A 53, Bani Yadav Is A Motorsport Icon-And She's Not Hitting The Brakes Yet

Bani Yadav has raced past the stereotypes, quite literally! She started her journey as a rally racer at the age of 43 in the 2013 Jaipur Speed Sprint, finishing in 2nd place. Fast forward to now, she is the only woman in India to have been awarded a doctorate in motorsports. She was the National Autocross Champion-Woman in 2018 and 2019, and also the first woman from India to drive Formula Cars Outside India at the Abu Dhabi Yas Marina Circuit. 

Now, at the age of 53, she continues to inspire women to expand their horizons and race against the conservative notions our society has set for them. A doting mother to two sons who are also rally drivers, Bani has proven that women are more than just pretty faces sitting behind the wheel. 

In a conversation with SheThePeople, she shared her beginnings in the motorsports industry and also recounted her journey of thrashing stereotypes both on and off the track. 

Bani Yadav In Conversation With SheThePeople

STP: You often discuss the importance of not giving up on your dreams. Can you share a time when you felt like giving up and what motivated you to keep going?

Bani: Dreams are what always keep you going. Dreams always help you manifest what you truly want, as you keep replaying them in various ways in your subconscious mind. There have been weak moments for me, too, and I was not too sure if I could ever really live my dream. 

It was a challenge to get up from the bed due to my back surgery, and those were the darkest moments for me when doing basic things for oneself was a huge challenge.

I had to fight with myself every day. I was not ready to accept a bedridden future for myself. I did not want to be dependent on anyone at all for anything. I set myself small goals every day, where I celebrated in my mind when I was able to turn myself on the bed or move myself without any help.

Every small achievement made my resolve more strong that I was meant to drive and not let life pass me by. Courage does not always roar; sometimes it is a quiet voice saying I will try again.

STP: What do you think is the biggest misconception people have about women in motorsports?

Bani: It is a mindset that women cannot drive well and be good car racers. People are scared to trust women drivers and put their money behind them. Whereas the truth is much further than that.

Male drivers do not consider women drivers as a challenge to them, but just pretty faces sitting behind the wheel. All accomplished women drivers worldwide have given the competitors a run for their money and have proved time and again that the car does not recognise gender but only skills.

STP: You first discovered your passion for motorsports at age 13, only to face resistance from your conservative family. Three decades later, you finally became a professional rally racer. 
What advice would you give to other women who want to pursue their dreams, especially in male-dominated fields?

Bani: I would rather regret the things I have done than the things I could have done. My simple principle is I have only one life, and I am not getting out of it alive, so I might as well live it the way I want. When I look back, I should have left my impressions on the sands of time. I want my legacy to continue and not be of one who came and went away as a nobody.

The future always belongs to those who believe in the power of their dreams. When people told me I can't be a car racer, it was a challenge I was dying to prove to the world that they were wrong. Nobody controls me except me, myself. I am as strong as I want to be, and that is my advice to all the women out there.

If you have been told you cannot do this, rise, believe in your power to change, believe in your dreams. A woman with a voice is strong, but to find that voice is the challenge.

STP: You've had back injuries, yet you dared to dream and bounced back to become an icon women look up to. How has your experience as a rally racer changed you as a person?

Bani: Sports teach you patience at all costs. There are no shortcuts to dreams. One needs to always keep learning, improvising, relearning, unlearning and performing. One learns to take failures and successes in your stride.

Failure always teaches you to bounce back. It makes you want the success even more fiercely. One works a hundred times more to win, once you have seen setbacks, and that is what life is all about.

Motorsports teaches you to be humble yet aggressively competitive. You make friends, but the tracks see only competitors. Dreams are built from sweat, grime, pain, hard work, tears and smiles. Above all, in the end, all that matters is the finish line, irrespective of your gender.   

STP: Your family has been your biggest supporter throughout your journey. How did he help you overcome the obstacles you faced?

Bani: My husband has always been the wind beneath my wings. He is my biggest cheerleader and critic, also. There have been times when he pushes me to my extreme, but all this is always to get me to give my best performance on the tracks.

I would never have achieved what I have without his constant, unflinching, unwavering support. His belief in my dreams has been just as strong as mine. He stood up to get me the permissions to race from an orthodox family steeped in decades of traditions and subjugation of women. We make a formidable team, with him the brains and me the raw power. There is nothing stronger than a husband's support for his wife and her aspirations.

STP: You've been a woman in male-dominant fields even before this was a trend. You have also trained women in motorsports and encouraged them to push themselves towards achieving their goals. Fast forward to now, how has the motorsports industry evolved?

Bani: Motorsports is an unforgiving sport with male dominance always breathing fire down your neck. Women have to work a hundred times harder to be even noticed. Things are surely opening up with the focus changing across the world to bring in more women into motorsports due to the changing dynamics of the FIA - Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. In India also we can also see the change with the focus on introducing more women into motorsports. It is surely a welcome change and will have more women showcasing their skills on the tracks. 

STP: You began your professional racing career at an age when many athletes consider retirement, often mentioning that you were "beating men half their age". Did you encounter ageism from competitors, sponsors, or even internally when you started? How did you challenge the perception that success in a physically demanding sport is reserved only for the young?

Bani: 43 is an age when you see the best of sportspersons retiring. Fortunately, my opportunity came at that age, and I grabbed it with both my hands. When I started, I was mostly competing with men half my age or men who had been in the sport for as long as they could remember. I was made fun of, had people make snide remarks on my skills, and competitors showed aggression on the tracks to slow me down.

I faced all possible backlash, but people forgot that I was there to live a childhood dream, and I was not going to let anyone take that away from me. I kept pushing my boundaries with every race. I kept learning in every possible way, from watching my competitors drive, from overhearing conversations on how to tackle obstacles, from failures, and from wrong guidance.

I took everything in my stride as I wanted to live the sport. Age was definitely not on my side, as it does affect your reflexes and vision, but I kept pushing my limits. It was the only chance I had, and I was not giving it up easily. My passion was my energy.