About IARC and Nazir Hoosein

A Brief History

The Daily Express 1968 London-Sydney Marathon rekindled the motor sport spark for enthusiasts in Bombay (now Mumbai). Leading long-distance drivers of the world at that time were taking part, and the overland run from London ended at Bombay, from where the cars were shipped to Perth, Australia. This gave the participants (who were also the Carnet Holders for the cars) three full days in the city prior to their departure. The inevitable interactions and dinners followed, which were memorable.

A direct result of this interaction was the coming together of some Indian motor sport stalwarts of that time to form a club that would begin the promotion of motor sport in Bombay. These included Ajaypat Singhania, His Highness the Maharaja of Gondal, Nazir Hoosein, Mohinder Lalwani and Kishan Rao to name a few. The IARC was then formed as a Section 25 non-profit Public Limited Company limited by guarantee.

With the support of Ajaypat and the ground availability of JK Gram in Thane, numerous gymkhanas for cars and scrambles for motorcycles followed. Hill climbs were held in quarries where the quarry owner was happy to smoothen the road and join in the fun of a Sunday morning excursion. Hill Climbs extended far and wide and the Sinhagad Fort climb near Pune became an annual feature, which was always extremely well attended. Since it was possible to close the roads in that era, it made for a memorable and superb event.

Serious navigation rallies were also a feature at that time. One of the members, Ravi Kumar, owned a restaurant called the Bullock Cart at Kala Ghoda. He would provide a dinner for the participating members after which, at around midnight the event started. It was a complicated navigational rally within the city of Bombay with participants returning in the morning for breakfast.

There soon arose a need for an all-India body and the IARC played its part as one of the founding members of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI), which later became the ASN (representative organization) of the FIA (Federation Internationale de l’Automobile – the world body for motorsport and mobility) in India and is so today.

Unfortunately, as the years passed, the holding of events became more difficult in and around the city of Bombay and consequently, the number of events began to dwindle with the sole exception being the annual Car Rally for the Blind, which runs to this day. The commencement of the Himalayan Rally in 1980 took many of the active organizers of the IARC into its fold and this also added to the reduction of events.

With circumstances having changed today and cars and motorcycles now being easily available, a new breed of young men and women has come forward to run events which include Drag Racing, Navigational Rallies and to also revive the Vintage Register, which assists in the restoration and running of old cars and motorcycles.

The Chairman of the IARC, Mr. Nazir Hoosein, administered through India the second London-Sydney Marathon which ran in 1977, as also the last London-Sydney Marathon which ran in 1993. Mr Hoosein was a Formula 1 Steward from 1993 to 2008 and one of the four permanent chief stewards for Formula 1 for 8 years during this time. He was also one of the four permanent stewards for the World Rally Championship, culminating in his being the sole Chief Steward for the entire WRC from 2006 to 2008. As the President of the FIA Asian Zone for a number of years, Mr Hoosein was responsible for the promotion of motor sport in fourteen Asian countries.

His international experience stands the IARC in good stead today which, coupled with the experience and knowledge of the other members of the Board, possibly makes the IARC the repository of the maximum motor sport knowledge in this country.

Some years ago, the FIA’s round of the APRC ran in Pune and Bangalore and once again the IARC core team did the work behind the scenes. As mentioned earlier, the Blind Men’s Rally has run over a number of years annually and the core team is responsible for this effort also. IARC have also organized the Kutch Desert Car Rally in the Little Rann of Kutch, a Vintage Drive to Lavasa and a Freeway Drive to New Cuffe Parade for the Lodha group during 2013-2014. Recently the first round of the JK Tyre Racing Championship in Coimbatore for LGB Formula 04, FB 02, Volkswagen Polo R Cup and Vento Support race ran under IARC permits in May 2014.

Other recent events worthy of mention:

2014 Lavasa Women’s Drive was organised with the social objective of awareness for the early detection and prevention of women’s cancer, achieving a Guinness World Record for the maximum number of women participating in a motor sport event in the world.

2016 Times Women’s Drive 2016. There were over 450 entries, simultaneous starting from 3 cities – Mumbai, Bangaluru and Pune – to reach Goa the next day. Once again, the objective was to create awareness about early screening and prevention of women’s cancer, with the support of the Tata Memorial Hospital.

2017 Final Round of JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship Euro JK17 & LGB Formula 4 at Budhha International Circuit, Noida.

2017 Final round of of FIM Asia Cup of Road Race in India at Budhha International Circuit, Noida.

2018 The Asia Auto Gymkhana Competition of India

Office Address:

Indian Automotive Racing Club Ltd.,

Liberty Bldg., 41/42, Marine Lines,

Mumbai-400020.

Email : iarcindia@gmail.com