Shimla: Woman power is on a new high at the highest motorsport rally of the world – the 16th Maruti Suzuki Raid De Himalaya 2014.
In the high-risk, high-speed Xtreme category of the Raid, which takes off on October 5, women rallyists are driving four out of the total 41 vehicles which will race this year. This is their highest number in Xtreme category ever at the Raid, which ranks among the ten toughest motorsport rallies of the world.
The six-day marathon event will take off from Shimla and end at Manali on October 10 after crossing some of the most remote mountain passes in Ladakh and the Zanskar range of Jammu and Kashmir.
About 240 top rallyists of the country will compete at the Maruti Suzuki Raid De Himalaya. The Raid will have 50 competitors in Rally Moto (Motorcycles and Quads), 41 teams in Rally Xtreme, and 51 teams in Rally Adventure.
Women competitors have usually contended themselves with Raid Adventure, the relatively safer format of rallying which follows the Time-Speed-Distance formula. A new generation of women rallyists is turning this old pattern on its head by storming into Rally Xtreme.
These are Anu Rana of Delhi with navigator Khyati Modi of Mumbai, Vaneeta Kang and navigator Gagandeep Kaur, both of Chandigarh, Shuchi Thakur of Mumbai with navigator Zuzer Rangwala and Capt Madhvi Singh of Team Army with navigator Lt Col HS Katoch. All these competitors are driving Maruti Gypsy at the rally.
Dharamshala-girl Shuchi is the only long-time competitor in Rally Xtreme. Rest all are first-time entrants in the category that involves racing at the highest motorable roads in the world at terrifying speeds.
Bani Yadav, a woman rallyist competing in Raid Adventure, says she wanted to race in Raid Xtreme, but the rules forbade her. “The Raid does not allow a first-time competitor to compete in the Xtreme category. Next year, it is definitely all-out racing for me,” said Bani, who has won top positions at sprint rallies in Chandigarh and Jaipur. Her navigator is Pratibha Anand of Bangalore.
Manohar Bhat, Vice President (Marketing) of Maruti Suzuki, said that this year, the corporate major started the Women’s Car Rally in the TSD format. “These rallies are about women’s empowerment. They are a stepping stone for women rallyists to compete in Maruti Suzuki’s bigger rallies –Raid De Himalaya, Desert Storm and Dakshin Dare,” said Bhat.
The Maruti Suzuki Raid De Himalaya is organized by Himalayan Motorsport, the premier Shimla-based motorsport club. President of Himalayan Motorsport Vijay Parmar said the Raid is not just about speed or time control. “It is a 2,000 kilometer endurance event in the harshest of terrains. Till Day 4, the vehicles will be tested to the limit. After that, the competitors, who will have to spend two nights in sub-zero temperatures at the camp site in Sarchu,” said Parmar.
The women rallyists share a remarkable passion for motorsport. “I am so bitten by the rally bug that the I take off for racing events in Rajasthan on Friday evening straight from work, and get back straight from there on Monday morning for work,” said Delhi’s Anu Rana, who has also competed in the Jaipur round of Indian National Rally Championship (INRC).
Bangalore’s Pratibha Anand is an expert in high performance motor equipment. She and her team prepare vehicles for both extreme and TSD rallying in south India. Bani Yadav recorded top positions among all competitors in various categories at the Solo National Challenge in Chandigarh and Rally Cross in Jaipur this year.
Capt Madhvi Singh’s persistence is the talk of rally circles. Capt Madhvi was competing in the Adventure category at the Desert Storm in February this year when her car toppled, leaving her with minor injuries. Her coming back to compete in the significantly riskier Xtreme category at the Raid is creditable.
