Pune's 'cable guy' wins automotive testing race

Updated on: 06 February,2009 08:46 AM IST |
Kaumudi Gurjar |

Anand Iyer wound snapped acceleration cable around fingers and came fourth in the race, even as F1 star Narayan Karthikeyan cheered.

Anand Iyer wound snapped acceleration cable around fingers and came fourth in the race, even as F1 star Narayan Karthikeyan cheered.

The All India Shri Shivaji Memorial Society's College of Engineering (AISSMS) team, which recently participated at Baja SAE 2009 at the National Automotive Testing Track at Pithampur in MP, won the third prize at the event and also acquired the first position at the state level.

During the seventh lap of the endurance drive, when the acceleration cable broke, the captain of the AISSMS team, Anand Iyer entwined the acceleration cable round his fingers and completed the remaining laps of the endurance drive.

"After the acceleration cable snapped, we could not for a long time figure out what had happened. My face was covered with muck. I entwined it around my fingers, and got going."

Established racers like Shyam Kothari, Harshit Merchant and the Formula One star Narayan Karthikeyan, who were present at the spot, cheered him. Dr Pawan Goenka, president of Mahindra & Mahindra, said,u00a0 "I am amazed at the determination shown by Iyer at such a young age," said Goenka.

Meanwhile, yet another team from the city won the second prize in the maximum speed category Shrimati Kashibai Navale College of Engineering in Wadgaon. "Compact design, imported steering mechanism and off load tyres helped us succeed," said Manish Nikam, the driver of the team.