Female drivers receive much more attention while on the road even in the 21st century. In such a backdrop, one may not for once believe that two girls competed at an extreme 4×4 challenge in Malaysia.
Ashvitha Wickrama and Maryse Elle Navaratne took a bold step to compete at SHEMUD – the world’s first all-women extreme 4 x 4 challenge and were placed third back in 2016. Women’s teams from around the world compete at this challenge and they are tested for skills including speed and endurance.
Popularly known as team ‘Devils on Wheels’ they were once again able to make Sri Lanka proud last November as they once again bagged second runner’s up at this year’s competition as well. While Ashvitha is completing her degree in automotive engineering, Maryse is studying for her MBA and as such they were also the youngest team to compete at SHEMUD 2016.
The duo was also part of the first all-girls’ team to win a six hour Endurance Karting Championship in Sri Lanka where they drew inspiration before switching interests to off-roading mainly to break misconceptions about women in the sport and racing in general.
