Seven Stars of Women Motorsports in India

Aishwarya Pissay

In the world of motorcycle racing, Pissay has been a trailblazer for Indian women. She’s won many women’s categories at some of the country’s most prestigious road and rally racing events, including the Indian National Rally Championship, Dakshin Dare, Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship (INMRC), and others, and she’s even won the Bajas World Cup.

For Pissay, 2021 was a year of highs and lows. She suffered fractures to both wrists in a crash in Round 2 of the FIM Bajas World Cup, which could end her career. She came back with a bang after a few operations and months of recuperation. She won both the Rally De Hampi and the Rally of Himalayas women’s categories in 2021.

Anushriya Gulati

Anushriya Gulati is now competing in the Formula Woman worldwide finals for a chance to compete in the 2022 UK GT Cup in a fully funded McLaren GT4. She is the only Indian in the top 11 in the competition, and she will now compete in Sweden to determine the last six winners.

Gulati’s passion for racing, however, began on two wheels. She’s the only female coach at the Harley-Davidson Riding Academy, and she’s participated in numerous HOG rallies. She also bears the distinction of becoming the first woman to reach Khardung La.

Her desire to pursue her passion for racing drove her to go from two to four wheels.

Ryhana Bee

In the Girls Stock 165cc category, Ryhana Bee is the current INMRC champion. She won the championship with a round to spare, reclaiming the title after two years aboard a Yamaha R15 V3.

But it was the fact that 2021 marked her return to racing that made it a genuinely significant title for her. After injured her elbow while competing in the Indian National Rally Championship, she was forced to sit out the 2020 season. But it didn’t appear to bother her in the least, as she won all five races in the 2021 season.

Rajini Krishnan, the ace of superbike racing and a 10-time national winner, is her mentor. This season, she even raced for his squad, RACR Castrol Power Ultimate.

Mira Erda

Mira Erda has a long list of achievements in the racing world, including becoming the youngest female LGB Formula 4 competitor in 2014, winning the LGB Formula 4 Rookie Championship in 2016, becoming the first Indian woman to race in the Euro JK category in 2017, and winning the LGB Formula 4 women’s category in 2019. She also finished second in Round 2 of F4 South East Asia on the international circuit. She most recently finished 12th overall in the 2021 JK Tyre National Racing Championship in the LGB Formula 4 class.

Erda, however, wears many hats. She has been a strong advocate for developing female motorsport potential in India in addition to her racing career. motorsport.

Shivani Pruthvi

Shivani Pruthvi has a passion for racing. Her father, BS Pruthvi, is a seasoned rally driver, and her mother, Dr Deepti Pruthvi, has accompanied her on multiple occasions as a co-driver.

She, too, was bitten by the motorsport bug, and at the age of 19, she began competing in Autocross events with the help of her father. In the 2018 Volkswagen Ameo Cup, she made her track debut. After that, she went on to win the print de Bengaluru, made her INRC debut at the 2019 South India Rally alongside her mother and even represented India at the 2019 Asia Auto Gymkhana Championship.

She enjoyed an eventful 2021, with outings in the JK Tyre Indian National Regularity Run Championship, the KMS50 endurance race at the Kari Motor Speedway.

PragathI Gowda

Pragathi Gowda has already established a reputation on the Indian rallying scene. She began her motorsport career in Autocross after realising her interest for both riding and driving at a young age. She soon ascended through the ranks to become the top female driver at the 2019 Indian National Auto Gymkhana Championship.

She began rallying the next year, driving for the all-female Team Vasundhara. Gowda returns to the INRC this season, driving a Volkswagen Polo in the INRC3 and Junior INRC classes, after a successful debut in 2020. She was also one of the three Formula Woman India winners, and she represented India at the world finals in the United Kingdom.

Deepa John

Deepa John was one of the three Formula Woman India winners, alongside Gulati and Gowda. The programme was available to anyone with a genuine passion for racing (all candidates required was a valid driver’s licence), allowing up-and-coming talent like John to break into the motorsport cheval cheval.

She had been rising through the ranks of amateur karting and participating in track days at the Madras Motor Race Track prior to this. Even at the Erda’s Speedway Kartopen Racing Championship, she placed third overall. Her enthusiasm for all things automotive isn’t limited to motorsport; she’s also a qualified vehicle engineer who is prepared to further her education in the industry.