Vicky Chandhok

Vicky Bharat Chandhok (born 7 April 1957) is an Indian racing driver and motorsport administrator. He was the president of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) from 2003 to 2005 and from 2010.[1] to 2013.[2] During his second stint as the president of the Indian federation, he was associated[3] with bringing the Indian Grand Prix Formula 1 races to India.[4][5][6] He also supervised the construction of the F1 track at Buddh International Circuit as a representative of FIA and Bernie Ecclestone.[7] He was also the consultant of Jaypee Sports International (JPSI) who constructed and owned the F1 track.[8] He is currently a member of the FMSCI Council and a member of the FIA Truck Racing Commission.[9] He is also multiple Indian rallying champion. He is the son of Indu Chandhok, the founder member of FMSCI and Madras Motor Sports Club (MMSC) and his son Karun Chandhok is the second Indian F1 driver[10] from India.

Chandhok is married Chitra in 1982[11] and has two sons, Karun Chandhok and Suhail Chandhok. While his grandfather Lala Indersain Chandhok was a keen enthusiast who sowed the seeds of motorsports in the family, it was his father Bharat Indu Chandhok, the second son of Indersain, who not only took part in Sholavaram races but was also an active member in founding FMSCI and MMSC.

Chandhok began his driving career making his debut in a modified Ambassador in 1972 at Sholavaram and continued to race in 1970s and 80s[12] and also participated in the Indian National Rally Championship for many years.[13] After winning over 350 trophies, he retired in 2000 after 28 years of racing and rallying.[14] His last competitive outing was the South India Rally in 2000[15] which he won after a hiatus of five years in a Mitsubishi Lancer, which made its debut in Indian Rallying, with Sandeep Lal as co-driver while his long-time navigator Manoj Dalal was the Clerk of the Course of the event. In 2018, he made a one-time comeback taking part in the South India Rally 2018 at the age of 61,[16] where he bagged a third place in the INRC1 category along with co-driver Chandramouli.[17][18]

In 1989, Chandhok founded the Wallace Sports and Research Foundation to train drivers who took part in rallies and races.[11] One of the first students of Wallace Foundation is none other than Akbar Ebrahim, who later became the FMSCI president. Ebrahim drove the first race at new Madras Motor Sport Track under the Wallace banner.[19]

References
  1. Desk, News (21 December 2010). "Mr. Vicky Chandhok elected as the President and Mr. Shrikant Karani elected as the Vice President". MotoXindia. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  2. "Roll of Honour – FMSCI". www.fmsci.co.in. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  3. "FMSCI's Vicky Chandhok opts out of reelection". MotownIndia.com. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  4. Weaver, Paul (22 October 2013). "Indian F1 Grand Prix on Sunday could be last, warns Vicky Chandhok". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  5. "Indian motorsport in doldrums: Ex-FMSCI boss Vicky Chandhok". Business Standard India. Press Trust of India. 25 May 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  6. "FMSCI nominates Akbar Ebrahim as its Deputy in Federation Internationale de L'Automobile". The Economic Times. 17 May 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  7. Grover, Mayank (20 February 2010). "Vicky Chandhok takes pride in FMSCI, Karun & Indian Formula 1 Track". www.sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  8. Pande, Bhanu (24 October 2011). "Indian motor-sports administrators Farhan Vohra, Vicky Chandhok and Sanjay Sharma pursue a passion in relative anonymity". The Economic Times. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  9. "Council & Sub Committee – FMSCI". www.fmsci.co.in. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  10. "Karun Chandhok - Williams Heritage Driver". www.williamsf1.com. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  11. "Madras Musings - We care for Madras that is Chennai". madrasmusings.com. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  12. Takle, Abhishek. "Why did 70,000 fans flock to a town in Tamil Nadu to watch Indians motor-racing in the early 1970s?". Scroll.in. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  13. "2018 INRC: Vicky Chandhok to compete in Chennai Rally in a VW Polo R2". Overdrive. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  14. "Rallying genes come alive 18 years after retirement". www.sakaltimes.com. 24 April 2018. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  15. D'souza, Rajesh (25 April 2018). "Vicky Chandhok to make a comeback to competitive rallying". Mad About Racing. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  16. Kudchadkar, Hari. "Vicky Chandhok – At the age of 61, a comeback into the world of rallying". Evo India. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  17. "INRC 2018: Vicky Chandhok Bags Podium at First Round in Volkswagen Polo R2". News18. 30 April 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  18. Sportstar, Team. "Gill, Vicky Chandhok finish on podium in INRC". Sportstar. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  19. "Madras Motor Sports Club upgraded paddocks inaugurated". INDIA in F1. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
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