Vasundhara Jewellery Group enters INRC with 2 all-woman teams

Hyderabad, 12 Nov 2020: Champions Yacht Club pulled off another first in Indian Motorsports roping in a prominent woman entrepreneur of the city to field a first sponsoring two all-woman teams in the CYC FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) 2020, which is slated to begin with a back-to-back double leg in the North-Eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh from December 15.

Mrs Vasundhara, a well-known Telangana businesswoman of Vasundhara Diamond Roof Private Limited fame, has come forward to sport a rally team for the first time. The Hyderabad -based jewellers will own two teams, a mix of experience and youth, comprising of renowned Indian woman rallyist Dr Bani Yadav of Gurgaon and another talented youngster, Pragathi Gowda of Bengaluru, with Mrs Vasundhara, taking the initiative to plunge into the sport with the first-time entry as a sponsor and team owner with two entries.

Andhra Pradesh, hosted the finals of the Indian National Autocross Championship last January, before the pandemic halted all motorsports events with the scheduled first round at Chennai, the South Indian Rally, being put off just a week before it was supposed to take off in March last week. Hyderabad, on the other hand, was famous for the Charminar Challenge rally, INRC event season finale, for many years in the past, and rallying is not new to the Telangana capital which has produced many rallyists of yore and had Andhra Pradesh Motor Sports Club during the combined state status which is now Telangana. With the coming of Team Vasundhara, Hyderabad will make its presence in INRC once again through a Team Owner, that too a woman owner, and with Bani Yadav in the driver’s seat, it is something to look forward to for a Rally fan.

Champions Yacht Club, the promoters of INRC, headed by young rally enthusiast Vamsi Merla, has already roped in Yokohama Tyres, who are fielding defending champion Chethan Shivaram and also announced a slew of benefits for woman teams by organising clubs waiving off entry fee to all women and their teams. Merla also promised to make transport arrangements for taking the cars to the venue at subsidised rates and accommodation is being provided free for all the participants beginning with the first two rounds at Itanagar, where the Government of Arunachal Pradesh and the Tourism Department of the State are also roped in by CYC.

Christened as ‘Team Vasundhara’ the two lady drivers will take part in INRC 3 class in a rally-spec Volkswagen Polo 1.6 shod with MRF Tyres.

Mrs. Vasundhara, who started the journey 22 years back, was the first women jeweller in entire South Asia and the idea behind promoting women in motorsports is in line with their company’s ethos of `women empowerment’ in all walks of life.

 “A woman team owner, coming forward to promote and empower an all-woman team is a huge moment for Indian motorsports and a first time in Indian Rallying. As a promoter we have always strived for more women participation as part of the `Women in Motorsport’ concept introduced by FIA and FMSCI, and this association is seriously a stepping stone towards bringing in more women enthusiasts into motorsports,” Vamcy Merla, promoter of INRC and director of Champions Yacht Club said.

“Being a woman, my mother had to overcome many tough hurdles and challenges to make for herself. Our brand is all about woman empowerment as that is a personal journey for me. So keeping up the motto, we want to promote and empower women in all walks of life. We are pleased to have this opportunity to be part of an all-woman’s team and are glad to have been able to convince Bani (Yadav), a legend in her own right and Bengaluru youngster Pragathi (Gowda),” said Ashish, Director of Operation, Vasundhara Diamond Roof.

After the North-East round in scenic settings, INRC 2020 will move to Southern India with three rounds in Coimbatore, Hampi and the season-finale will be held in Bengaluru, with the iconic K-1000 as the last stop.

Began in 1988 as a National Championship, INRC the flagship event of Indian Motorsports will have five rounds in the depleted 2020-calendar, due to the Corona Virus, and will extend to two more months in 2021. The 33rd year of INRC will also see Hampi, the famous tourist spot in Karnataka, as a new venue to host INRC. The Hampi round will be in between the two Southern Cities once the venue is inspected and approved by the Federation, which looks like a formality as a non-championship curtain-raiser was run last year successfully. Champions Yacht Club who bagged the rights to promote the National Championship will be in-charge of INRC for two more years, with the Federation extending all championship rights for an extra year due to the disruption of regular events, by the pandemic this year.