BENGALURU: Four years into her career, rally driver Pragathi Gowda is inching closer and closer to her ultimate goal of rallying on the world stage. In the recently-concluded FIA Rally Star Women’s final in Italy, Gowda represented India, came up short of first-placed Peru’s Annia Cilloniz, and finished second. However, her driving wasn’t inferior to the Peruvian.
“Timing-wise, Annia and I were equal. In fact, they wanted to give us a rerun. But she was better with the technical questions during the interview. As she was a mechanic herself, she had more knowledge of the matter. I knew the basics, but she knew in and out of the car. They wanted someone who was reliable and consistent as well as technically strong because once you get stuck in the middle of the rally, it’s up to you how you come out. So in that way, it was really tough for me. But in terms of driving, I was up there,” shares Gowda. As she stood second in the race, she earned a reserve role in the FIA Rally Star Training Season and the World Rally Championship (WRC), in case Cilloniz is unable to compete.
A loss due to the technical round and not for her driving skills, Gowda feels it was inevitable as India doesn’t teach the other side of professional driving. “The problem here is we don’t concentrate on technical terms at all. We just go drive and come back. So if we all focus a bit more on the technical terms as well as driving, it will be really good and consequently improve our driving skills as well. Once you know a few things like how a car handles itself and how to transfer weight, for example, it becomes very easy for you to drive,” she explains.
Gowda believes that FIA Rally Star gave India (and to an extent the whole of Asia) an unforeseen opportunity to qualify for the WRC. Earlier, there never existed a selection process in the continent for the competition. “Racing in the WRC is a big dream for all of us, and the FIA Rally Star allowed us to shoot a shot at it. So, it was good exposure for us. Secondly, it’s the cross karts. It’s the basics of rallying; if you do well in the crosskarts, you can jump into a rally car and perform well. It doesn’t mean you’re a professional, but it affirms that you know the basics. I hope the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) considers this and gets crosskart championships to India. We’ll see many more talents grow and more people coming forward to take part,” says Gowda, who started driving at the age of 13.
As of now, Gowda is steadfastly training for the upcoming competitions. “Right now, my prime focus is the national rounds of the Rally of Arunachal, which is coming up next month. But I’m also simultaneously getting trained for the FIA Rally Star Training Season if Annia backs out for some reason. I have also realised that I need to work on my fitness more. It’s not easy to drive 30 km in one stretch, especially in a heavy vehicle. So, physical abilities, mental focus and technical knowledge are all being strengthened,” she says.