The 2019 JK Tyre-FMSCI National Racing Championship (JKNRC) will see an all women's team in participation under Team Ahura for the second year. The brainchild of former racer and team owner of Ahura Racing-Sarosh Hataria, this one-of-a-kind all-women's team will compete in the popular LGB-4 Formula Car category at the JKNRC. Six talented women drivers have been shortlisted to take part after a rigourous selection process and join the three members who joined the team during it maiden year.
The new recruits in question are Natasha Puri and Ojasvi Mehta from Mumbai; Shivani Gaurav and Aman Jubbal from Delhi. There's Pragathi B from Bangalore and Anushriya Gulati from Dehradun. The women will be competing in the four rounds of the JKNRC starting on July 26, 2019.
Welcoming the new additions to the all-women team, Sanjay Sharma, Head-Motorsport, JK Tyre said, "We are delighted to welcome another all-women's team into the racing family. Last year, progress made by them added excitement to the competition. I am sure this year too they will make a huge impact. This is in tune with our continued policy of drawing young girls into motor sports. The girls who have progressed over the years and are giving tough competition to the leaderboard are Sneha Sharma, Mira Erda."
The six female drivers were selected after extensive scrutiny across various rounds
Speaking on the new drivers, Team Ahura Racing's Sarosh Hataria said, "A number of talented drivers and young enthusiasts were in the mix which is a great sign for Indian motor sport. They were quick to adapt to the more powerful cars and showed immense progress. I am positive that they are going to be highly competitive this year."
The women drivers were chosen after Team Ahura conducted trials on a zonal basis in Gurgaon (North), Mumbai (Central Zone) and Bengaluru (South). Each zone tested over 75 women, both young and old, and they were taken through beginners' and advanced training on karts before the final shootout in the India-make LGB 4 Formula car. The top 20 drivers from each zone were invited for the final selection process in Coimbatore and were then given additional training and practice sessions to compete in LGB Formula 4.
Reprising their roles from last year, driver Natasha Puri from Delhi won herself a fully sponsored drive in the championship after a strong performance in 2018. In addtion, there's Manisha Kelkar, who will also be making her comeback this season after participating in one round last year. She will be fielding a different team this season.
