Bengaluru: Bengaluru's Pragathi Gowda became the first Indian to finish on the podium of an international rally in a debut event, picking up a podium finish at Rallye des Vallees in France.
Hustling her Renault Clio around the winding and narrow asphalt-topped roads in the picturesque French town of Remiremont, Pragathi finished third in the Rally 5 class with a time of 23:51.8 and crossed the line 37th overall.
She showed impressive pace in the first stage and finished fifth in her class and 80th overall. After the track was rubbered in, she made the most of the better grip on offer to improve her timing by 32 seconds across the second and third stages.
Along with Brazilian co-driver Gabriel Morales, Pragathi raced with male competitors in a strong field that included France's National Champion Yoan Corberand.
"The World Rally Championship was the ultimate goal. For me, to come here and do this, I had to do a lot of planning. Before this, I got through 600 kilometres of testing in a training programme with my coach. We also wanted to see how I handle the international pressure, so it was a testing and training rally, we never expected this result," Pragathi told DH.
When asked about the challenges she faced, Pragathi offered:
"I had a Brazilian co-driver for the first time, and it was a bit difficult understanding his accent. Hearing has to be natural, I had to tell myself that whatever he is telling is correct. One small mistake, everything goes upside down."
"Here in Europe usually, the stages are very fast and precise. Adapting to this speed was a task, because we don't do these speeds in India. Here it is both technical and speedy. It was very natural to me, so I am grateful for that."
On her approach to the different rounds, Pragathi highlighted that she seldom looked at her timing and that her focus was on not repeating mistakes.
"I never saw my timing, never compared myself with anyone. Every time I went in for my second and third run, I kept improving and kept getting more comfortable with the car," the 26-year-old said.
"My only point was not repeating mistakes in the second pass, so I kept that and I felt better. It is more simple and precise that way. When you don't look at the timing and enjoy doing it that way, the timing comes automatically," Pragathi outlined.
By standing out in a predominantly male-dominated field, Pragathi has given a very good account of herself and received high praise from her competitors.
"I feel really proud. When I see this kind of encouragement from my fellow competitors, I feel really good and that I must do things the right way," Pragathi revealed.
Next up on the agenda for Pragathi is a gravel race at this weekend at the Rallye Terre de Lozere in France.
"Next I have a gravel rally this weekend. Now I am at the workshop, setting up the car and understanding the technicalities and the mechanical side of it. I am more comfortable on the gravel. In India, there are a lot of gravel rallies so I am used to it," Pragathi said.
Pragathi revealed in detail the different training regimes she goes through in preparation for an event.
"I do my physical fitness, that is the first priority. I am doing a lot of mind exercises, and I do my eye exercises because our peripheral view has to be sharp. On the other hand, I am trying to broaden my mechanical knowledge. I also do a lot of reflex training, making notes during recce is important. We play back the on-board videos and make corrections because the first priority is being safe," she detailed.
From the first time she tried rallying, Pragathi has set the timing screens alight, showing an innate ability behind the wheel.
"Right from my childhood I was interested in rallying. When I came to my degree, I saw an event in Bengaluru in social media which said, 'Do you want to become a racer.' I tried, drove for the first time and came first. People were stunned that this was my first time, but driving is very natural to me," Pragathi signed off.