India has been considerably behind most European countries when it comes to motorsport infrastructure, and that has certainly taken its toll over the past decades, as there haven’t been many racers from India to race internationally and achieve much success. The likes of Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok reaching Formula 1 in the 2000s, Vijay Mallya purchasing a Formula 1 team which became famous as Force India, & the inauguration of the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida which hosted three Formula 1 races between 2011-2013 sowed the seeds of a new breed of racers, which are only just coming to fruition.
The Buddh International Circuit hosted the Formula 1 Indian Grand Prix between 2011-2013.
Not only did Indian Grand Prix and Force India added to the viewership for motorsport in the country, they also implanted dreams in the minds of young kids in India, helping them believe that they can reach the razor edge of motorsport too. I was one such kid, and while I couldn’t win big in racing, my time in the sport gave me some of the best memories I could wish for. Many kids like me have since gone on to achieve big not just in India, but internationally, and are now on the doorsteps of the peak of motorsport. Let’s take a look at who these drivers & riders are.
Without a doubt, Jehan Daruvala is one of the hottest properties as far as motorsport is concerned to come out of India in the past 10 years. Daruvala was drafted in the top 100 list of Sahara Force India Formula 1 team’s ‘One in a Billion’ talent hunt program in 2011, which shortlisted 98 drivers between the age group of 14-18, one wildcard driver younger than 14 years old and one wildcard driver over the age of 18. Daruvala was the younger wildcard who got selected in the top 100 by beating his rival by less than a tenth of a second, and then went on to finish third in the ‘One in a Billion’ shootout, behind Arjun Maini & Tarun Reddy.
(Left to right) Tarun Reddy, Arjun Maini, & Jehan Daruvala were the top 3 in Force India's ‘One in a Billion’ talent hunt in 2011.
Also Read: Jehan Daruvala Bags Podium In Sprint Race in France
Winning this got him to Europe, and he soon won the Super 1 National KFJ Championship in 2013. After that, Daruvala went on to do great in single seaters as well, and later on got a seat in the Prema Racing Formula 3 team, with which he finished third the FIA Formula 3 championship. From there, Daruvala moved to Formula 2 with Carlin, and with the Force India Formula 1 team being sold to Lawrence Stroll, Daruvala signed a contract to be a Red Bull F1 Team Junior driver, giving his career a big boost. Having raced with Carlin in Formula 2 for two seasons, Daruvala returned to Prema Racing for the 2022 FIA Formula 2 Championship, scoring six podium finishes in the 2022 season before the summer break. Daruvala is currently P4 in the 2022 Formula 2 championship after having fallen down from P3 due to some unfortunate race weekends, and he is in a good position to be in contention for a seat in the AlphaTauri F1 team for the 2023 or 2024 Formula 1 season.
Jehan Daruvala is currently fourth in the 2022 Formula 2 championship.
Following Jehan Daruvala in the international four-wheeler track racing scene are the Maini brothers, Arjun & Kush. The elder of the two, Arjun Maini was the winner of the ‘One in a Billion’ talent hunt organised by Force India, and he achieved great success in his early years in karting. Maini moved to GP3 (which later morphed into Formula 3) in 2016, and finished the season in tenth in the championship standings despite missing out on the first 4 races. He also became the first Indian to secure a podium in GP3, when he finished second at the Hungaroring. Arjun later stepped upto Formula 2 with Trident Racing, but he had a troublesome season with the team and his teammate Ferrucci. Arjun then moved away from single-seaters, and landed in the endurance racing scene to race in the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) competing in the 2019 24 Hours of Le Mans - which is one of the most famous race in the world - before moving on to DTM (Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters). Arjun Maini also scored the first podium finish by an Indian driver in DTM in 2021, and is currently racing in the same series.
Arjun Maini is currently racing in DTM.
Also Read: Arjun Maini Bags Maiden Podium In DTM Norisring With A Second Place Finish
On the other hand, the younger of the two, Kush Maini achieved even more success racing in single-seaters. Starting his international single-seater journey in 2016, Kush Maini raced in the Italian F4 championship for the first two seasons, before moving onto BRDC British Formula 3 Championship in 2018. This is where Kush got the break in his career, as he won one race and secured seven further podium finishes that year, to help him up to P3 in the championship, ahead of fellow Indian racer Krishnaraaj Mahadik. Following his success in the British F3 campaign, he moved to Formula Renault Eurocup in 2019, but returned to British F3 in 2020 after the pandemic altered his racing plans. Kush Maini scored even higher in the 2020 British F3 championship, bagging 3 race wins for Hitech GP team & finishing second in the standings. While the 2021 season was a lacklustre one for the Indian driver, he moved up to FIA Formula 3 in 2022, and has already secured one podium finish in the highly competitive 30-driver grid before the summer break.
Kush Maini recently bagged his first podium finish in FIA Formula 3.
Also Read: Kush Maini Charges To Sprint Race Podium In Hungary
One cannot mention Indian motorsport without mentioning Gaurav Gill. Born in 1981, Gill is not one of the younger drivers to be actively racing. However, despite his age Gill is still achieving great in Rallying in India as well as overseas. Gaurav Gill was also awarded the Arjuna award by president of India Ram Nath Kovind in 2019, making him the first athlete from motorsports to win the honour. Over his two decade long career, Gaurav Gill has racked up many titles, including winning the Indian National Rally Championship a staggering 7 times, Indian National Racing Championship 3 times, and also winning the Asia Pacific Rally Championship thrice. Gaurav Gill is currently racing in the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) as well as in WRC2 (World Rally Championship) for team JK Tyre Racing.
Gaurav Gill has won the INRC a staggering 7 times.
Also Read: Gaurav Gill Returns To WRC 2 With Safari Rally In Kenya
An all-round sports person since early in her life, Anushriya Gulati has been a part of many different sports, including basketball at a state level and even shooting at a national level, having won multiple medals in Air Pistol (10 meters) & Sports Pistol (22-25 meters) categories in India, and even a Bronze medal in Singapore Open Championship. But perhaps one of the things Anushriya Gulati has been best known for is completing 1,60,000 kms on her collection of Harley-Davidson motorcycles, making her the youngest rider in India to do so, and the only female rider to achieve the feat. Being the Asst. Director of Ladies of Harley, India, Anushriya has completed many rides across the country and even internationally, which included the H-D ‘Big 5’ challenge for 5 consecutive years, H-D ’21-365’ challenge for 2 years and many other notable rides, including K2K, golden quadrilateral, and even riding up to Khardung La pass, which was then the highest motorable pass in the world, whilst being the youngest rider or the first female rider to complete these rides on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle on multiple occasions. She was also a part of the five rider crew which managed to cover 3,141 km on a Harley-Davidson Sportster S in the span of 24 hours, creating a world record of the longest distance covered on a motorcycle in the span of 24 hours, and is the youngest coach and the only female coach in the Harley-Davidson Riding Academy (HDRA).
Anushriya Gulati, along with 4 other riders, set the record for the farthest distance travelled on a motorcycle over the span of 24 hours.
However, her journey took an interesting turn in 2019, as Anushriya entered the four-wheeler racing scene by finishing in the top 3 in Ahura Racing Team’s countrywide Women’s talent hunt program, from a shortlist of 60 women. While the first year was more of a learning curve for the Dehradun based driver driving the LGBF4 cars on race tracks, Anushriya Gulati won a ‘rare double’ championship the very next year, as she finished first in the Women’s category as well as the Rookie category of the 2020 JK Tyre LGBF4 National Racing Championship. Gulati soon moved up to MRF Formula 1600 series with JA Motorsport, but her big break came in the selection of Formula Woman, where amongst 800 women across the globe, Anushriya finished in the top 75 finalists, who proceeded to the shootouts in UK. Here, she finished in top 11, and soon reached Sweden, where she got drafted in the top 4 female drivers across 800 participants, achieving an unparalleled result. In 2022, Anushriya Gulati also made her debut in rallying, having entered INRC 3 and finishing third amongst women and fourth in juniors in her maiden attempt.
Anushriya Gulati won two titles in 2020, being the first in women as well as first in rookies in the LGBF4 National Racing Championship.
Also Read: Anushriya Gulati Wins Rare Double Title In National Racing Championship
CS Santosh is the most accomplished Indian rider, and he has multiple titles to his name. In a career that has spanned over a decade, CS Santosh has won more championships than one can remember. Having won 3 MRF National Supercross Championships & 2 Gulf National Dirt Track Championships, CS Santosh also won the 2012 Maruti Suzuki Raid-De-Himalaya on his maiden attempt while also setting a record time on his way. He won the Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm for 3 years in a row, and also won the 2016 India Baja. Having won several championships in the motocross as well as Rallying events, one of the highlights of his career was finishing the 2015 Dakar Rally, which is widely known as the toughest rally in the world, and the Indian rider made an appearance in the rally several times from there on. He is a rider who is under the banner of Hero MotoSports, and has spearheaded a rally revolution of sorts in India. CS Santosh has also given fresh hope to fellow talented riders that they too can make the step up to the global rally level, including Harith Noah.
Also Read: Dakar 2018: CS Santosh Completes Career Best 34th
CS Santosh was the first Indian rider to finish the Dakar Rally.
Also Read: FMSCI Nominates CS Santosh & Aishwarya Pissay For 2020 Arjuna Award
A five-time Indian National Supercross champion, Harith Noah made his Dakar rally debut in 2020, and in 2021, he finished in P20, making him the first Indian rider to finish in the top 20 at Dakar. He is one of the fastest Indian riders at Dakar with a highest ranking of P18 in a Dakar stage. But not just that, the TVS Factory Racing rider has competed in an won at many events. Harith Noah also competed in the FIM Baja Spain Aragon in 2022, the fourth round of the FIM Bajas World Cup and finished a remarkable fourth.
Also Read: Harith Noah Becomes First Indian To Finish In Top 20 In Dakar Rally
Also Read: Dakar Rally 2021: Indian Riders CS Santosh, Harith Noah & Ashish Raorane Off To A Good Start
Having found her passion in motorcycling at the age of 18, Aishwarya Pissay soon mastered the art of riding a bike, and went on to win national titles in both Road Racing & Rally championships. Pissay - who has also been a member of our annual carandbike Awards Jury - won the INRC 5 times in a row between 2017 to 2021, and is the first ever Indian motorsports athlete to win a world title as she won the women’s and junior’s category in FIM Baja Rally World Cup.
Also Read: Aishwarya Pissay Wins Coimbatore Nationally Rally In Womens' Two-Wheeler Group B
Also Read: Aishwarya Pissay Becomes India's First-Ever FIM Bajas World Champion
