Sheena and Trupti, felicitated for exploits at Rally Jameel, Saudi Arabia

Chennai, 11 April 2023: It was a surprise, but a pleasant welcome when Sheena Sabharwal and co-pilot Trupti Gupta got a call from fmsci that they were selected to take part in the Rally Jameel, an all-woman TSD rally in the desert sands of Saudi Arabia. Thus began the exploits of IndiGals, one of the two teams from India that took part in Rally Jameel in March.

Sheena and Trupti were honoured at the fmsci Annual Awards Ceremony and were handed over their trophies here on Tuesday.

A homemaker from Pune with two teenage daughters, Trupti began her motorsport sojourn with the Times Women’s Drive from Pune to Goa in 2017 and the next year she met her driver Sheena Sabharwal, an architect, at the Malwa TSD car rally in Indore, their first rally together. And Rally Jameel is the first international debut for the Pune pair. “Learning and growing with each rally and pushing boundaries every time, our aim was to get higher with every step,” said Sheena.

The rally was organised by Bakhashab Motorsports Development and the two Indians were sponsored by the official partners, Abdul Latif Jameel, an Automotive Company, which provided a rally-prepared new 4×4 Toyota Fortuner.

Overwhelming Op to make their international debut

“We were overwhelmed with the opportunity. I never thought of doing an International car rally that too in Saudi Arabia. I had never heard of places like Alu La or Hail. I only had a sketchy idea of what was going to come our way. With determination and trust we took the leap,” said Trupti. “We were nervous but willing to learn. But sharing the stage with professional women including some who had Dakar titles under their belt was an exciting experience,” felt Sheena. “Representing our country is always an honour and pride and it gives us a sense of responsibility. We enjoyed the experience thoroughly,” echoed both of them in tandem.

For the record, the Indians finished Rally Jameel in 7th place in their category and 11th Overall. “It was three days of racing over 1600 km. About 550 km is the timed speed stage. Navigating and locating approximately 200 waypoints is a stunning experience as we did not have any saddle time or experience of navigating this kind of rally,” added Trupti. They began with a few hiccups ending the first leg on Day 1 in 26th position and improving to 14th on Day 2. They switched up gears and picked up the tempo for a creditable 7th on Day 3 as they ended the third leg, and went on to finish with a bang taking a creditable podium place (Leg 4) on the fourth and final day with a second position.

“Navigation was amazing. It was tough with new instruments and a new set of apps to understand and roll out. The whole point system was completely different from the TSD formats in India. I had to figure out our key abilities and then use them to score in places that made our positions better. The rally began as an unknown world to me as I never sailed in the desert before. I was happy and pleased with the positive ratings that helped me push my pilot Sheena to the finish line. In the end, finishing all the Specials without a puncture was satisfying,” Trupti narrated.

With a lot of variation in terrain that consisted of rocks, sand patches, different speed controls in stages, and very different road regulations and speed limits in the liaison section, it was a challenging event. The vehicles with left-hand drive added to the challenge forcing a major change in orientation for the Indian drivers. That brought out the focus and concentration of the navigator, who had to keep a constant vigil on the driver to provide timely alerts to be on the track. “By habit, I am more of a shift-stick driver. An automatic car was comparatively easier on the road but the whole dynamics with it work differently on off-road sections. We needed some time and understanding of the vehicle on the Special Stages. Getting to know the 4×4 shifts as per the requirement and delivering was a new and enjoyable experience,” said Sheena.

The duo was careful with the air pressures, constantly deflating and inflating as per the change in terrain. Monitoring any tyre damage in the timed stages and keeping track of major losses in time with a new navigation system was too much to handle. But co-driver Trupti adapted as fast as she could with Sheena handling the vehicle admirably.

Winning debut at TSD Nationals

The lady drivers from Pune made a winning debut in the fmsci Nationals in 2021 clinching the Ladies’ title after a slew of privately- organised TSD rallies. They qualified for the 2022 finals in Siliguri for the Himalayan Drive, where they did well topping the round but finishing runners-up in the Nationals. Nevertheless, they managed to get the call from the Federation in February for the Jameel Rally. Another ladies’ team of Jessie and Jyothi, which did well in 2021, was nominated as the second team.

Background of Rally Jameel

After a call by King Salman Al Saud to recognize women’s right to drive cars in Saudi Arabia, in September 2017 as per Vision 2030, Abdul Latif Jameel Motors and Abdullah Bathashab Est., the leading motorsports developers in Saudi Arabi, started the Rally Jameel.

And today dozens of Saudi women participate in the rallies and several women from around the world completed the second edition of Rally Jameel successfully. “If you love what you do, success will follow you,” was how Trupti ended the interview with INDIAinF1.com.