difference amidst the uncertainty, and It’s why Immanuel identifies the need for parents to support their children’s dreams. “You have to identify the talent and make sure the kid has fun. Only then can they perform under pressure and give results,” he says.
“Encourage your kids in whatever sport that they love. Interests may change, but soon they will find something more interesting and important,” he says.
For Jaden, though, what started out as having fun has turned into one of motorsport’s early stories of success.
Jaden idolises Valentino Rossi. But he now has the rare chance of emulating his idol, and this time flying the Indian flag on the podium.
From a two-year-old who soaked in the sounds of MotoGP at Sepang, to one building his ambitions of racing in the very championship one day, Jaden’s career has grown by leaps and bounds. Yet, the bigger steps lie ahead, as he aims to live his dream.
An upcoming wildcard appearance at the Moto4 European Cup event in Misano only serves as evidence of growing success and a way to get closer to his next steps in the world of motorbike racing.
DIVEBOMB would like to thank the team at Hairpin Co and Jaden’s family for the opportunity to conduct this interview, and wish Jaden the best of luck for his future endeavours in motorsport.
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