Coimbatore, Oct 26 India’s most decorated rally driver Gaurav Gill is mighty impressed by the growing interest in motorsport among youngsters and believes the country has the talent to reach Formula One, but needs someone to “break the ice” at the highest level to turn that potential into reality.
A seven-time Indian national rally champion and three-time Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) winner, Gill became the first Indian driver to win the overall FIA APRC title in 2013.
“Somebody has to just break the ice and find a way to go out to the top,” Gill told PTI in an interview on the sidelines of the Indian National Car Racing Championship at Kari Motor Speedway here.
An Arjuna Award recipient, he has spent years competing at the highest levels of international rallying and believes Indian motorsport has made considerable progress in developing talent.
The journey from Narain Karthikeyan, India’s first Formula One driver, and Karun Chandhok, who followed him to the sport’s top tier, to the current generation reflects that progress.
Kush Maini is competing in Formula 2 and has also served as an F1 reserve driver, while young karting sensation Atiqa Mir has made strides on the international stage, including entry into the F1 Academy’s development pathway.
Gill’s own career, which began in single-seater racing before he made his mark in rallying, is another example of the range of talent India has produced.
He believes the challenge now is to create a stronger route for drivers to move from domestic competition to the global stage.
“It’s quite interesting. I grew up rallying on these tracks. I spent a lot of my childhood driving these single-seater cars and, from there, developed into Formula 3 and F2000 cars. So, obviously, there is a lot of scope,” the 44-year-old said.
“It’s incredible how many people have been supporting people like me, Narain and Karun. We have developed so much talent around the country, and they continue to do that. There is always an opportunity, but somebody has to just break the ice and find a way to go out to the top.”
Gill continues to compete in rallying and is looking for opportunities in cross-country rallying and international events, including the World Rally Championship and regional championships in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.
For young drivers looking to follow a similar path, he said, talent and speed must be matched by the ability to secure funding and manage a racing programme. Motorsport is among the most expensive and competitive sports, with sponsorship often determining how many races a driver can contest and how far a career can progress.
“You have to manage your sponsors and partners very quickly and very well so that you can have a great season or multiple seasons, perform and grow on the ladder,” he said.
The veteran racer is also struck by how closely young fans are following Formula One, a sign, he believes, that motorsport is gaining a wider audience in India.
“I was quite surprised to see so many people from the younger generation and kids following Formula One very dedicatedly. That shows the interest in motorsport is constantly growing day by day,” he said.
The participation at Kari Motor Speedway offered a glimpse of that expanding interest beyond the television audience.
Gill pointed to the number of entrants in the amateur category as evidence that more people were willing to get behind the wheel and consider racing as a possible career.
“You can see right here on the track, there were 25-26 cars on the grid in the amateur class. That shows that people are getting so much more interested in taking this up as a career, which is the most important thing,” he said.
However, a larger audience and a growing pool of drivers will need to be backed by a more structured system if India is to produce competitors capable of regularly challenging the world’s best.
Gill further pointed to the role played by motorsport federations in other countries in helping drivers progress, rather than leaving them to depend largely on private sponsors.
“Competition is obviously one of the most important aspects to support people like us. As a matter of fact, several federations around the world do a lot to support drivers,” he said.
He said the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) was still working on a plan to develop a programme that could help Indian drivers reach the highest levels of the sport, including the World Rally Championship and Formula One.
(PTI News)
