Young Christchurch motor racing driver James Munro wants to follow Scott Dixon onto the Indy Car stage, but just lately he’s been working up a sweat in heated yoga studios.

The 18-year-old has been practising Bikram yoga in a bid to prepare for the stifling heat of Malaysia before he races in the Sepang 12 Hour Race in Kuala Lumpur next month.

Munro and an Estonian will lineup with a Malaysian driver to race for Lamborghini and Giti Tire in a Huracan Super Trofeo on the Sepang International Circuit on December 13.

“We’ll have a lot of heat to cope with over in Malaysia,” Munro said. “We could be dealing with temperatures in the car of 50 to 60 degrees.”

Hence his yoga workouts and elevation, or high altitude, training sessions where he dons an elevation mask. “In a way, it symbolises the feeling you get with humid air, because you can’t get enough into you.

“It will be tough conditions over there, so I’ve been working hard on my fitness to make sure I can cope with it.”

The Malaysian event will see Munro and his co-drivers racing against Ferraris, Porsches, Audis and McLarens.

Munro has only driven in one endurance race before, a three-hour event in Japan a month ago. “Going from that to a 12-hour race will be a big step. First of ally, you are doing multiple [driving] stints, rather than just one. It runs from midday, so you’re driving in the dark too.”

But he sees it as a “good opportunity to be involved with the Volkswagen family and Giti Tires, who have a really big GT racing programme.

“If it goes well, it could potentially lead to some big opportunities next year and years to come.”

Munro hopes to take part in the USF2000 series in the United States next year, the first rung on the ladder to Indy Car. The next stepping stone is Pro Mazda, followed by Indy Light, before the top young drivers join Dixon and his rivals on the Indy Cars grid.

“If you win one championship, then you get a scholarship up to the next one and all the way up to Indy Car. Long term, I want to race in Indy Car and the Indy 500. Scott Dixon was real young when he got into Indy Car. Being 18, I’ve still got a few years to do it.”\

Munro began driving go karts at 11 after convincing his father “to give me a go”.

“When I was 15, I started getting into cars in the Formula Ford championship. I won that at my first go, when I was 16 and, from there, I did a Toyota Racing Series [in New Zealand] and have been racing in Asia.”

Munro raced in China last season for the KC Motorgroup (KCMG) team and, after helping them win the championship, he was invited back this year to coach their young Formula Masters China Series team drivers competing on circuits in China, Malaysia and Taiwan.

He had a translator working with him, but the Chinese drivers were encouraged to speak English, which is “the language of racing”.

“I worked with them for most of the season and then I was called up to coach the Volkswagen Star Racing Academy where they select a couple of Chinese drivers they are trying to groom to be professional drivers in Formula One, or wherever.”

Ideally, he would “love to be racing every weekend”, but the cost is too prohibitive. “It’s good to do some coaching. I was still involved with the sport and still learning things, even though I’m not driving.”

Munro will be on the starting grid for the Toyota Racing Series early next year, but he said it is “a constant battle” to find sponsors to help fund his racing programmes.

“It’s pretty crazy the money that we require. Even just to race in New Zealand is a lot of money. It costs about $180,000 for a Toyota Racing Series campaign. It’s hard to compete against guys from overseas, I’ve raced quite a number who’ve got billionaire fathers. Coming from New Zealand, we just don’t tend to have that sort of money, but you’ve just got to make the most of your opportunities and outdrive those guys and eventually the opportunities will come.”

Munro said top overseas drivers, including Russia’s current Formula One racer Daniil Kvyat, had raced in the Toyota series. “It’s been a huge success for Kiwi drivers. We’ve had guys like Earl Bamber, Brendon Hartley, Mitch Evans, Richie Stanaway, Nick Cassidy and Shane van Gisbergen taking part.”

“It’s a great series because all the international drivers come here and we can compare ourselves against them and see where we need to be. But, we know the tracks and, in my case, the cars.

“If you go over to Europe, the money to go there is unbelievable. The Toyota series is really good, because we can compete against the overseas guys, for a relatively affordable cost.”

Munro targets Indycar with next career step in Malaysia