Meet the Meghalaya woman who is the first Northeastern to conquer a Formula race track!
SHILLONG, July 11, 2018: Phoebe Dale Nongrum's passion and love for racing shot her to the first-ever Formula LGB 4 women's team and she is now, out to conquer the male-dominated world of racing.
Nongrum, 30, recently just returned from Coimbatore, where she was selected to be a part of a professional racing team, the Ahura racing.
Ahura racing, formed in 2017, is owned by Sarosh Hataria, a successful hand at the Formula LGB 4 circuit.
Phoebe had to compete with 60 women to make it to the Formula LGB 4 team. Eleven other girls have also been selected for the team.
"My skills kept improving on the roads of Shillong as it's a hill station, I learned my corner's and turns on those roads. There were no tracks then so the road was all I got to perfect my skills," she added.
Being the lone woman from Meghalaya and the region to be part of a Formula LGB 4 team, Phoebe said the journey hasn't been an easy one.
"I studied and worked in Bangalore for 10 years before I returned to Shillong in 2016."
Nongrum returned to the state only to participate and conquer the dirt track that won her first autocross.
Nongrum has driven at two National Rallies – the Arunachal Festival of Speed and the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) where she emerged victorious.
It was only last year that I started participating in autocross and rallies in the state and places like Arunachal Pradesh, Dimapur and Guwahati," she said.
Brimming with confidence, Phoebe said she would turn racing into her career. But she knows the journey won't be easy as the logistical costs are prohibitive. "All along, my father (O. Passi, a Meghalaya deputy inspector-general of police), has been supporting me. But if I ever go higher, I would need sponsorships. I am open to people sponsoring me," she said.
Phoebe said she would undergo further training at Coimbatore from August to finetune her skills as she is still new to circuit racing.
"I am focused on my target. If I do get onto the podiums, I will get to BMW F-4, F-8 and finally the F-1," she said.
TNT News with The Telegraph inputs
Featured Image: The Telegraph
