Abu Dhabi: It was a sea of red at the Yas Marina Circuit where the Ferrari Mondiali was set to get underway. A walk through the paddock and one couldn’t miss the sight of a red Ferrari 348 Berlinetta screaming out Raymond — the luxury Indian clothing brand.
And from garage 22 walked out its short-statured Chairman and CEO Gautam Hari Singhania, attired in a racing jumper.
Was that a photo-op is what one wondered? No, Singhania is a true-blooded businessman and here too he had his agenda sorted. A car enthusiast since an early age, Singhania’s passion for luxury cars is no secret.
Having lived on the fast lane over the years, this time Singhania has decided to take his passion to another level and break new grounds, becoming the first Indian to reach the finale of the world’s biggest Ferrari event for luxury car owners.
Despite being in his maiden year of competitive racing, Singhania has already tasted success having won the 2014 Ferrari Pirelli Open at Brands Hatch in Great Britain and achieving a podium finish at the Britcar Champions at Outon Park.
Yas Marina Circuit is also not an unchartered territory for Singhania as he has stamped his authority here recently by completing a grand double in the NGK racing series.
“We had a pretty good season and winning was a great experience. Few wins and in two races I was running third, but then couldn’t finish. Considering the way we have done this season, we have decided to race the full Ferrari Challenge next year,” said Singhania, who tweeted immediately after his first test at the capital: ‘Recorded the fastest time in the first test session in EU Championship Coppa Shell. Thrilled!!!’
Plans for a full competitive season, as the head of business empire with a Rs400 million (Dh23.7m) turnover is not an easy preposition, but Singhania is upbeat about his time management skills and was of the view that his sport — business endeavour can go side-by-side.
“I will have to find time, if you want to race you will have to find a way. There is no getting away from that and I’m confident I can do the entire series in 2015,” said Singhania, whose car and logistics is managed by a UK based professional team FF Corse.
“FF Corse team is taking care of the car and other stuff and they have a dedicated team and so far the association has been great and the result has come,” revealed the Mumbai-based business magnate, who is also the founder and chairman of the Supercar Club, which launches various activities to promote motorsports in India.
Events under Singhania’s flagship include Parx Super Car Show, which has been running for the last six years, expeditions to Leh-Ladakh in 2013 and Rajasthan Desert Escape this year. He is also pioneering speed enthusiasts towards drifting.
“We run the drifting championships in India and I believe it will pick up. I myself do all kinds of drifting — on tarmac and also on dirt. In January next year, I have committed a week towards drift training so I will be spending lot of time with a Grandmaster from Japan, who is a drifter, so it will be fun,” revealed Singhania, who was a winner in the amateur category of the All Stars European Drift Championship in Malta in 2012.
Though Singhania was confident of finishing on a high at the capital, he was of the view that the competition was fierce and the margin of error bare minimum.
“In the two-minute-19sec lap time there are 12 to 14 drivers within one second and it is extremely tough out there and very competitive. This is a one-make series and the grid gap will not be that large like in F1 where the teams with less budgets struggle. We are clocking in some good times so upbeat for the challenge,” asserted the self-proclaimed petrolhead, who seems very much keen to epitome his famous corporate tagline — ‘The Complete Man’.
