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The transformers

At Chettinad Sporting in Coimbatore, the professionals take no time to modify normal cars into the ones used for rallying or racing

Chettinad Sporting is an endeavour to promote motorsport by renowned and experienced professionals from Coimbatore, one of India’s industrial city. The sporting club has made it their policy and tradition to encourage sports in India. But, what sets them apart from other sporting clubs is the fact that they believe in bringing up transformation in true sense! They modify normal cars to the ones used for rally and racing. The club has gradually evolved into a professional workshop for rally cars. “We are the first privateer to come as a team to help the start competitions,” said Roshan, the admin co-ordinator of the club.

The workshop was started in 1996 out of a personal interest. “M.A.M.R. Muthiah of Chettinad Cement wanted to get into rally. So, initially we gave a car to a tuner for modification. But, he couldn’t do the job properly. Thus, we decided to have our own workshop to support us. Within a span of six months, we were the first privateer to sponsor few drivers at that time,” he added. The club initially started with four cars and four sponsored drivers. But, later we started developing the cars for other competitors. “We started our career with Maruti Esteem. Slowly, we shifted to Balenos and Honda. Currently, we have modified Volkswagen Polo. We are the first one in India to develop rally cars from Volkswagen Polo,” he claimed.

At present, the club is handling at least 10 to 12 cars of the competitors from different parts of the country. Some top drivers of the country had started their career with Chetinad Sporting. In a span of eleven years, Chettinad Sporting has made a tremendous impact on the sport and already posed a serious threat to the seasoned sponsored Teams. “Starting of with just two cars for the 1997 Championship, a good performance allowed the team to grow to several number of cars till now winning several Championships. At every event that the team has participated till date, the results have been outstanding. In fact the competition has been so hard and we were able to achieve the crest in all these years. Without a compromise on quality, albeit working under a very tight budget our Team has proved that it has what it takes to be a winner,” he added.

Rally cars Vs normal cars

The on-road cars are made to offer the most comfortable and convenient drive for passengers. They have paddings, air conditioning, roof trims, proper dashboards, interior trims, and regular seats. These are all designed for a daily comfortable commute. But, the rally cars are usually stripped down to the bone. The chassis is kitted with a bare outer shell. It is strengthened and reinforced to take the battering of racing stages. It is much lighter than on-road cars, which allows it to go faster. Rally cars have roll cages for additional safety, so the drivers are not hurt in case of a crash.