Rallying around a lady driver

In a male dominated sport like rallying, Divya Meglani drives in winsomely.

Did we hear that lady drivers are a nightmare on the roads? While some might endorse that view, 26-year-old Divya Meglani is out there to dispel it. One of three women rally drivers in the country, Meglani has been passionate about driving much before she got her driving licence. "Cars have always fascinated me and since the first time I got behind a wheel, I wanted to become a professional driver."

Meglani hasn't had any formal training in driving and yet has quite a few achievements to her name. She stood fourth in the Xtreme category of the Desert Storm and was the only lady driver to finish the race. She was also awarded the Best Novice at the National Rally Championship 2005, which was her first year on the track.

Though motor sports is male dominated, Meglani doesn't feel out of place. Have there been any negative comments aimed at her for getting into a male bastion? That was the case initially, she says. "But slowly people have started taking notice of me and now take me seriously." Even her parents were a bit sceptical in the beginning but are happy now.

"There are very few people doing well in professional rallying in India and I am happy to do a few things right," she says. As is the case with any rally driver, Meglani feels that without the help of a corporate it would have been very difficult for her to get into professional rallying. In her case it is the Sona Group, an auto component manufacturer, that has helped her in her short career, so far. "It is such an expensive sport that it is almost impossible to think of competing without any corporate support and so far I am glad that I have it."

As of now her aim is to do well on the national circuit and the next step would surely be to enter the international circuit. "I am taking one step at a time and hopefully with hard work and consistency, the rest will fall in place," she says.