She’s got a fast car

Swati Dey

Greater Noida’s Buddh International Circuit was recently abuzz with whistles as six fiery-red cars with women behind the wheels took positions for the LGB4 race on the final day of the FMSCI National Racing Championship. Men were too soon zooming past them. Of the six first-timers, Coimbatore’s Lea Daran (22) and Megaa KS (21) soon paced up to finish at 17th and 19th positions of the 26 contenders. Then came Mira Erda (18), the only woman among 14 competitors at Euro4. It wasn’t her day too.

Also participating was Sneha Sharma, who entered the sport at the age of 14. She has managed teams, tuned cars and trained people to fund her learning days. “I wake up at 3 am and do about four flights a day,” says this pilot with a private airline. Rest of her day goes into fitness training. Considered India’s fastest woman racer, Sharma aspires to remove ‘woman’ from the title.

The red chassis belonged to Ahura Racing Team batted by former national champion Sarosh Hataria. While the organisers had allowed their entry to promote women in motorsports, Hataria had single-handedly sponsored them, drawing inspiration from his mother Uma Hataria, who had raced in 1986-87.

Long way to go

It is a common sight to see girls in minis flagging off the chase, but riding or steering with driving suits seems like a thing of the future. No Indian woman has yet matched shoulders with the likes of Karun Chandhok, Narain Karthikeyan or Gaurav Gill. What is it that holds Indian women back?

Racer Navaz Sandhu, the Indian representative of FIA’s Women in Motorsport Commission (WIMC), feels one must start as early as eight to be at a considerable stage in motorsport. “However, girls here are generally not exposed to the sport at that age. Women who drive family-owned vehicles have restrictions or hesitations to explore their limits. This explains the absence of an Indian competitor in the junior levels of global karting competitions (age 12 onwards) organised by Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile.”

Veterans say that while more women are now trying their hands at the sport, attrition rate remains high. Sharma explains that as these are not luxury cars but machines for speed, they tend to hurt even without an accident. “So, a lot depends on fitness and determination.” Besides, motorsport is an extremely expensive sport. “A few billion dollars for a race — who has that kind of money?” laments Sandhu, adding that even the well-heeled can support themselves only till a certain point. This is where one requires sponsorship and government intervention. The veterans complain that to seek the attention of sponsors, women focus more on social media rather than skills.

The buck stops where

While the sports ministry is often accused of ignoring motorsports, Hataria feels the government could at least financially support the best racer to go for Asian or European events for a year.

The WIMC recommendations include improving women’s numbers in every capacity, hosting programmes for young talent detection and driver-sponsor networking. While none of these has yet taken place in India, the WIMC would be organising ‘The Girls on Track — Karting Challenge 2019’, a two-year programme in India. It aims to fill the gap of grooming girls early on and enable them to compete with men at ease, says Sandhu.

Torchbearers

While Hataria’s team could not achieve a podium finish in the last championship, he is pumped up for the next edition. He also plans to sponsor the lead driver for the Asian FIA championship and is also open to grooming potential talents who can’t afford the training. Alisha Abdullah (29), the first female national racing champion, has also started an academy to train young talent. And she says she is trying to provide cheapest training.