Ashika Menezes, second right, at an autocross meeting
The Indian subcontinent has its own national rally championship, which has attracted several female drivers in recent years. This is in no way an exhaustive list of them, and it will be updated in future, although good information about Indian rallies is quite hard to find.
Rayna Aranha– did two seasons of rallying in India, in 2005 and 2006. Her usual navigator was Radikha Chaliha. Her first event was the Hyderabad Rally in December 2005, in which she was seventh, and first lady. She contested the Rally Star Cup in 2006. The model of car she used is unclear, although it may have been a Maruti. She also participated in autocross, with some success in the womens’ classes, and, in 2005, drag racing. One of the reasons she took on the challenge of rallying was that she wanted to overcome her tendency towards motion sickness. Previously, she was a model, and she now works in IT.
Anitha Kholay– driver from Bangalore, active in Indian motorsport since 1995. She started rallying as a co-driver, navigating for her husband, Rupesh, before taking the wheel herself in 2003, in three rounds of the Indian Rally Championship. She was fourth in the Rally Star class of the Bangalore Rally. After that, she has competed, on and off, in rallying, with a break in 2006 for motherhood, as well as motorcycle enduros and autocross, in a Maruti. In 2010, she was second in a special VW Polo ladies’ race at Chennai. Anitha is probably better known as a model and fashion stylist.
Ashika Menezes– rallied a Maruti Esteem in the Indian championship in 2013, with a best finish of fourteenth, in the Coffee Day Rally. In 2014, she co-drove for her erstwhile navigator, Lokesh Gowda. She has been active in motorsport since at least 2012, usually in autocross, where she often wins the Ladies’ class. In 2014, she also did some circuit racing, in the one-make Toyota Etios Cup. The results are not forthcoming.
Sarika Sehrawat– takes part in both stage and cross-country rallies in India. She began in earnest in 2003, winning the ladies’ class in the Himalaya Desert Rally, driving a Suzuki Maruti. Between then and 2011, she was a regular presence in the Suzuki Desert Rally and the Himlalaya Raid rally, in her Maruti. Usually, she won the ladies’ prize, and she was also a multiple ladies’ autocross champion. In 2012, she added the Mughal Rally and the Summer Sprint Rally to her Coupe des Dames tally. As well as rallying, she took part in the VW Polo Ladies’ circuit racing Cup in 2010 and 2011, finishing second both times. Her last competitive outing seems to have been a women-only rally in Guragon, in 2013. She now works as a TV motorsport commentator.
(Image from http://www.thehindu.com/sport/motorsport/team-r3a-continues-to-dominate/article3643158.ece)