If you’re a woman who knows how to drive then you must’ve heard these taunts at least once. “We’ll reach safely, right?”, “Do you know how to park”, “It will be safer for you to take the ‘back seat’”, “The mirrors in the car are made to look at the road, don’t start using them for makeup out of habit”.
The misogynists find these commonly used phrases very funny and, God forbid if they spot a woman driving, they leave no chance to harass her.
Diana Pundole, India’s first female national racing champion, through her phenomenal skills, has given a solid comeback to all such people.
Who Is Diana Pundole?
Diana Pundole, named after Princess Diana by her mother, drove beautifully from an identity crisis to a historic victory. She used to be a biker for the Harley-Davidson Group.
“I reached a point where I was asking myself ‘Who am I’”. said Diana, while recalling the time she felt directionless after her studies in Pune and her father’s demise.
Diana is a mother of two, who completed her Masters in English Literature in 2015 and had to give up her part-time job in pre-school, to pursue her education.
She was about to return to her teaching career by joining a prestigious school in Pune in 2018 when she came across an advertisement for the Nationwide Talent Hunt for Women in Motorsport, arranged by JK Tyres in Coimbatore.
She decided to go for the championship and was one of the 200 women, selected from all over India, to undergo meticulous trials. Her passion and determination made her overcome all challenges and reach the top six contenders in the competition while bagging a sponsorship for an entire year.
“It only took one weekend day to fall in love with this sport…I made a very hard choice, jumping into something I had no idea about. Can you imagine? I gave up the dream of being a teacher in the blink of an eye.” she said.
Diana did not have any formal training and was competing against many advanced participants. However, her consistency allowed her to go against all odds. “My family, including me, never imagined that my one casual day of training would lead to such a crucial turning point in my life… but it felt like some super-entity was guiding me,” she said.
“My fellow competitors would ask me, ‘Why are you doing this? Is it for fame and money?’ My goal is to reach the top of the podium, not to gain followers on social media or become an Instagram model unlike many in this field,” she added.
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Why Has She Turned Into A National Sensation?
Diana Pundole has turned into a national sensation and an inspiration to many by winning the national championship title in the saloon category MRF Indian National Car Racing Championship, held on August 18, 2024, at the Madras International Circuit, in Chennai.
She used to travel from Pune to Chennai every weekend for practice and used to find only a handful of people on the track. “I won half the race just by showing up,” she said.
She had competed in other racing events as well, such as JKNRC (the JK Tyre-FMSCI National Racing Championship) in 2018 and 2019, the MRF VW POLO NRC in 2021, the MRF Indian Junior Touring in 2022, and the MRF Saloons in 2023.
Moreover, she has also raced on some of the most renowned tracks, including several F1 (Formula One) circuits, such as the Dubai Autodrome, Hockenheimring, Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, and many others across Europe and the UAE.
Coincidently, this recent competition collided with her birthday weekend. Her coach had taken away her phone so that she would not get distracted by any kind of calls for celebration. When she received her cell back after winning the championship, her inbox was filled with congratulatory messages from her loved ones, making the day even more special.
One of the main reasons why young girls are looking up to her is because, despite all the jeers and stereotypes, she gathered the courage to enter into an industry that is primarily dominated by men. Not only that, she wonderfully managed her personal and professional life, making sacrifices, just like any other great sportsperson.
Her children were her biggest supporters and did not complain even when she didn’t get much time to spend with them due to her training. “My kids are my biggest cheerleaders. They even joined me on the podium to pose… After every racing trip, they eagerly rummaged through my bag to see if I got any trophy,” she said.
She was greatly inspired by her brother and father, with whom she used to watch Formula One races. “He was my pillar of strength,” she said of her father, who passed away in 2017.
People associated her with a woman surrounded by responsibilities of her kids and school, but she escaped that pigeonhole and followed her dreams, which turned into reality and made her become the first and till now, the only woman to participate in the prestigious Indian Touring Cars mixed category.
Thus, her motivational journey is a testament to all women who wish to enter the male-dominated racing world. Her analysis of data and driving techniques, along with her willpower and dedication, helped her break all gender stereotypes in the field of motorsports.
Image Credits: Google Images
Feature image designed by Saudamini Seth
Sources: The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Times of India
This post is tagged under: Diana Pundole, Princess Diana, F1, Formula One, circuits, tracks, car, racing, championship, woman, men, motorsports, driving, Indian Touring Cars, JKNRC, MRF VW POLO NRC, MRF Indian Junior Touring, MRF Saloons, MRF Indian National Car Racing Championship, Pune, Chennai, Madras International Circuit, Harley Davidson Group, Fat Boy, Dubai Autodrome, Hockenheimring, Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, Europe, UAE
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