Gautam Singhania wins 2014 Pirelli Ferrari Open
In a first by any Indian, racing enthusiast Mr. Gautam Singhania (Chairman and Managing Director, Raymond Group, and Founding Chairman of Super Car Club in India) bagged top honours at 2014 Pirelli Ferrari Open held at Brands Hatch, Great Britain (United Kingdom). He won both the epic races (Race 1 - 25 minutes and Race 2 - 45 minutes) at the 2014 Pirelli Ferrari Open, an invitational race organised by The Ferrari Owner’s Club of Great Britain for its members, which is supported by Pirelli. Membership of the Ferrari Owners' Club is open to anyone who either owns or has owned a Ferrari. The Club is international in concept, with members in 36 different countries.
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Speaking about his feat, Mr. Singhania said, “It’s a dream come true to score a double whammy and keep the India flag flying high in an international circuit! The build up to a race was a feeling of pure bliss for every racing fanatic. Race day was really a big day for me as I raced at Brands Hatch 32 years after learning to race here. Winning two races back to back was thrilling given that I was participating for the first time."
Mr. Singhania won the first race by 40 seconds which is a good margin and was a clear winner in the second race. Last year, Mr. Singhania had accomplished an astonishing feat as he became the fastest in a non-open wheel car on the Buddh International Circuit when he clocked 1 min 59 secs to complete a lap (which is 5.1 km).
Mr. Singhania is a pioneering enthusiast in the Indian motorsport landscape. He is the co-founder of the Super Car Club (SCC), which has launched various activities to promote the popularity of these super machines including Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, Bentley, Rolls-Royce, BMW and Mercedes in India. He has been successfully organizing the Parx Super Car Show for five years now, bringing together numerous super cars from across the country to a single venue for the city of Mumbai to view. The Club undertook a thrilling expedition to Leh-Ladakh in 2013. SCC, under the leadership of Mr. Singhania, is promoting drifting as an auto sports in the country. He also unveiled India’s first and only exclusive drifting car towards the end of 2013. The unveiling ceremony happened a few months after he emerged as the winner in the amateur category of the All Stars European Drift Championship held at Malta in September 2012. The event saw over 30 participants competing in an intense final which he won by the point difference of 2.5. Mr. Singhania also holds the record for being the only Asian and Indian to have participated and won. Not that he is content with driving luxury cars on Indian soil. Among other things, Mr. Singhania has participated in the Cannonball 8000, a drive from London to Rome. Mr. Singhania owns two stunning beauties — Lamborghini Gallardo or Ferrari 348.
