Jagat and Anita Nanjappa

Jagat and Anita Nanjappa are a well-known couple in the sport of motor racing in India. They belong to the Kodava community and are natives of Kodagu district of Karnataka. They have participated and won many motorbike and car rallies in India. Jagat is usually the driver while his wife Anita dons the role of the navigator. Together, they have won nine Indian National Rally Riders Championship awards in the motorbike section from 1986 to 1996.

Initiation

Jagat, who grew up in Kodagu, was inspired to take up racing by his father Appanna, who was a fast driver. He started racing bikes as a hobby in the year 1981. His family was mainly engaged in growing coffee, and Jagat had ample time to pursue his hobby. The winding, muddy, traffic-less roads of Kodagu gave him further motivation to drive fast. He started rallying with bikes but later graduated to cars. He was later joined by his wife Anita, who after marriage became his navigator in the rallies he participated. They started winning different forms of rallies like TSD (Time, Speed and Distance), stage and raid rallies. Their victories led MRF to sponsor them, and...
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