It's hard for most people to be as driven as Musa Sherif. And that's a pun intended. The soft-spoken 39-year-old from Kumbla, a small town in Kasaragod district, is arguably the most experienced, and by most accounts, the most respected professional navigator on the Indian rally circuit, having piloted for over 63 different drivers in an incredibly successful career spanning 19 years. In August this year, when he navigated for his long-time teammate – ace driver Gaurav Gill of Team MRF – in the first round of the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) at Nasik, Musa became the first Indian to have participated in 200 rallies. It stands at 206 as of last week when Metro Plus caught up with him when he had come to the city to organise The Mahindra Great Escape off-road rally.
Musa has also cruised into this year's Limca Book of Records for being the first person to navigate for and win three championship titles – the Malaysian Group N Championship, the Malaysian 4WD SUV Championship and the INRC – in a year (2009).
“Being a navigator is a challenging job. In a rally, the navigator functions as the eyes of the driver – literally. The driver would be driving totally blind; driving just on the strength of what a navigator is telling him about the terrain, the speed, the curves, the angles... It requires a lot of concentration and commitment on my part for one error can send the car crashing!” explains Musa, who adds that he's been involved in only a handful of crashes so far. “A few bruised ribs, a couple of broken bones... that's about it. There's really not much cause to worry about because these days rally cars and their crew are fully kitted with all kinds of safety features. Besides, before we rally in competition, we do a recee of the circuit. That's when I write down my pace notes, which is kind of like a detailed storyboard about the circuit, from which I relay info to my driver,” he adds.
Viable profession
And his family had no objections to him taking up such a risky sport? “Actually, they did. My father, Zainuddin, is a businessman and I have three brothers and three sisters, and none of them or my extended family is into motorsport, or any sport, for that matter. Naturally, they were a bit apprehensive when I started out, worrying too much about the risk factor. It's only when I started winning races and coming back home in one piece that they started accepting that motorsport can be a viable profession,” says Musa, with a laugh.
Although, he'd been interested in bikes since he was a child, learning to ride his father's scooter at age eight, Musa's journey to the top began only when he was 20 years old, in 1993, when he was studying for a management degree Mangalore.
“I used to hang around the Karavalli Automotive Sports Club in Mangalore, and on a lark I entered a two-wheeler race. Needless to say, I was hooked,” recalls the ace navigator who was a rider for the first three years of his career, racing motorbikes at local events in Mangalore.
“When I was a rider, I used to find it difficult to get good navigators and so I thought it would be prudent to start learning about navigation. Soon I began to enjoy it so much that I got others to ride my bike while I navigated. Thus with each race I gained experience, and experience is what counts in navigation. Besides, I realised that if I want to continue in rallying, being a navigator would suit me better. Unlike drivers/riders who have a sort of an age limit for competition, navigators just get better with age and experience,” adds Musa.
This adrenalin junkie's first major break into rallying came in 1996 when he was invited to navigate for veteran driver Satish Bhat of Team JK Tyres. Then, it was rally by rally into the big leagues, where he navigated for the likes of V.R. Naren Kumar (six-time INRC champion), Lohit Urrs, Nikhil Taneja, Samir Thapar, Vijayant Chaudhury, among others.
Setting records
Since 2001, Musa has been with Team MRF. He's been partnering with Gaurav Gill since 2007. In all Musa has won 68 rallies, including INRC Championships in 2007 and 2009. The INRC 2011 title too is all but in the bag, as Musa and Gaurav start the Chikmaglur rally this weekend with a lead of 52 points.
“These days, every time I win, or for that matter, take part in a rally, it seems to be a record!” says the down-to-earth navigator with all the confidence of a man who knows that he is well on course to becoming a legend in his own right.
Keep on going
F or a man who's every breath is a record, what new challenges does he have? “Keep on rallying, of course! And win some more championships with Gaurav – we make a good team. In 2015 along with driver Sanjay Takle, I'm planning to take part in the 15-day Dakar rally, a 10,000 km race across Argentina and Chile. My immediate aim, though, is to race in the upcoming 2012 Asia-Pacific rally championship, racing through New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Indonesia, and Thailand,” says Musa, who says he draws inspiration for his drive from legendary drivers such as Leela Krishnan and Jagat Nanjappa. When not racing, Musa likes to spend time at home with his family – his wife, Safeena, and his kids, Zainulsalah and Mohammad Falah.
Published - November 18, 2011 08:12 pm IST
