First time ever: Bengaluru woman to represent India in a Asia Pacific Rally Championship
Bengaluru based fashion designer & stylist Anitha Kholay is also a professional rally racer, who has been in the circuit since 2003. She will soon become the first ever female rallyist to represent the country at the Asia Pacific Rally Championship which kicks of from Oct 28, in Johor, Malaysia.
She will be racing with the Proton NEO 1600 CC car, which can hit top speeds of 120 miles per hour. Her car is currently being made ready for racing by MRU Motorsports team from Malaysia.
Kholay, who is also the winner of Miss Bangalore 1998 has husband to thank for getting her into professional racing.
“My husband, Rupesh Kholay, discovered the potential of my proficiency behind the wheel in 1994. I haven’t looked back, and crave to steer and zoom. My favourite rallies have been the K-1000, which is the Bangalore Rally, because I enjoy the terrain the most,” she said in an interview with The Hindu.
It has been long journey, full of hard work for Kholay – she started of with racing with two-wheelers and then became a navigator, before taking the wheel herself. She became the first woman to lead a national rally championship with a woman’s team in 2003. After gradually gaining experience in the motorsport, she went on to become one highest awarded female rally drivers.
“I won most of my racing and rallying awards from 1994-2011 in the ladies category. I took a break when I had my two children, and have been constantly taking part in national rallies from 2003, travelling mostly to Nashik, Chikmagalur, Hyderabad and Cochin, amongst other cities,” she said.
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