The race is on

“India still needs to develop more avenues for motor sports,” says Vineeth Tom Vincent, who is an avid fan of rally racing and has been a professional racer for the past four years. For him, the love for cars and driving started when he was just 10-years-old. “During my childhood, my cousin’s husband who was a beach racer inspired me to develop a love for automobiles,” says Vineeth. Later it was his own father who taught him the first lessons of handling the steering wheels on a Maruti 800. “As any 10-year-old I was too small to drive a car. In order to hold the steering, I sat above a pillow, even then I could only see the steering and speedometer,” he says.The 25-year-old who hails from Kochi has so far covered Rally of Kerala where he ended in fourth place, Rally of Maharashtra (Nasik ) where he qualified with the best timings and in the Rally of Coimbatore last year where he ended as the second runner up. Sadly, even when he was at the winning end, luck did not favour him in the rallies. “In my career so far, in every rally something has happened. A punctured rear tyre in stage 1 of Kerala rally caused me to lose valuable time and dropped to fourth place. Even with the best timings, another unfortunate event denied me the victory in Nasik. Finally when I got my place on the podium in rally of Coimbatore, I tore my ankle ligament, causing me to sit out for the rest of 2011 season,” says Vincent.Now that he has recovered from his injury, he will be participating in the new season of Junior Indian National Rally Championship (JINRC) this year. “In the new season I am looking forward to some good sponsorships so that my racing career can go on smoothly.”Talking about why not many Indian rally drivers have been able to make their mark in  the world scenario, Vineeth explains, “Many of them don’t know where to turn for help or from where to get information about the motor-sport. Embarking on this career proves difficult for many, as they are unaware about where they can get a coach and a tuner.”But Vineeth says he has been lucky, as he has the support of a strong technical team - KARI SPORTS of Coimbatore. “They are one of the best in India who provide services such as rally car prepping and service back-up round the year. They are the ones who have rolled out my Maruti Esteem. I am also blessed to have a much experienced co-driver Sob George.”Vineeth also points out another grave problem that is faced by the drivers in Kerala. “There are no racing tracks here. The nearest track that we have is in Coimbatore. The Coimbatore-Kedannur track is the one that we use for practice.” The other problem is to get sponsors. “The sponsors are sceptical to spend so many lakhs on races as they do not get the coverage for the money they spend,” he says.A sponsor ends up spending about 1 to 1.25 lakhs on a single racer per event.“Last year Hedge equities and some of my personal friends funded the racing and am thankful to them,” says a gratified Vineeth.So how do racers who exhibit such adrenaline rush on the tracks behave with their cars on normal roads? Vincent says racers are extremely cautious. “It is a misconception to feel that they would be rash. The professional drivers actually become more careful on road and with their cars.”The scene of motor sporting is somewhat gearing up in India with the coming of an international track in Noida. “Motor-sports are more acceptable among people now. They know that if specific safety measures are followed, it is an extremely safe sport. Even the INRC have propelled its standards to a whole new level with the introduction of foreign drivers and new categories which gives us a new hope,” says Vincent.