The first sensation is not speed, but defiance. Tires screech against asphalt, the car swings deliberately out of alignment and, for a suspended moment, it seems as if control has been abandoned. But inside the cockpit, control is absolute.

The wheel over-steers, the car reaches the extreme corner of the roads, but the angle, direction and line accuracy remain sharp.

This is drifting: the art of losing traction without losing authority.

Drifting is a fast-growing motorsport subdiscipline — and, like the broader sport, it remains heavily male-dominated. Women and girls represent around 10 percent of participation in motorsports across all levels, according to More Than Equal, an organisation co-founded by former Formula One (F1) driver David Coulthard to develop female F1 talent.

Dina Patel grew up watching her parents race across Pakistan’s desert terrain. Now 22, she has become the country’s first female ‘drifter’ — and she is only picking up speed

Dina Patel grew up watching her parents race across Pakistan’s desert terrain. Now 22, she has become the country’s first female ‘drifter’ — and she is only picking up speed

It is also an expensive sport, requiring investment and risk-taking — a privilege rarely available to girls and young women, in Pakistan or elsewhere. But it is changing, albeit slowly.

Dina Rohinton Patel, a 22-year-old from Karachi, typifies that change. She has already been crowned the country’s first female drifter in an event in Islamabad — even if it was at a makeshift circuit as part of a small festival, in a country with no dedicated racetracks.

Dina inherited her love for motorsports. Her mother, Tushna Patel, is a lifelong racing enthusiast. In 2013, she became the first Pakistani woman to compete in the Jhal Magsi Desert Challenge, an off-road desert rally that is also Pakistan’s biggest motorsport event.

Tushna first started as navigator for her husband, Ronnie Patel, who is a well-known rally driver in Pakistan. Too passionate for the passenger seat, Tushna soon took control of the steering wheel, to tame wild tracks. The couple are regulars on the national rally and racing circuit, and have chalked up multiple victories.

As a child, Dina watched her parents taking to dusty, unpredictable terrains — tracks where victory depends less on brute speed and more on calculated restraint. She remembers one race vividly, in which her father clocked one of the fastest times of the day and won.

That moment did not merely inspire admiration; it planted a blueprint.

LIKE FATHER, LIKE DRIVER

Despite access to vehicles and tracks, Dina didn’t take her first steps into rally racing until she was 18, she tells Eos. Since then, though, she has taken part in multiple rallies, and has several victories and podium finishes in the women’s category to her credit.

She singles out her father for being her teacher and mentor in motorsports. “He’s taught me most of what I know in life, and a lot of who I am comes from him,” says Dina.

She also credits her parents for never placing any restrictions or limits on her due to her gender. In this, Tushna’s trailblazing also benefitted from a sure pathway.

Despite that, Dina is aware of the inherent gender imbalance in the sport. But she is also quick to point out that, with discipline and consistency, a racer can rapidly rise through the grades in motorsports — regardless of gender.

“If you can perform, you belong here. If you can’t, you don’t,” she asserts. “There are no two ways about it.”

Dina is keen to perform, and not just in off-road races. Her recent foray into drifting saw her take part in a local festival. “If rally racing is about maintaining grip, drifting is about abandoning it — deliberately,” explains Dina.

“It is controlled over-steer on purpose,” she continues. “Instead of trying to maximise grip, you intentionally break traction and keep the car sideways, while staying in control.”

To the uninitiated, drifting may appear to be theatrical driving, but its competitive structure is exacting. Drivers are judged on angle, line, speed and proximity to other vehicles during tandem runs. It is less a race against time and more a demonstration of mastery over instability.

“There were times I spent hours on the simulator just trying to do one doughnut [a driving manoeuvre characterised by an intentional and sustained over-steer action],” Dina says. “I had to rebuild muscle memory from scratch.”

This inversion of instinct posed Dina’s greatest challenge. Rally drivers are trained to correct slides immediately. Drifting requires the opposite: to sustain the slide without surrendering control.

To advance, she had to unlearn what had already made her successful. Motorsport is inherently dangerous. In drifting, the danger is intensified by proximity to other racers and loss of traction. A miscalculation of inches can result in catastrophic collisions.

Dina’s preparation reflects an acute awareness of these risks. Training begins long before getting inside a vehicle. Simulator sessions refine reflexes. Technical adjustments to suspension, tyre pressure and weight distribution alter how a car responds under stress. Practice runs build familiarity with how a vehicle behaves at the limits of traction. Risk is not eliminated — it is negotiated.

Mentally, the challenge is equally demanding; maintaining calm while operating at the threshold of chaos. “You know immediately if you delivered or not,” Dina says of drifting competitions. “There’s no delay in feedback.”

Failure, when it comes, is immediate and undeniable.

TALENT ISN’T THE PROBLEM

Dina’s focus is solely on delivering results and on continuing to make history. Being recognised as the country’s first female drifter is not just a personal ambition for her. It is also a stepping stone to being a role model and providing a pathway for other women with similar aspirations — just like the one paved by her mother for her.

She also wants sporting authorities to create a more friendly infrastructure and environment to facilitate women. By making motorsports physically accessible, safe and structured, says Dina, many beginners can take part without requiring “special connections.”

Dina adds that women in Pakistan are extremely talented. “But talent isn’t the problem. Access is.”

At the same time, motorsport is also expensive. Funding and sponsorships are pivotal in a sport that is already associated with the affluent. In Dina’s case, parents already invested in motorsports smoothed her journey. She has since attracted commercial sponsorships.

Dina is convinced that Pakistan can produce world-level motorsport talent. “For that, the government and sporting bodies will have to build a system that can back aspirants in licensing, coaching, equipment and competition travel.”

For now, Dina keeps returning to the simulator, to the practice runs, to the long hours of rebuilding instinct into something new. The circuit may be makeshift and the infrastructure thin, but the car is sideways, the angle is sharp, and the line — as ever — is hers to hold.

The writer is a member of staff

Published in Dawn, EOS, April 12th, 2026

© Dawn (Magazines)