Pune: Team Slideways Industries, Maharashtra’s largest and one of the oldest teams bagged 15 trophies (including the fastest driver of the round) across various categories at the recently held Indian National Autocross Championship (INAC) round at Nanoli Speedway on the outskirts of Pune. Backed by Pune-based Pinnacle Group, the team has been a household name in Indian Motorsport since its inception, having won multiple national championships over the years. Supported by JK Tyre and Gaurav Gill Advanced Driving Academy (GGADA), the team put on a stellar show at the event even taking home the coveted “Fastest Driver of the INAC round,” which was bagged by Aniruddha Rangnekar, one of the founding members of the team.
While the team has been a regular over at the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC), they are now also exploring other forms of motorsport. Trained and mentored by Arjun Awardee, 3-time Asia Pacific, and 7-time National rally champion, Gaurav Gill, the team has only been growing from strength to strength over the years. Since its inception, the Slideways Industries rally cars have been built by Coimbatore-based Chettinad Sporting, one of the leading Motorsport tuning houses in India. The rally cars run a 1.6-liter engine which has been upgraded according to the regulations of the championship. Running on specially designed 15-inch JK Rally tires for excellent grip on varied surfaces.
Shivani Parmar, one of the few female drivers in the national championship also had a good outing, winning in one category against more experienced drivers while also bagging a couple of other podiums in different classes. The biggest surprise of the weekend came in the form of rookies, Priyanandana Varma and Aditya Vikram Bose, who are fresh graduates from GGADA, bagging a class win and a couple of podiums over the weekend.
“Winning is a great feeling, but doing so on home turf is even more special,” said Aniruddha, who set the fastest time in the INAC, won as many as 3 categories, and bagged multiple other podiums at the weekend event. “It’s sad that we don’t have a round of the national rally championship in Maharashtra anymore, but this is the closest we can get and we are glad to have taken home so many trophies from the weekend” added Shivani.
“Being a rookie and entering your first event is always nerve-racking, but the support from Slideways and GGADA made this event much easier for us” said Bose, who bagged 2 podium finishes. “Training with Gaurav Gill and his team of experienced coaches has transformed my driving. It has not only made me a faster driver but safer and smarter too” said a delighted Priyanandana Varma who won a class and achieved 2 more podiums as well.