Triple Treat
It is often said, “If a man loves his woman like he does his car, then she would be the luckiest of all.” It might be a tongue-in-cheek statement but if you own a car like Zain Bilgrami does, then you certainly have to be more romantic than Romeo to pledge your love to the lady!
But, with a redesigned blazing-red Toyota Hilux, rallying enthusiast Bilgrami, his navigator Sandeep Dodhiwala and time-keeper Darshan Bhatia — all from Hyderabad — definitely know the best way to express their passion for motorsport.
The trio, who have been rallying for about 20 years, finished fifth in the Ndure category of the recently-concluded Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm rally held across Rajasthan and Gujarat. “Hyderabad may not have a big motorsport culture but we keep participating in various rallies across India. We get the information from fellow rallyists, the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) and such,” said the 48-year-old Sandeep, who is into garments business.
“Also, we have a small but very active community in the Andhra Pradesh Motor Sports Club (APMSC),” he added. Bhatia and Bilgrami, both being mechanical/automotive engineers, developed a natural interest in motorsport. “I used to do smaller rallies after college. But then stopped it in 1995. This (Desert Storm) was the first attempt after the hiatus. And it was the best I have been to,” said Bilgrami.
Not surprisingly, Bilgrami runs a garage in Banjara Hills, where he redesigns vintage cars. Meanwhile, Bhatia who used to design and race solar-powered race cars after his graduation expresses disappointment in the lack of interest in the sport. “Hyderabad had a good rally culture due to the Charminar Challenge Rally. But once that stopped, the interest went down,” said Bhatia (42), who had also worked for the renowned auto firm McLaren Engine of North America.
“In fact, we shell out our own money to prepare cars for the rally. Recently, I invested on a Mahindra Vitro so that we could use it for the Mahindra-organised events like the Monsoon Rally,” he added. “For the Hilux, I brought all the equipment like custom-ordered suspension and lighter-weight bumpers from Australia so that we could participate in the Desert Storm,” mentioned Bilgrami.
The trio now plan to take part in a few rallies that would be held in south India in the coming months. Meanwhile, the APMSC will be organising an autocross championship for four-wheelers on March 11 in the City to encourage young rallying enthusiasts.
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