Sarika Sehrawat
Sarika Sehrawat is India’s first woman car racer. This 24-year-old speedster is all ready to set the tracks on fire! Sponsored by Maruti, Sarika has performed extremely well in the Sub Himalayan and Desert Storm Car Rallies in the last two years. Sarika Sehrawat also works for Max New York Life as an insurance agent.
Sarika belongs to village Nangal Dewat , Delhi. Her father's name is Ch. Ramnarayan Sehrawat (advocate) and mother's name is smt Shakuntala devi.
She started out by participating in the Autocross event three years ago just for kicks, and ended up a close second. Since then there has been no looking back for her. Soon after, she learnt how to Kart and has been competing and winning in various karting and rallying events ever since.
From rallying to karting, racing was the next logical, yet illogical step for her. This aficionado of speed started participating in racing events last year, making her the first ever woman racer in India.
The Raid-de-Himalaya-X-treme is said to be the toughest rally in India. It is the most exciting mix of high speed and adventure. But the last rally held in Oct ’03 was different. It was the first ever to witness a woman participant — Sarika Sehrawat. Unfortunately, after racing a good 700 km on the most arduous terrains known to man, Sehrawat was stranded short, just at the end of the first day due to an electrical problem in her Gypsy.
More recently, in February,2006 Sarika came third in the J K Tyre National Karting Championship. She also emerged victorious, winning in the Esteem and Gypsy categories in the Maruti Auto Cross that she was simultaneously participating in.
“I have to make my mark, no matter what the hurdles are,” says a gleamy-eyed Sarika. She gives it her best shot no matter who she’s competing with — fellow women karters or dumb-struck male racers!
Confident of her skills on the road, she exclaims with conviction, “If the guys can race so fast, so can I!” When she is not rallying or racing, this graduate from Venkateshwara College and Fore School of Management alumna works with Max New York Life.
She thoroughly enjoys her work and the fact that it allows her to nurture her motor sport activities is an added advantage. She relishes the attention she receives from her colleagues because of her being a champ racer. Earlier, she had worked with an automobile company where she picked up a lot of know-how on the making and running of cars.
With her educational background, she can climb the corporate ladder with ease but, as she says with a lot of zeal, “My craze for driving fast and my passion for cars is far too great.” So, to channelise this energy and passion she would like to open an academy to train rally drivers. But that’ll be after she is through with participating and winning in the same!! When questioned about the fame and attention she is receiving these days, she exclaims that anyone doing well is noticed. She’s not receiving the extra attention because she is a woman racer.
Her goals are set and she is very sure about what she wants to do. So she does not regret missing out on all the fun and parties that people her age engage in.High speed and racing are her ideas of fun.
References
- SARIKA SEHRAWAT, India's first and only women professional car rallyist, New Delhi (INDIA)
- Speed Call | The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Jalandhar Plus
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