Glad I lasted the day: Vicky Chandhok

Former FMSCI President Vicky Chandhok returned to competitive rallying after 18 years on the first day of the first round of the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) at the Madras Motor Racing Track (MMRT) here on Saturday. He had a brief chat with The Hindu after the race. Excerpts:

Well, everybody was scaring the daylights out of me saying I wasn’t going to last the day because of the temperature, the humidity levels inside the car. So, I’m glad I lasted the day. And I’m not washed out, as everyone said I would be.

We (he and his co-driver Chandramouli) took a while to come to terms with the car. Coming to terms with the co-driver — he was constantly in my ear giving me instructions. So, initially, I was driving more by way of sight rather than listening to the co-driver’s instructions all the time. That’s how we used to drive in the old days. I mean, we did have some pace notes but not as elaborate as the ones the drivers in modern-day rallying do.

I’ve never driven something like this before. I coordinate rallying in the Asia Pacific region. This is a proper rally car. It’s got the entire package. It’s got a great engine to run. Because of the way the car is built, you must have very little steering input. That’s the tricky part. We are all used to a lot of steering input. So, you need to minimise the steering input and have the confidence that as soon as you stomp on the gas, the car is built in such a way with the LSD gearbox, that it’ll drag out whichever way the wheels are pointing.

Where we are struggling is the rallying terrain. We need to have slightly longer stages. Also, I think we are missing out going to small towns. If you pick, say, Hubballi, or Belagavi, or Vijayawada, or a Vizag, you are bound to have good rallying roads. You’ll get very good support from agencies like the police and the hospitals.

Gaurav is in a different level. Nobody in India has ever come close to Gaurav in terms of rallying talent.