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Tag: Pragathi Gowda
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Sidvin-supported Pragathi Gowda takes stunning victory in Rally4 class: French Rally Nationals
Sancey (France), 7 October 2024: Indian rallyist Pragathi Gowda continued her meteoric rise in the international rallying scene with a first-place finish in her class at the Rallye Montbéliard on Sunday. She progressed to a Rally 4 car in this rally after the team witnessed strong performances from her in the lesser-powered Rally 5 car. Pragathi clocked 24:36.5 to claim the top spot in Rally 4 class and finished 21st amongst 115 participants.
The Rallye Montbéliard comprised two stages – Stage 1 being 10 km long, Stage 2 being 3.3km long and Pragtahi had to navigate both stages three times each. The 26-year-old opened the first stage with a stunning time of 6 min 5 seconds and an average speed of 99.17 Kmph; surprising everyone on the grid.
“To prepare for the rally we worked extensively on the pace notes and referred to the onboard videos to make corrections and make sure the notes were bulletproof to ensure a good finish. I was confident after the first day of testing with my coach Alexandre Bengue, a former WRC driver with loads of experience,” Pragathi shed light on her preparations.
The Rallye Montbéliard, a chilly asphalt rally with temperatures ranging between 7-14 degrees, had technical stages in the mountain roads, something Pragathi had to face for the first time in her first tarmac rally, on the new Peugeot 208 – Rally 4 car.
“It was my first time driving a full-blown Rally 4 Peugeot factory-prepared car. The terrain was challenging for me as it was a bit damp. We welcomed the day with the sun but it got very cloudy later on, making the track in the mountains a bit moist. The grip kept changing as the cars passed by, creating black rubber residue on the heavy breaking sections, but the pace notes came in handy,” she shared.
This rally was part of the practice rallies for Pragathi to prepare for the World Motorsport Games to be held between the 23rd and 28th of October where she will be representing India in the Rally Category. Pragathi will participate in two more long rallies before the games; one more in France and the second would be a round of the Spanish gravel championship.
“The Rallye Montbéliard turned out to be an exceptional experience but the World Motorsport Games are almost upon us. I will aim to do even better in the remaining two rallies and get as many miles in as possible to be fully prepared for the World Motorsport Games,” she added.
Team Principal and MD of Sidvin, Mohan Nagarajan also weighed in saying, “Pragathi has been progressing well in her last few rallies. Her superb adaptability is one of the biggest factors that allows her to take on new challenges and still perform to her best. Hence, we thought the Rallye Montbéliard would be the perfect juncture to promote her to the Rally 4 class and she proved that it was the right decision. We now expect her to progress even further ahead of the World Motorsport Games.”
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Pragathi excels in Rally5 class at French Nationals
France, 2nd September 2024: Pragathi Gowda continued her hot form in her maiden international gravel rally experience on Sunday. The Rallye Terre de Lozere, a round of the French national championship, which hosted 126 participants from across the world saw Pragathi finish 15th in Rally 5 class and 53rd overall with a timing of 1:42:03.7.
Pragathi reflected on the fantastic drive saying, “This is a rally where the world champions like Sebastien Loeb and Sebastien Ogier have learnt and come up in. To make my gravel rally debut here is a special feeling on its own but to be the only Indian to have achieved this feat in a European/ French national championship round is the icing on the cake. I cannot thank Sidvin Engineering enough for this tremendous opportunity.”In a rally with challenging terrain in the volcanic mountains, which was a first for Pragathi, with ruts as deep as 3-4 feet dug up by the 4 wheel drive cars and all top French drivers participating in cars including the WRC -1, 2 and 3 spec and Rally -4 cars, Rally-5 cars and historic cars, Pragathi faced a steep learning curve ahead of her.
She was slower off the blocks, coming in 31st in her class in the first special stage. But she wasted no time in adapting to this unique rally which features a reconnaissance in the rally car in the morning, followed by the rally stage after 1 hour, instead of the regular reconnaissance which is done the previous day, in a normal car and has 2 passes on the road; a tight program the French drivers have been used to for the past 10-15 years.
Pragathi was helped by Arnaud Dunand, a championship winning WRC co-driver in improving her pace notes and her trainer, Alex Bengue who is a former French National champion and has driven alongside the likes of Sebastien Loeb. With a total of 6 stages on Saturday and 4 stages on Sunday, she took huge steps after the first special stage, improving her pace by almost 2.5 seconds per KM during the 2 days, a fact highlighted by all top drivers.
“The stages were very rough and I haven’t ever seen such rough stages in my career. The ruts created due to the very powerful WRC and WRC2 cars , was something I had never seen . I made a goal yo kept it clean and had only one puncture in stage 2 of the rally. After crossing that hurdle, I knew how to drive clean and not damage the car, a top 15 finish was very satisfying and kudos to PH sport that gave me a very reliable car ” Pragathi explained the challenges she braved.
She registered the 13th fastest time in the last stage and finished 15th in class with 27 cars following her past the finish line. Pragathi also achieved average speeds of 82 km per hour – a very high figure for a gravel rally.Pragathi is supported by Sidvin Engineering, who were the first to take an Indian to the WRC in the year 2009.
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Sidvin supported Pragathi Gowda gets a podium in her class at Rallye des Vallees
Remiremont (France), 26 August 2024: Bengaluru’s ace rally driver, Pragathi Gowda, finished a creditable third in her class and overall 37th in the Rallye des Vallees 2024 here on Sunday.
India’s top lady driver supported by Sidvin and MRF Tyres, Pragathi, made a stunning debut in the Rally 5 spec car and clocked a time of 23 minutes and 51.8 seconds. She won a podium in her class on debut and as she raced on equal footing with male drivers, which also included France’s National Champion Yoan Corberand, who finished first in her class.
After three months of rigorous training in Europe, the 26-year-old Pragathi, along with Brazilian co-driver Gabriel Morales, not only blazed to the podium in her category while finishing 37th overall.
Pragathi Gowda is supported by Sidvin and MRF Tyres. “My first international rally in France was an incredible experience. We had a very productive test day and a perfect recce in the build-up to this beautiful rally. It was a challenging rally for me but with each kilometre I drove I gained confidence in the car and with my co-driver. I was able to match the speed of other top drivers, I was doing about 165kmph in some places and averaged about 102 kmh speed through the race on these narrow roads,” Pragathi said.
Pragathi and co-driver Morales in action. Photos from Pragathi Gowda “Thanks to the support provided by everyone on my team, I improved my time stage-after-stage. I am really happy with my first rally experience in France and I will continue to work hard to improve my performance in the upcoming rallies. Also being acknowledged by some of the top rallyists here has been overwhelming and I am encouraged to do better in the upcoming race this weekend,” she added.
Driving a Renault Clio Rally 5 car fitted with Indian-made MRF tyres, Pragathi showed immense pace in the first special stage to come 5th in her class and 80th overall. With a better grip on the track, she went on to improve her timing by a whopping 32 seconds across the second and third special stages to finish on the podium.
The Rallye des Vallees 2024 is a high-speed rally on narrow asphalt roads which begs impeccable precision and one misstep could mean the end of the rally. Pragathi braved this challenge, achieving a top speed of almost 165kmph in some areas of the circuit and clocked an average speed of 102.5 Kmph at the end of the rally, an impressive drive that was applauded by many of the local champions.
After an exhilarating drive that saw her match the speed of some of the top experienced drivers, Pragathi will put the pedal to the metal again in a gravel race this weekend at the Rallye Terre de Lozere.
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Pragathi Gowda all set for FIA Rally Star Women’s Final
Bengaluru, 19 April 2023: Indian rally star athlete Pragathi Gowda is eagerly waiting for the World Women’s Final which is now scheduled to take place in Italy in the first week of May to take a shot at the FIA Rally Star Training Season, which is rapidly taking shape with confirmation of the Training Camp and event schedule. The World Finals, originally slated to be held in South America, is put off twice.
Exciting motorsports talent Gowda from Bengaluru is expected to be among some of the most promising young rally drivers representing Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas who will gather in Sardinia for intensive training and evaluation sessions from May 21 to June 1. However, while a few of them already qualified, Pragathi Gowda needs to do well at the Women’s final. Considering that all the five other continental champions are professional drivers with a lot of saddle time, the Indian will be a rookie as we don’t even have similar cross-cars in India. Pragathi’s only seat time on the car was for the final contest of the Asia Pacific selection trials where she did drive the new vehicle about four or five times in three days and beat the best male drivers and a tough lady driver from New Zealand.
‘Matter of pride to fly the Indian flag’
“I will put my heart into it and have fun. A lot of hard work and dedication went into reaching this stage and I have respect and love for my sport and my country. I am not going to compete against each other but I will compete with myself. It is not so much about performance but it is basically going to be a learning trip. Representing Asia Pacific at World Finals is always a matter of great pride and flying the Indian flag is an honour,” said Pragathi Gowda, speaking exclusively to INDIAinF1.com.
They are the winners of the five FIA Rally Star Continental Finals, and Pragathi Gowda, the winner of the FIA Rally Star Asia Pacific Women’s Final which was held in Chennai in October 2022 will join the other Continental winners to try to get into the bigger Training Season group. In the FIA Rally Star Asia-Pacific Final with 26 drivers from seven ASNs (National Federations for 7 countries) vying for honours, Pragathi Gowda came out triumphant in the three-step test and topped among the four lady drivers on the deciding day of action at the Madras International Circuit in Chennai, India. The event was hosted successfully by the Madras Motor Sports Club (MMSC).
Once selected, between June and November, the six aspiring future FIA World Rally Championship winners will contest six national or regional-level events on both gravel and tarmac in identical Ford Fiesta Rally3s prepared by M-Sport Poland and running on Pirelli tyres. To enter this group, Pragathi is making all-out efforts to top the Women’s Final. “They have better technology and they have those karts to practice. But I don’t have a kart so it’s a big challenge,” said the Bengaluru lass, who wanted to taste the kart (cross-car) but went on to win at the Asia Pacific finals, as she gives her best whenever she gets back on the steering wheel.
At the completion of the FIA Star Training Season, the four best-performing drivers will secure a dream opportunity by contesting the FIA Junior WRC Championship in 2024.
Earlier, the FIA Rally Star American and Women’s Finals were supposed to be held in South America. After being postponed twice the event is now switched to Italy from May 1 to 4, followed by the Sardinian training camp.
Relocated from Peru to Uruguay, the switch to Italy and the Maggiora Offroad Arena in Piemont, northeast of the city of Turin, is the result of logistical issues.
While every effort was made to maintain the Polideportivo Motor Maldonado off-road motorsport complex in Uruguay as the venue for the FIA Rally Star American and Women’s Finals, moving to Italy makes for a more accessible location for the Women’s Final and will ensure that there will be no delay to the start of the FIA Rally Star Training Season.
The FIA Rally Star American Final – featuring participants from South and North America – had been due to take place from April 30-May 2 with the Women’s Final following on May 3. The FIA Rally Star American Final will now run from May 1-3 ahead of the Women’s Final on May 4.
On top of the #RallyAtHome Challenges winners, eight ASNs from South and North America (Argentina, Belize, Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay) will send contestants to the FIA Rally Star American Final with a total of 42 drivers expected to take part. The FIA will cover their travel costs.
What’s on the agenda during the FIA Rally Star Training Camp
The FIA Rally Star Training Camp consists of theoretical sessions covering event reconnaissance, rally car engineering, regulations, and team organisation.
There will be practical activities including testing on gravel and tarmac, physical and mental training, recce practice, media training, and team observation through spending time with mechanics.
The FIA Rally Star Training Season members will then take part in the reconnaissance for Rally Italia Sardegna at the same time as the drivers contesting round six of the FIA World Rally Championship (June 1-4).
Media activities in and around the Rally Italia Sardegna Service Park will be the focus on the final day of the FIA Rally Star Training Camp on June 1 and will include taking part in a press conference and being interviewed by accredited media.
Prior to arriving in Sardinia, the six FIA Rally Star Training Season participants will take part in a series of webinars aimed at getting them fully prepared for the Training Camp.
All costs are covered by the FIA with the best four drivers at the completion of the FIA Rally Star Training Season securing a fully funded season in the FIA Junior WRC Championship in 2024.
The FIA Rally Star Training Season events have been specifically chosen to equip the drivers with experience in a wide variety of conditions and circumstances.
Robert Reid, FIA Deputy President for Sport said: “Firstly, I would like to express our gratitude to Ivan Dibos Mier, President of the Touring Automóvil Club del Perú, and to Jorge Tomasi, President of the Automobile Club del Uruguay, for all their efforts to bring the FIA Rally Star American and Women’s Finals to their countries. The enthusiasm and passion from the Peruvian and Uruguayan teams would have made for a fantastic event in both countries, had it not been for reasons beyond their control requiring a change of venue.
“We now look forward to eight ASNs being represented in Maggiora by some promising young drivers and we thank the Maggiora Off Road Arena and the Automobile Club d’Italia for their assistance in the organisation of the event.
“Beyond these final decider rounds, we are excited to announce details of the FIA Rally Star Training Camp and the six events the winners of the Continental Finals and Women’s Final will contest during the upcoming FIA Rally Star Training Season. The team has worked hard to develop what will be a comprehensive FIA Rally Star Training Camp itinerary. The six events have been chosen to give the drivers the opportunity to sample a variety of conditions that are likely to be encountered in the Junior WRC Championship.
“We are grateful for the support of our partners and, specifically, Automobile Club d’Italia and our colleagues at Rally Italia Sardegna for all their assistance. We also extend our thanks to the organisers of the six rallies who will welcome us from June to November.”
The FIA Rally Star Training Season event schedule confirmed
The FIA Rally Star Training Season will feature six events, four on gravel and two on Tarmac. The six FIA Rally Star Training Season participants will compete in identical Pirelli-equipped Ford Fiesta Rally3s run by M-Sport Poland. The event calendar is as follows:
• Rally San Marino, Italy (gravel), June 16-17
• Rallye Weiz, Austria (Tarmac), July 13-15
• Rally Nova Gorica, Slovenia (Tarmac), September 22-24
• Rally Saarema, Estonia (Gravel), October 6-7
• RallyRACC, Spain (Gravel), October 20-21
• Lausitz Rallye, Germany (Gravel), November 9-11
A test will take place ahead of each event along with an extensive post-rally debrief following afterward.
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Prasaditya 46th K1000 Rally flagged off: INRC Round 3
Tumakuru (Karnataka), 2 Dec 2022: The Prasaditya 46th Karnataka-1000 rally, the third round of the Blueband FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship, was flagged off here today by former Minister S Shivanna to signal the start of the event which will be run near here over two days starting Saturday, Dec 3.
The Prasaditya K1000 rally, which has attracted 65 entries, is being organised by the Karnataka Motor Sports Club under the aegis of FMSCI, the governing body of motorsports in India and promoted by Blueband Sports.
Following a reconnaissance run this morning of the Special Stages, most of the competitors expressed happiness at the terrain which was variously described as fast, flowing and technical.
Championship leader, Bengaluru’s Karna Kadur (co-driver Nikhil Pai) of Arka Motorsports, said: “I am quite pleased with the Special Stages. The terrain is a good mix of fast, flowing corners, a few jumps and water splashes which should make for a good viewing for the spectators. We have prepared the car well and hope to finish strongly.”
Delhi-based seven times National champion and Arjuna Awardee Gaurav Gill (Musa Sherif), who is currently second in the championship, was impressed with the Special Stages. “I quite liked the stages. The organisers have put in a lot of hard work to prepare the route which I think will take rallying to the next level. The Stages are quite fast in some sections and also technical with blind corners and crests. The pace notes have to be spot-on and it will also test your driving skills. I won the 2021 event despite many setbacks and I hope I can win my eighth K-1000 title on Sunday,” he said.
Karna Kadur holds advantage with a handsome lead
The battle is all set to resume between championship leader Karna Kadur of Arka Motorsports on MRF Tyres and 7-time National champion Gaurav Gill, a private entry in yellow colours, supported by JK Tyres.
The popular Karnataka-1000 rally, the oldest rally in the in the country, which has attracted 65 entries is being organised by the Karnataka Motor Sports Club under the aegis of FMSCI, the governing body of motorsports in India and promoted by Blueband sports.
Karna Kadur and co-driver Nikhil Pai, who won the South India Rally, the first round of the season, lead the championship table with 72 points while strong contenders Gaurav Gill and co-driver Musa Sherif, who had a mechanical failure in first round came back strongly with a victory in the second round in Coimbatore have 44. While Gill will be gunning for his 8th K1000 victory, Kadur with a 28-point lead will be safe and cautious, looking to bag crucial points to protect his lead. With a total of 40 points on offer, the dark horse of the rally, will be defending champions from Himachal Pradesh, Aditya Thakur and Virender Kashyap, who are trailing third with 34 points.
Guttedar leads INRC2
Bengaluru pair of Ritesh Guttedar and co-driver Lokaranjan lead the INRC2 standings with 47 points followed by Thakur and Kashyap while another experienced duo Rahul Kantharaj and Vivek Bhat are in third.
Another Himachal pair Kuber Sharma and Kunal Kashyap lead the INRC3 table while Samrat Yadav and Chandrasekhar M leads the Gypsy class. The Junior INRC will see close competition between the top-two ladies teams. While Dr Shivani Pruthvi (Dr Deepthi) leads the table with 66points, Pragathi Gowda (Trisha Alonkar) is just a point behind with third-placed Arnav Pratap Singh (Arun SSB) on 40 points.
27 entries for INRC3
The top INRC class has six cars while there are nine entries in INRC2 category and ten in INRC4. The bulk of rally cars with 27 entries will feature in the popular INRC3 class. There are 13 entries in the Gypsy section for the Challenge Cup, which is a non-championship class.
“The iconic K-1000 rally is running continuously for close to five decades, except a couple of years, and has once again attracted the cream of talent from all over the country. KMSC has put in place all safety requirements and I wish all the drivers a happy rally,” said Gautham Shantappa, the President of KMSC, who is also the vice-president of FMSCI.
10 Special Stages of dirt tracks
The K-1000 rally will have 10 Special Stages. There will be four physical stages with an total special stage competitive distance of 119.11km. The 15.10-km long Hatyalu and Kondli (9.67km) will be run thrice on Saturday while the cars will take on Yallapura (6.87km) and Thirtharama (15.53km) on Sunday. Along with a liaison distance of close to 105 km, the total distance of the rally will be about 224km.
The final round of the INRC, the Rally of Nagaland is scheduled for Jan 12-14 subject to approval by FMSCI, as it is a new venue.
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Pragathi Gowda makes India proud: FIA Rally Star cup
Chennai, 12 October 2022: Australia’s 19-year old Taylor Gill, a mechanic by profession, and Bengaluru’s Pragathi Gowda from India were declared winners of the FIA Rally Star Asia-Pacific Final which concluded at the Madras International Circuit, here on Wednesday.
A four-member Jury, after considering the timesheets and then interviewing the finalists, declared Gill, who hails from New Castle, as the overall winner of the Final while 25-year old Pragathi won in the women’s category. She will represent the Asia-Pacific region in the women’s World Finals in Peru in January 2023.
The qualifiers for Stage-3 today were put through two phases of timed runs. At the end of the first phase, the list was narrowed down to six contenders based on their times. The top six were then given another run to decide the quickest. The six drivers were then interviewed by the four-member jury who then announced the winner, taking into consideration the performances, fitness and driving skills.
Pragathi, a post-graduate in finance, who juggles between profession and motorsport, said: “I am super happy. I will do my best to make my country proud. Winning the Rally Star is the biggest recognition I have received and I have worked very hard for it. I would like to tell all the women out there to not lose hope. This is the happiest moment in my life.
“On the first two days, it was more of a tarmac run, but today, it was more gravel which I am very comfortable with and so was very confident. I just stuck to my basics and did what I had to do. I was not happy with my first run today, but I completed the second with ease.”
Taylor Gill, struggling to contain his emotions, said: “I don’t have the words to describe my feelings now. Coming into the Final here, I just wanted to enjoy myself and put everything together. A couple of weeks ago, I did one day in a cross car in Australia, but the Rally Star cars here are vastly different. Right now, I am over the moon.”
The Asia-Pacific winner will join the other continental finals champions. Two winners of these events join the selection of drivers for the first FIA Rally Star Training Season in 2023. The last spot in the FIA Rally Star Training Season will go to the winner of the Women’s Final, which is due to take place in Peru.
The winner of the FIA Rally Star Asia-Pacific Final will be representing the region in the 2023 FIA Rally Star Training Season. Besides six rallies in an M-Sport Ford Fiesta Rally3, the Training Season package includes physical and intellectual assessment, driver coaching and testing. The aim is to equip the successful contestants with the attributes they need as they attempt to secure a drive in the FIA World Rally Championship in the future.
At the end of 2023, the best four FIA Rally Star Team members are rewarded with a season in the FIA Junior WRC Championship in 2024. For 2025, three drivers go forward into a second Junior WRC season. And if one of the FIA Rally Star Team members wins the title, they secure a WRC2 campaign in a Rally2 car for 2026 with a Rally1 drive their next target.
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Pragathi Gowda, Taylor Gill win Asia Pacific trials to continue WRC dream
While Bengaluru’s Pragathi Gowda made India proud winning the slot for the female representative for the World Final trials, Taylor Gill is the latest young talent to secure a potential pathway to the FIA World Rally Championship after he was selected as the winner of the FIA Rally Star Asia-Pacific Final. It is just a coincidence that, he shares his second name with the Indian Rally king Gaurav Gill, but the Aussie driver from New Castle, near Sydney, has no Indian connection. But it is Gill all the way at famous South India Rally venue here at Irungattukottai.
Chennai, 12 Oct. 2022: Taylor Gill, 18, from Australia, was one of 40 participants representing seven ASNs to assemble at the Madras International Circuit in India on Monday morning for three days of intense competition and assessment with the goal to win a place in the FIA Rally Star Training Season in 2023. Read Pragathi Gowda report here.
Thirteen drivers, two of whom were female, excelled by progressing to today’s final in Chennai, which included a rigorous physical test, followed by the opportunity to showcase their skills behind the wheel of a Pirelli-equipped TN5 Cross Car from FIA World Rally Championship driver Thierry Neuville’s LifeLive organisation.
After taking to a 3.7-kilometre stage featuring gravel and asphalt sections but designed to be much faster than the layouts used on Monday and Tuesday, the drivers took part in a series of reflex tests before being interviewed by the five-person jury consisting of Andrew Wheatley (Chairman) and members Maciej Woda, Pernilla Solberg, David Terrien and Guy Botterill.
Following a period of deliberation, the Jury confirmed Taylor Gill as the FIA Rally Star Asia-Pacific Final winner, while Pragathi Gowda was selected as the Asia-Pacific region’s representative in the FIA Rally Star Women’s Final, details of which will be announced at a later date.
As well as the honour and achievement of winning the FIA Rally Star Asia-Pacific Final against very strong competition, Taylor Gill will represent his region in the 2023 FIA Rally Star Training Season.
In addition to six rallies in an M-Sport Ford Fiesta Rally3, the FIA Rally Star Training Season package includes physical and intellectual assessment, driver coaching and testing. The aim is to equip the successful contestants with the attributes they need as they attempt to secure a drive in the FIA World Rally Championship in the future. Indeed, the four best-performing drivers in the FIA Rally Star Training season will win an FIA Junior WRC Championship drive in 2024, the first step on the ladder to the top-level, hybrid-based Rally1 category.
Taylor Gill is the fourth FIA Rally Star Continental Final winner and follows Romet Jürgenson, the European Final winner from Estonia, Abdullah Al Tawqi, who won the MENA Final representing Oman and Max Smart (South Africa), the winner of the African Final.
Maja Hallén Fellenius (Sweden) and Katie Milner (United Kingdom) were the first to qualify for the Women’s Final following their performances in the European Final, while Farah Zakaria from Jordan qualified from the FIA Rally Star MENA Final with Kristie Ellis (South Africa) making it through from the African Final. Pragathi Gowda (India) joins the club of female winners, as they will prepare for the women’s grand finale in a few months’ time.
The South and North America Continental Finals will take place early next year with the two winners of these events joining the other Continental Final winners – plus the Women’s Final winner – for the first FIA Rally Star Training Season in 2023.
Taylor Gill, 18, from Australia, FIA Rally Star Asia-Pacific Final winner: “You might have to give me ten minutes to put this into words! It’s pretty cool, obviously everyone goes for it, but you don’t expect to get it, so I’m over the moon!
For sure, there was a lot of pressure, especially to go out and do another run today, I couldn’t make any mistakes, that’s what I tried to do, so I’m super happy!”
Pragathi Gowda, 25, from India, FIA Rally Star Asia-Pacific Final winner: “I’m very surprised, I didn’t think I would make it through because there were strong girls out there. But I told myself, that no matter what happens, I’m not going to give up and I’m going to do my best. Luckily it worked, I’m very happy to be here, a big thank you to the FIA Rally Star for organizing this in my country, as I think it’s better, you are more confident, and I think that’s why I’m here.
I got to prepare myself for that [FIA Rally Star Women’s Final], I’m looking forward to it and I’m going to do my best, let’s see what happens and hope for the best.”
Andrew Wheatley, FIA Rally Director & Jury Chairman: “It was a fantastic combination of enthusiasm and performance. We have seen incredible drives from the competitors. We have got winners, but we have also seen amazing drivers, who supported the winners and will go on to also compete themselves at a high level internationally around the world.
I think we have seen a good combination of people who have come with experience in rally and also grassroots level. But we have also seen people coming with pure esport background, and they equally been able to go toe-to-toe in these difficult conditions and cars to drive and to be able to show their skills and shine.”
David Terrien, Jury Member & Karting World Champion: “It’s not just a time trial, we are looking for a complete racing driver, with a mix of skills, preparation, how able they are to learn and implement some tips they will be given. It’s also about physical preparation and reflex.
We also do interviews with them, to know about their motivation, background, and how much knowledge they have about motor sport. Some drivers have experience some do not and that is also taken into consideration if we have a driver with no experience and performing very well.”
Guy Botterill, Jury Member & South African Rally Champion: “The level of the drivers was amazing! The level of the esport drivers and the women were incredible, they were really strong. Having such a mix of cultures, and countries, was also great, and putting them all together and seeing their times was impressive. Everyone had an immense passion, and they need to grow the sport in their country. I know there is a winner and a loser, they are all thinking about their projects in the future when they will go home to improve, but I think motor sport is the overall winner.
This week, the conditions were very tough. We had extreme heat, it was rainy, muddy and dusty, so the drivers that qualified to go through the days and the winners have done an exceptional job. It was a good experience for everybody because that is what rally is all about, it was a good test, and it was incredibly difficult with the layouts that were designed to be tough. The organisers of the event did a really good job in making it difficult because there is no point in an event like this to have roads that are too easy.”
Akbar Ebrahim, President of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI): “It was a great opportunity for them, as they never had the chance to try such equipment like this and to participate in this kind of program. Looking at the pyramid that has been built and the aspiration, I think it was a wonderful opportunity for them and they really enjoyed it. The gaps were big when they started but as they got acclimatized, the level improved and that was satisfying.
For sure, using a cross car as a grassroot level for developing potentially rally talents, is a fantastic concept.”
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Pragathi Gowda, lone Indian to make Stage-3 cut: FIA Rally Star Cup
Chennai, 11 October 2022: Bengaluru’s Pragathi Gowda kept Indian hopes alive in the FIA Rally Star Asia-Pacific Final as she qualified for Stage-3 of the competition at the Madras International Circuit, here on Tuesday. Australia’s Jaidyn Gluskie was overall the quickest with a blistering best lap of 01min, 34.08secs over a 1,300-metre course.
The 25-year old Pragathi, who clocked a best lap of 01:41.96, was among 12 qualifiers for the final round which will be run on Wednesday when the Asia-Pacific champion is decided.
“I am extremely happy to qualify for tomorrow’s Stage-3. The conditions in the afternoon when I drove were much better than in the morning and I was able to perform well. Yesterday was my first experience driving a Cross Car, but now, I am a little more comfortable with it and happy for the opportunity to compete at this competition,” said Pragathi.
Earlier, six other Indians – Harkrishan Wadia, Arnav Pratap Singh, Tarushi Vikram, Vedant Jouhari, Jasmehar Jubbal and Jeremy Miller – were knocked out. Of the lot, Wadia, the quickest Indian yesterday, was distinctly unlucky to miss the qualification for Stage-3 as he was docked a two-second penalty for knocking down a couple of marker cones in his second timed-lap which put him third in the group, just one second behind Sri Lanka’s Eshan Pieris.
“In the first timed-lap, the gear slipped into neutral and I lost time. In my second outing, I think I knocked down a couple of marker cones. But overall, it was a good experience,” said a disappointed Harkrishan.
As in the case of Wadia, much was expected of Arnav Pratap Singh who had fared well in Stage-1 yesterday, but a couple of driving errors during the timed runs today cost the Delhi driver.
The 25 contestants in Stage-2 today were divided into five groups of five each. The two quickest in each group advanced to Stage-3. They were joined by two others who topped a modified version of Nacon’s WRC 9 game in the Digital Challenge, open to the drivers eliminated after Stage-2.
The conditions, following overnight rain, were tricky. The slush caught out many drivers, especially those starting down the order. The mud thrown up by the early cars rendered the terrain, which was a mix of tarmac and dirt, slippery, putting a premium on car control. The terrain improved considerably later in the day under bright sunshine and the drivers were able to clock faster times.
The winners of the Asia-Pacific region will be announced on Wednesday, October 12, after all the drivers have been interviewed by the four-member Jury comprising
FIA Rally Director Andrew Wheatley (Chairman), Pernilla Solberg, Maciej Woda and Guy Botterill (Driver Advisor).
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Pragathi Gowda, Deepa, Anushriya land in England for McLaren Formula Woman finals
Bengaluru, 1 March 2022: Pragati Gowda, the talented youngster from Bengaluru, rushed back from the Rally of Coimbatore on Sunday night and took a flight to England Monday morning, to take part in the Global Finals selection and was at the Nottingham Raceway, for the Formula Women McLaren trials on Wednesday. The other two to represent India are Deepa S John from Kerala and Anushriya Gulati, a racing champ from Uttarakhand.
“I am super excited and nervous at the same time. I am trying to adapt to the weather here. The weather is too chilling. I am looking forward to a new adventure in my life and tomorrow is going to be very special as it is the selection day. Just now, I finished my practice and came back. Trying to sort out certain things but yes, it is all going good and I am looking forward to a great run tomorrow,” the 19-year MBA graduate, who made a winning INRC debut in Itanagar in 2020 December, told INDIAinF1.com through an exclusive voice file over WhatsApp.
Pragathi Gowda, left, and Deepa John are well-prepared for the English weather but we missed Anushriya Gulati at the McLaren Global Finals venue on Tuesday. INDIAinF1 photo The attacking speedster, found the going tough in Coimbatore due to mechanical issues with a fan failure on Day 1, and as they were speeding to make up time on Sunday, their drive shaft broke in Special Stage (SS) 6, which halted their progress. Along with navigator, Trisha Jagannath, she returned to Bengaluru on Sunday itself, and took the Monday morning flight.
“I just finished practice at another circuit and I am too excited right now. It is really cold here and getting adapted to this weather is tricky, but fun. It is a new learning experience for me but it is also thrilling to be here and am looking forward to the practice session, qualifier and selection race tomorrow morning. Driving in this biting cold and representing India in itself is a wonderful feeling and I am eager to have a go,” said Deepa John, who beat a bevy of biggies in Vadodara last November. The automobile engineer by profession came first among women’s category and third in expert category during India trials.
Deepa John, is a gifted fresher from Thiruvananthapuram, a find at the India Formula Women selections. On the other hand, Anushriya Gulati, despite racing only for a couple of years both at the Madras Race Track and Kari Speedway is both a biker and an open-wheel Formula racer. She was also credited with a ride to the Khardung La pass up the mountains and when she moved to racing four-wheeler, she won the Rookie title in the JK Tyre National Championship beating seniors like Mira Erda. These two along with Pragathi, won the India trials. The Formula India Women selections were conducted in November 2021 at the Erda Speedway in Vadodara. Another Indian, Manisha Kelkar, will also take part in the Global Finals but not as an Indian contestant as she directly chose to come to the UK and successfully finished her assessment.
Manisha Khelkar file photo of Dec 2021 The trio will represent India at the finals to stand a chance to be a McLaren Customer Racing Driver. The three drivers came out flying among 23 contestants who were assessed over five parameters namely, driving ability, karting craft, physical fitness, media skills, and a general written test.
The Global finals will witness about 70 participants who would be competing against each other on March 2 and 3 at the PF1 International circuit which is the largest outdoor karting circuit in UK. Then 15 shortlisted drivers will head to Croft Circuit on March 3 for a further round of finals. Then the top 10 participants will head to Sweden for a final shootout on a different terrain, that is Ice. The final six will have two reserve drivers while the top four will get a drive in the British GT championship where McLaren will have two cars, with two drivers each.
Fans who wish to send their wishes to the three Formula India Women can comment here and we will forward them to the star drivers.
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Pragathi Gowda beats `big boys’ to bag fastest-driver tag
Bengaluru, 22 August 2021: Pragathi Gowda of Bengaluru claimed overall honours bagging the fastest driver tag powering her Volkswagen Polo to a stunning time of 2 min, 22.268 seconds over two-laps of the 1-km United Off-road track in the 2021 Time Attack organised by Chetan Shivram Motorsports, a two-day FMSCI-licensed event that concluded here on Sunday.
Ashwin Reddy, Abhin R Rai and Syed Salman bagged a double each in the professional class on Saturday and Sunday respectively. Moin Pasha, Sahil Khan and Asad Pasha also won their classes in the pro section. The event supported by Eco-Life, Anvitha Estates, DC Motorsports and Unite Motorsports received overwhelming response with 176 entries which were divided into professional and amateur sections. Trophies were provided by 6T9th.com and Starttline Motorsports manned the timing equipment that gave one by thousandth of a second times for every driver.
You can watch the Time Attack on Unite Motorsport YouTube here!
Beating many top male drivers in the 13-car start list of the feature event, the 2nd year MBA student who is just three caps in the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC), slided the corners and attacked the straights to top the time-sheets in Race 1 to beat Ashwin Reddy to second and Moin Pasha to third place. Pragathi eased off on Day 2 due to the slippery track where rookie Syed Salman, proved his mastery on the slushy terrain to beat Asad Pasha and star driver Dhruva Chandrasekhar who was not in his elements on the day due to technical issues with his car.
Pragathi Gowda, who bagged the Overall honours in the Chetan Shivram Motorsports Time Attack at Unite Off Park in Bengaluru on 21 August 2021. “It’s always a good feeling to improve times and Time Attack provided me the right stage as the terrain is very technical and it helped me sharpen my skills to be ready for the INRC. Beating the big boys is a bonus,” added the Bengalurean, who made pundits take notice with her speed in a rally-prep INRC3 spec, in her debut at Itanagar last December.
Jayanth Samynathan won Race 1 in the Rally Cars class beating Reddy brothers Ashwin and Tarun while in Race 2 on Sunday, Syed Salman took the honours with Ashwin Reddy taking a second again and Asad Pasha completing the podium.
Ruthuparna Vivek, Amrut Shekar and Mohammad Uzair won the Amateur races on Day 1 while Ruthuparna Vevek got a double gold on Day 2 in 1600cc and 2000cc even as Arvind won the 1400cc and Mohammed Shabaz bagged 1100cc class.
Naresh of Bro Racing won the Tuner class with veteran INRC tuner Yusuf of Snap Racing taking second and Amju of Ideal Racing came third.
“Since a lot of newcomers including first-timers are there. We wanted to provide a platform where they would not be fighting with the veterans which is very de-motivating. So we had separate class for modified cars driven by professionals,” explained Chetan Shivram, the Clerk of the Course. Shivram, the 2019 Indian National Rally Champion, is a top motorsports mentor training every month scores of rally drivers to excel and was recently roped in by the INRC Promoters to conduct a Driver school to train over two dozen lady drivers ready for INRC. “I thank Nikhil of Unite Off-track for preparing and providing the beautiful track,” added the man behind the show.
“We conducted the event in a bio-bubble following all the COVID protocols of the government as safety is always a top-priority in motorsports. With virtually no events for drivers to get their seat time, Time Attack is a great op for them to brush up their skills for the National rallies and gain some practice in a competitive environment,” said Sanjeev P Shah, the Chief Steward and Secretary of Karnataka Motor Sports Club (KMSC).
Final (Provisional) Results:
Professional Race 1 (2 laps):
Pro United Off-road Open Class: 1. Pragathi Gowda (02 min, 22.268 seconds); 2. D Ashwin Reddy (02:23.665); 3. Moin Pasha (02:24.242).
Pro Upto 1100cc: 1. Moin Pasha (02:30.027);2. Abhisek Gowda (02:32.517); 3.Prakash R (02:34.459).
Pro Upto 1400cc: 1.Abhin R Rai (02:27.936); 2.Sahil (02:29.277); 3. Moin Pasha (02:29.516);
Pro Upto 1600cc: 1. D Ashwin Reddy (02:24.567); 2. D Tarun Reddy (02:25.160); 3. Sahil (02:26.295).
Pro Upto 2000cc: 1. D Ashwin Reddy(02:27.808);2. Dhruva Chandrasekhar (02:28.423); 3. Sahil (2:28.471).
Pro Rally-tuned cars: 1. Jayanth Samynathan (02:31.352);2. D Ashwin Reddy (02:32.004); 3. D Tarun Reddy (02:34.349).
Esteem: 1. Abhin R Rai (02:31.543); 2. Jayanth Samynathan (02:32.193); 3. Arvind (02:37.280).
Ladies Class: 1. Pragathi Gowda (02:40.718); 2. Tarushi Vikram (03:07.681).
Professional Race 2 (2 laps):
Pro United Off-road Open Class: 1. Syed Salman (02:37.315); 2. Asad Pasha (02:38.029); 3. Dhruva Chandrasekhar (02:38.803).
Rally-tuned Cars: 1. Syed Salman (02:34.858); 2. Ashwin Reddy (02:39.594); 3. Asad Pasha (02:39.947);
Race 2 (2 laps) Upto 1100cc: 1. Sahil Khan (02:30.521); 2. Mohan Raj (02:33.592);3. Mohin Pasha (02:34.171).
Race 2 (2 laps) Upto 1400cc: 1. Asad Pasha (2:29.207); 2. Mohin Pasha (02:30.336); 3. Sahil (02:30.852).
Esteem Class: 1. Abin R Rai (02:38.745); 2. Jayanth Samynathan (02:41.746); 3. Mohan (02:50.228).
Ladies Class: 1. Pragathi Gowda (02:40.567); 2. Tarushi Vikram (03:20.593);
Pro Tuner Class: 1. Naresh (Bro Racing) 2: 53.780; 2. Yusuf (Snap Racing) 2:55.513; ; 3. Amju (Ideal Racing) 2:57.946.
Diesel: 1. Dheeraj Manae (03:12.696); 2. Kiran (03:18.420).
Gypsy: 1. Ravi Kumar (02:54.534).
Amateur Race 1 (2 laps):
Upto 1100cc: 1. Mohammad Uzair (2:37.150); 2. Mohammed Kaisan (02:38.687); 3. Syed Imran (02:41.670).
Upto 1400cc: 1. Amrut Shekar (02:37.446); 2. Yuvaraj M (02:43.020); 3. Humayun Pasha (02:44.342).
Upto 1600cc: 1. Ruthuparna Vivek (02:35.347); 2. TS Rekha Niranjan (02:59.701); 3. Rituraj Das (03:01.861).
Ladies Class: 1. TS Rekha Niranjan (02:52.6551); 2. Tarushi Vikram (02:56.566).
Amateur Race 2 (2 laps):
Upto 1100cc: 1. Mohammad Shabaz (2:43.579); 2. Manu (02:52.338); 3. Syed Imran (02:52.358).
Upto 1400cc: 1. Arvind (02:38.155); 2. Amrith (02:44.359); 3. Yuvaraj (02:48.107).
Upto 1600cc: 1. Ruthuparna Vivek (02:37.782); 2. Nidhi (02:53.035); 3. Agasthya (02:58.240).
Upto 2000cc: 1. Ruthuparna Vivek (02:35.654); 2. Arvind (02:36.205); 3. Nidhi (02:40.946).
Ladies Class: 1. Tarushi Vikram (03:05.334); 2. Rekha Niranjan (03:13.305).
