The two, who have mastered their various driving and riding skills on the land, will not only become the first Indians to participate in powerboat racing, but will also make their watersport debut.
Even as the emcee unveiled the teams and its members for the upcoming P1 Powerboat India, Grand Prix of the Seas, the two Indian names — Gaurav Gill (R) and CS Santosh among the foreigners — took the hall by surprise.
The two, who have mastered their various driving and riding skills on the land, will not only become the first Indians to participate in powerboat racing, but will also make their watersport debut.
Gill, a well known car rally driver and a winner of several Indian National rally Championships besides a couple of Asia Pacific Rally Championship, will be piloting for the Ultra Sharks in the upcoming watersport event to be held in Mumbai over the next weekend.
One of India’s well known Supercross and rally raid champion biker and the only Indian to finish Dakar rally, Santosh, is the other home competitor who will be vying for the top spot representing the Baleno RS Booster Jets.
The duo never looked out of place in the crowd of experienced and rookie professional powerboat riders as they posed for the shutterbugs on the dias.
Their body language suggested that they were keen to take up the new challenge and prove themselves in the water battle as well.
“It is a very unique opportunity and a different challenge from what I have done in my life so far. It seems easy on TV, but it is a very technical thing... a different feeling,” Gill said after the event.
Santosh also looked as keyed up. “It is an exciting opportunity. We have accompolished ourselves in our different fields, but this is the best the country has. I am excited to compete with the best pilots from the world,” he said.
Both Gill and Santosh did extensive training in the United Kingdom under seven-time World Champion Neil Holmes for this race. “It was a tough course. It wasn’t just practicals, but had to get the knowledge of boats and we passed out with flying colours,” the latter said.
Looking forward to the three-day event starting on Friday, Gill said: “All my life driving through snow, ice, water. I have driven modern rally cars which quick in responding while boats are slow in motion and 30 foot long with a difficult course on the offing.”
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