Motoring her way into history, this 47-yr-old is in a league of her own

  • | Monday | 27th March, 2017

It is such confidence and spirit that has brought Bani Mathur Yadav deserved success - and will likely take her further. "Breaking the traditional Yadav woman mould was very difficult and challenging, since we still follow the purdah system and old customs." Gurgaon: Bani Mathur Yadav relishes a challenge. "It's a dream that I think every rally driver has, to be able to participate in the Dakar Rally, and I definitely aspire to do so as well!" she told TOI.Hailing from a Mathur family, Bani married out of caste, and into an "extremely" orthodox household.

Gurgaon: Bani Mathur Yadav relishes a challenge. And at age 47, still sprightly, she can boast of achievements women half her age would be proud of.Last month, Bani Yadav was named the 'outstanding woman in motorsports' for the year 2016, by the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI). She becomes the first woman rally driver to be honoured thus by the sport's governing body in the country.Bani came to rallying at age 43, and has shown willpower and enterprise in making her mark in a field dominated by men. "I was able to enter motorsports at a time when many sportspersons think of retiring!" she told TOI.Hailing from a Mathur family, Bani married out of caste, and into an "extremely" orthodox household. "Breaking the traditional Yadav woman mould was very difficult and challenging, since we still follow the purdah system and old customs." Then, she took up a sport that comes loaded with risk.But there is 'previous' in the Mathur family, for Bani's mother had once taken part in the erstwhile Himalayan rally, when she was in college. And her maternal grandfather was the first transport commissioner of UP. "It runs in the genes!" claims Bani, with a twinkle in her eye."In his heyday, my father was a very good - and a very fast - driver, and he used to modify cars for himself, as a passion. He was a mechanical engineer, so he would keep tinkering under the bonnet."I would observe him drive, and I would keep telling him that one day I'll become a racer. And like all fathers concerned for their daughters, he'd say, 'No, no, girls don't do that in India!'"So while she's always been a woman determined to chart her own path, Bani happily credits two men for shaping her life - her father, an "inspiration", and her husband, Suresh Yadav, her "backbone".Bani's proudest moment came at the INRC Asia Cup in 2015 (the 'Coffee Day Rally', in Chikmagalur), when she became the first female winner in the event's history (she finished overall fourth in the standings). "I was competing with the best men in the country, who've been racing all their lives."When you are competing against the men, it becomes a bigger win, any which way, than just participating with the women."And last year, Bani improved on that at the MRF 'Rally de North' in Gurgaon. Here, a runner-up finish marked the first time a woman had come overall second - or anywhere inside the top three - in an INRC rally.She hungers for experience, and is happy to go cross country (for Team Maruti) or off road as often as time allows - indeed, more than any other rallyist, man or woman. "I just want to improve, keep creating more benchmarks for myself. Because my competition is with me, to see how much better I can get."At home, motorsport must make up a common dinner-table topic, for husband Suresh, as well as both sons - Karan Rao, 22, and Arjun Rao, 18 - like to take part in track events. So there's plenty of motivation there. Then there's an unrealised ambition - a place in the 'Dakar', the most prestigious (and toughest) of all rallies in the world."It's a dream that I think every rally driver has, to be able to participate in the Dakar Rally, and I definitely aspire to do so as well!" It is such confidence and spirit that has brought Bani Mathur Yadav deserved success - and will likely take her further.

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