Girl in the Fast Lane

Garima Avtar, 38, Motorsport, UP/Punjab/Himachal

SUCCESS STORY One of the very few women motorsport drivers in the country, Avtar, who is based in Noida but frequents Punjab and Himachal Pradesh for different rallies and autocross events, started burning rubber eight years ago. Also a trained classical singer, she performs at Kaffeine in Hauz Khas Village, Delhi. TRACK RECORD Avtar has proven her mettle in the women’s category in major rallies across the country

including The SJOBA Thunderbolt TSD Rally 2012 (all women's team, first position), Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm 2013 (all women's team, first position), Indian National Rally Championship 2014 Rally, Coimbatore (Category: 1600 CC Extreme and has won the all women’s team trophy) besides winning positions at several autocross events in Ludhiana, Delhi and Indore.

WOMAN POWER The rallyist feels that parents have a major role to play in encouraging girl children to take up adventure sports and motorsports. Talking about the lack of government support Avtar says, “There is no aid from the government in the form of subsidies or grants which encourages people to give motorsports a shot as a career.”

FAST FORWARD Wanting to participate in the prestigious Dakar Rally (held in South America) and be the first Indian driver ever to rally in the car category, Avtar says, “I know

I have the requisite skill-set to compete at an international level but participation in such events requires a lot of planning, which is possible only with the right kind of funding and that's my next agenda.”

“Parents play a major role in encouraging children to take up sports.” Garima Avtar, rallyist