Maruti Suzuki encourages women participation in motorsports by organising car rally

Indian auto maker Maruti Suzuki recently organised all women car rally in New Delhi with the aim to encourage women participation in motorsports. The one-day event in the Capital witnessed an overwhelming response with 80 Maruti Suzuki cars all driven by women drivers. In order to achieve this goal, the company is also spearheading several intra city rallies.

The event was flagged off at Maruti's Head Office in Vasant Kunj area. Covering a total distance of 103km, contestants passed through places such as Mehrauli, Gurgaon, Damdama Lake and Sohna before reaching back to the start venue.

Expressing his opinions on the rally, Manohar Bhat, Vice-President of Marketing, Maruti Suzuki, said, "Maruti Suzuki's association with motorsports spans across the last 2 decades. With each passing year, women interest in rallies has seen a significant upsurge. The TSD rally is a test of driving as well as planning skills which serves as a stepping stone for women enthusiasts eager to carve their niche in adventure sports. Moreover, it increasingly offers them opportunities to gauge their preparedness for bigger rallies like Maruti Suzuki Raid-de-Himalaya, Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm and Maruti Suzuki Dakshin Dare. This is coupled with the objective of imbibing road discipline and promoting road safety amongst drivers."

Participants in the rally were provided with a road book, giving instructions with regards to directions, distance and time. Apart from this, the co-driver/navigator had to keep a check on the time based on speed and distance figures in the road book, and accordingly guide the driver on the speed at which the car is to be driven. As per rally guidelines, participants were to remain within average speed, follow traffic rules and navigate the route correctly while keeping to the prescribed time.

Vaneeta Kumar emerged as the winner in this rally, followed by Poonam Rana and Rihen Bhardwaj at second spot in their Gypsy. Meanwhile, Malika Bajaj and Dhruv Dhall finished in third position.