If recently there was a list of ‘most beautiful’ bureaucrats in India, the backlash against it was equally big. We examine gender stereotyping through the voices of a few women who have demolished the male bastion of motorsport racing.

SNEHA SHARMA: She got a ‘flying’ start to motorsports

SHE IS a pilot with IndiGo airlines, and the mere mention of her profession is enough to make her a poster girl for many aspiring women. To top that, she also happens to be the ‘fastest woman racer in the country’, a feat she achieved driving a Mercedes E63 AMG at 260 kmph, when she was just 18 years old, as part of a ‘Mercedes Young Start Driver’ programme in 2009. She has since secured six race victories and nine runner-up positions in karting, and has made her presence felt at various other motor racing events, including Formula 4.

But for Mumbai-based Sneha Sharma (25), the road to the race track was not easy. “I took to karting when I was just 16 years old at a local track in Mumbai called Hakone (which no longer exists).” Eventually, her hard work paid off. At a local racing event in Mumbai in 2008, where she secured a podium finish, Sharma was asked to join the national championship team of Rayo Racing, a leading name in the karting training space. “I was in class XII and it was a tough call, but I decided to join them,” says the Canossa Convent High School, Mumbai, alumna.

Since then, there has been no looking back. She was the only girl to win a spot at the JK Tyre National 4-stroke Karting Championship in 2009 and also secured a podium finish in her first JK Tyre FMSCI National Rotax Karting Championship race. More recently, she secured a lap time of 40 seconds in the 11th JK Tyre-FMSCI National Rotax Max Karting Championship in 2014.

As per Sharma, it’s not only pressure from family, but also financial constraints that act as obstacles. “A bulk of my salary goes into racing. But now, I have two sponsors in JK Tyre and my company IndiGo,” says Sharma, who got her commercial pilot’s licence from Flying Vikings aviation school in San Franciso. As a professional pilot, she is able to finance herself as well.

Although men and women compete on the same platform in racing, Sharma says the former are at a natural advantage because they are physically stronger. “Also initially, I was not quite welcome and, more often than not, ended up being the only woman on the track. But with time, my driving has spoken for itself,” says Sharma, who wants to represent India in global formula car events in the long run.

As a message to budding women racers, Sharma, who drives a Hyundai Verna for her daily commute, says, “Follow your passion, whether it’s motorsport, music or any other career. I always believe in the saying that if you want to achieve something, you will have to do something you’ve never done.”

MIRA ERDA: The young ‘un

THIS YOUNG karting champ is ecstatic after receiving her class X board exam results recently. “I have got 77.21 percentile and I’m quite happy,” says the 16-year-old Mira Erda. As she readies herself to enter the next big level in her academic career (she plans to take up science now), she doesn’t mince words when asked whether that would mean putting her racing career on hold. “Not at all! I’ll somehow manage (to balance) both,” she exclaims.

The conviction is palpable, considering the Vadodara girl has been karting since the age of 10 years. “I always wanted to do something different to show that girls can also compete with boys,” says the student of Vadodara’s Rosary High School. That her father runs a karting track in Vadodara helped matters. “I first saw racing on TV. I told my father about it and he decided to support me,” she adds.

However, like almost everyone else of her ilk, the going was not smooth. “The first few years were very tough. It was hard for people to accept a girl in a race. They would feel how could they let a girl beat them? Also, boys tend to get aggressive. They often try to push me off the track. But with time, as I kept on winning races and they saw my confidence, they started respecting me. Now, they see me as one of them,” says Erda.

Erda participated in the Formula LGB 4, the first step to single-seater racing, last year. Her aim, eventually, is to become the first Indian female F1 driver. For now, Erda is gearing up for her second stint with the Formula LGB 4 season this year and her very first Formula-BMW season, both of which are going to start from July 16 onwards.

She’s already warming up by taking part in several events and winning most of them. “I don’t normally practise at my father’s academy because tracks are a bit small there. But these competitions that I take part in every now and then help me maintain my form. As for Formula racing, I’ve just come back from Coimbatore, where I did some testing for the upcoming season,” she says.

Her other notable achievements include winning her first international trophy after securing the fifth position at the 2012 All Stars Karting Invitational in Sepang, Malaysia, among others.

Speed is fun, but it can also be dangerous, advises Erda. “People race on roads and risk their lives and those of others. It’s better if they come on the tracks,” she offers, adding, “As for women willing to enter the world of motorsports, they are most welcome.”

SHREYA IYER: This young rider has a rallying point

BENGALURU GIRL Shreya Iyer just became the first woman rider to be a part of any racing team in India. The 24-year-old bike enthusiast will represent TVS Racing in the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC), the premier rallying series organised by the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI), to be held later this year.

Iyer has been riding since the age of 17 years and is the first Indian woman rider to successfully complete a ride across the sand dunes of Dubai. She has extensively toured across India, including the isolated Suru valley in the Himalayas and has completed the Southern India biking expedition, covering 2,000 km in just six days.

Participating in the INRC, however, will be her first exposure to the world of racing. “I discovered my passion for adventure on a motorcycle long time ago and haven’t stopped riding ever since. This association with TVS Racing will enhance my skills and give me a chance to learn and compete with the best riders and machines,” says Iyer, who is a freelance designer by profession.

On how she got the opportunity to be a part of the TVS Racing team, Iyer says, “I used to go to a dirt track on the outskirts of Bengaluru for practice, where I met some TVS Racing team racers. They put me through various stringent tests after which I was selected for the team. TVS Racing has always been strongly committed to generate interest and improve support for the sport in India, as well as promote two-wheeler racing in India. I am glad I got the opportunity to ride the ultimate riding machines.”

However, being a woman in a sport that is traditionally considered male-dominated has never been an issue for her. “Racing needs skills and has nothing to do with gender. I have never faced any sort of discrimination as a woman rider. In fact, the support I have got from my male friends, who are all riders, has been a major reason for my success,” she says, adding, “My advice to budding racers is to follow their passion and grab every opportunity that comes their way.”

Going ahead, Iyer says she wants to build a career in racing and improve her performance with each event. “I will start with two-wheelers in the rally championship and intend to explore road racing as well in the future. With each race, I want to learn and improve my performance. I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself right now, as I only want to focus on giving this my best shot,” adds the alumna of Mount Carmel College, Bengaluru.

NEHARIKA YADAV: The dentist who turns into a superbiker on weekends

GURGAON RESIDENT Neharika Yadav is that friendly neighbourhood dentist that you could bump into anywhere. But come weekends and she turns into a speed goddess, quite literally. If you are a regular at the Buddh International Circuit (BIC) in Greater Noida near the national capital, you would know what we are talking about.

Having practiced dentistry for over eight years now, Yadav, however, realised the need for speed only recently—about three years to be precise. “I always knew how to ride a bike. I started with motocross, which I used to do in the Aravallis. But about three years ago, I happened to go to the BIC in Greater Noida with a friend who is a superbike racer. He introduced me to all the bikers there and I also got the opportunity to see them all in action. That’s when I realised that this is something I want to do. I gradually started working towards it, and I hit the circuit about two years ago,” says the 29-year-old, who has studied in various places across the country, thanks to her father’s transferable job, before settling down in Gurgaon in 2005.

Yadav was the only female motorbike rider to participate in the JK Super Bike Cup in 2015. In April last year, she participated in the KTM Open Track Day as the only woman rider among as many as 97 male drivers. Speeding past several others, she stood 20th on the grid, setting a personal best lap time of 1:52:379 minutes in just 14 laps of racing. Her all-time best is 2:23 minutes, which she achieved on her Ducati 899 Panigale, covering a 5.1-km lap at BIC.

On weekdays, she works as a dentist and on weekends, she goes to the circuit to ride with 15-odd bikers from Gurgaon. When asked how she strikes a balance between the two, Yadav says, “Superbiking is something which I do over the weekends and, of course, dentistry takes up most of my time. In fact, it is dentistry that supports my superbiking. So I somehow find a way to manage both.”

On whether she had any opposition from family, she says, “Initially, I didn’t have any support from my family because being a woman in a sport like this, they were a little concerned about safety, among other aspects. But as they saw me pursuing it passionately with the amount of hard work and determination that I put in, they started being more supportive.”