Reigning at rallies

"You cannot compare desert driving to driving on roads. The desert is unforgiving. If you make a mistake you cannot get away without paying for it,” says Tushna Patel who in December 2013 was the first lady to participate in the toughest rally in Pakistan, the Jhal Magsi Desert Challenge where she earned the fourth position in Category B, driving a Vigo 3000 cc. It is the engine capacity of the vehicle as measured in cubic centimeters (cc) that determines the category for the competitor, with A category being deemed the highest, explains Tushna’s husband Ronnie who has been racing since 1979. In response to Parsiana’s questions, the Karachi based couple explain the thrills and trials of rallying in the desert region. "The Jhal Magsi rally is 200 km long and within these you have every imaginable kind of terrain available — soft sand, rocks, salt flats, very, very soft powder dust tracks, dry river beds, hard rocks, river crossings, and many, many more.”
To move over such terrain requires "very serious preparation… (with) world class safety features” in place, says Tushna appreciating the efforts of "Ronnie who supported me every step of the way. He has a very high level of experience.” Bitten by the racing bug, in February this year Tushna stood seventh among 85 competitors at the 9th Cholistan Jeep Rally that covered a distance of 215 km. Alongside the largely Pakistani competitors was also an Iranian off road racing team. Last year there were two ladies from the Turkey Redbull racing team.

Qualifying round of Cholistan Rally

Since Ronnie too had participated in both the Rallies where he stood second, the couple had trained one of their crew members to coordinate the activities. Previously it was Tushna who managed the logistics. As explained by her, "We have a team of 10 rally cars, each car carrying around three or four people. As we spend around seven days in the desert, we have our people who cook for us and help us.” The extreme climatic conditions causing temperatures to drop below minus at nights and soar during the day mean that it is only the sturdy ones who can survive the tent accommodation where a generator creates electricity for bare necessities.
"I used to manage the stage breaks which are in the desert 100 km away,” recalls Tushna who believes the spectators who only stand at the start and finish line miss out on the true experience of a rally unless they are at the mid-point. "As Ronnie has always been one of the top runners he leaves early in the morning.” This required Tushna and their nearly 40-member crew to depart around 4 a.m. and set up camp before Ronnie arrived for the 20-minute stage break. To make the best use of the limited time, they assign everyone their duties in advance. "Each member has been trained to do a particular thing; no one interferes in someone else’s work: There are four mechanics who only attend to the mechanical problems, the cleaners clean the inside and outside of the car, the petrol filling guys fill around 100 litres of high octane whilst another three to four guys stand watch to ensure that no one is smoking around them. The four members of the tyre changing crew change one tyre each… As per Ronnie’s instructions, the car should be ready at least five minutes before the flag off from mid break to the finishing line since Ronnie hates last minute (surprises).”
Adds Ronnie, "After I won the first race I have got addicted to it. Except a few rallies, I have taken one of the first three positions in most of them. I have always been an A category driver but in the last few races I had moved to B category as my car classified for that. This year I will be starting with A category again as my new car Vigo 4300cc V8 engine is ready.” He has to finance his own passion since there are no sponsorships in Pakistan, says Ronnie who has been representing the Motorsports Club of Pakistan. For a vehicle used in racing, the cost of any component or attachment is four times higher, reveals Ronnie who says that he and Tushna are the only Parsis in Pakistan who are into racing. His interest in racing started by driving on the roads, but "very soon I realized that it was unsafe and thus got into organized racing. I have been stressing on adopting international rules and regulations so that we can have more international entries. Hopefully by the year end we shall achieve that,” says Ronnie.
Whilst 40-year-old Tushna manages three branches of the Wendy School system that the couple owns, 50-year-old Ronnie looks after the finances. Their 13-year-old son Meherwan and 11-year-old daughter Dina are active participants in activities of the Karachi Zarthosti Banu Mandal (KZBM) and we "support KZBM when needed,” states Ronnie. "We have a great religion and very powerful prayers,” believe the duo who say that they pray "before, during and after racing.”