The highly anticipated annual event for women in motorsports, the JK Tyre WIAA Women's Rally to Valley, was flagged off from the National Sports Club of India (NSCI) in Worli, Mumbai. Organised by the Western India Automobile Association (WIAA) and presented by JK Tyre, the rally witnessed participation from close to 300 women in around 100 cars from diverse backgrounds coming together for this commemorative weekend.
Continuing with the festivities, the rally was flagged off in the presence of Shri. Anil Kumbhare, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic), signalling the commencement of yet another thrilling motorsport adventure. The rally will traverse through the city's notable sites and conclude in Pune, where the winners will be felicitated in a grand prize distribution ceremony.
Commenting on the rally, Mr. Sanjay Sharma, Head-Motorsport, JK Tyre, said, “It has been our endeavour to make motorsport accessible to everyone, and our association with WIAA for over 10 years has been crucial to our success in achieving this goal. We are thrilled to witness increasing participation from women in this event over the years and wish to see this enthusiasm continue in the future. Throughout the month, JK Tyre is honouring women empowerment with various initiatives across the nation.”.
The participants leveraged this platform raise awareness of significant social and economic issues that affect society including Women's Safety, Mental Health, Support for Farmers, Save Girl Child, and Social Acceptance.
Conducted under the aegis of FMSCI (Federation of Motor Sport Clubs of India), the rally follows the classic TSD (Time, Speed, and Distance) format. This format tests the skills of both the driver and navigator, with penalty points for being ahead or behind schedule. Being one of the simplest format of rallying, the TSD format enables anyone with a driver's license to team up with a navigator to start with the motorsport endeavour. The team has to tackle the course while following the route instructions, calculating the average speed, and making sure they are on track rather than falling behind or ahead of schedule, as both eventualities result in penalty points.
JK Tyre WIAA “Women's Rally to the Valley” aligns with JK Tyre’s vision of bringing more women into motorsport and giving them a platform to celebrate their true potential. Over the years, JK Tyre has hosted successful editions of women’s only events across India and has played an instrumental role in training women champions like Shriya Lohia, Mira Erda, and Sneha Sharma, who have represented the country on the international stage of Motorsport. Moreover, under the aegis of FMSCI, the company has adopted FIA’s highly successful and global initiative, the Girls on Track (GoT) program encouraging women to enter the world of motorsports through karting. The program is aimed at creating awareness at the grassroots level in the country and emboldening young girls to come to the track and understand different aspects of the Motorsport. Through this program, JK Tyre has identified key talent in the world of Motorsports at the bedrock level who are then nurtured to hone their skills for a career in this thrilling sport.
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