After almost 15 years of hard work and participating in several rallies, Harshitha — who completed her hotel management from MS Ramaiah College Of Hotel Management in Bengaluru — is now looking forward to the Indian National Rally Championship to be held in Coimbatore from August 3-5. “This rally is special because unlike most of the rallies in the past, I will be driving along with Vidya M (26) Assistant Professor, Department of Commerce, SJRC college, Bengaluru. We will probably be the youngest ‘only ladies’ team at the event,” she said.
Harshitha will be driving a Mitsubishi Cedia- a 2000 CC car. Racing is an expensive sport and it is really tough to get sponsors, she said. In 2014, for the same event, she drove a Maruti Esteem- 1,400 CC car. “I could not complete my ride then, but this time I am confident as I have worked really hard and because Vidya’s calculations are bang on. I will miss my father. I began participating in rallies with my dad as my navigator. But we used to fight a lot inside the car.”
She said they also challenged one another during a competition in 2015. “During the next competition, we were competitors, and he failed to overtake me. Seeing my progress, he was very happy. Since he had undergone two spinal cord surgeries and the doctor has advised him rest, he will be watching me perform from a distance,” she said.
Her father had to give up racing after several accidents and her mom Manju YC was not keen that she got into racing. So Harshitha was sent to a boarding school. But back home during holidays, her dad would encourage her to race. She first participated in a competition when she was only in the seventh grade. “My legs were trembling and I completed the race. Then my dad started training me. I sat on his lap and learned to drive,” she said.
Her last event was Asia Pacific Rally Championship held in Chikkamagaluru last year where she came third. “It feels great to compete with men with years of experience. What began as living my father’s dream, is now my dream — becoming an accomplished racer,” she said.