JAISALMER: He might be standing fifth overall after the second day of the Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm, but his personal performance is not what bothers him. Instead, his interest lies in fixing the broken down cars and giving some useful tips to amateur drivers and, sometimes, experts too.
Meet Amanpreet Ahluwalia, a seasoned rallyist and owner of one of the biggest rally car workshops in India — Auto Attitudes. The racer from Noida has as many as 11 cars across all four categories in the ongoing Desert Storm, that have been modified and tuned at his workshop.
Mostly Gypsys, the cars coming out of his garage are usually good enough to compete against the heavier and more powerful racing machines that enter the competition. “My forte is providing the best cars for any competition. And to a certain extent, I have been successful in doing that. Being a rallyist myself, I put my heart and soul in every car that goes out of our workshop,” Ahluwalia told Express. As a rally driver, his journey began in 2002, while it was only in 2009 that he discovered his passion for creating rally cars. But it wasn’t a planned venture. “I was doing fine with my rallying. One day I modified the car myself... It gave me great results, and most importantly, everyone liked what I had done with the car. So that was the time I knew I had to do this,” Ahluwalia added.
For now, racing has taken a back seat and car tuning is what engages him mostly, but he couldn’t be happier. “I am associated with motorsport. That’s what matters. Now I just participate in select rallies and concentrate on making cars race-ready.”
In the end, Ahluwalia complimented Maruti Suzuki for conducting such quality rallies for over a decade. “Such rallies have been a total boon for us professionals. This also gives a great opportunity to young racers to get a feel of how is it to drive on a professional circuit,” he concluded.
madhav@newindianexpress.com