Samir Thapar is an Indian

rally Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Demonstration (political), a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a United States school or college sporting event Sports ...

driver and businessman.

Racing career

Early career

Thapar debuted in the

Indian National Rally Championship Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) is a rallying series organised by the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI), which is the Governing Body or ASN of India recognised by FIA culminating with National Champion Driver and Co-D ...

in 1992.

Viral video

In July 2013, after a ten year break from racing, Thapar participated in the 2013

alongside

co-driver A co-driver is the navigator of a rally car in the sport of rallying, who sits in the front passenger seat. The co-driver's job is to navigate, commonly by reading off a set of pacenotes to the driver (what lies ahead, where to turn, the severity ...

Vivek Ponnusamy.2013 Indian National Rally Championship Kicks Off
/ref> A camera was installed inside the car to record the race, and afterwards, Thapar uploaded the recording to his

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel.Man held for posting edited rally footage on You Tube , Chennai News - Times of India
/ref>Motor sports executive lands in jail for posting ‘funny’ clip online - The Hindu
/ref> Yohann Setna, then a manager at the racing and rally team J.A. Motorsport, downloaded the video and edited it down to a humorous three-and-a-half minute clip of the moments during which Ponnusamy was shouting at Thapar, including phrases such as "Samir, you are breaking the car." The cut-down video was uploaded to Setna's YouTube channel on August 8 and

went viral Viral phenomena or viral sensation are objects or patterns that are able to replicate themselves or convert other objects into copies of themselves when these objects are exposed to them. Analogous to the way in which viruses propagate, the ter ...

, acquiring over a million views within a few weeks. Ponnusamy lodged a complaint under Section 66A of the Indian Information Technology Act, which penalizes sending offensive messages. He alleged that the edits portrayed Thapar and himself in a "demeaning manner," and that the video had provoked racially abusive comments and caused him to lose several rally contracts. Setna was arrested on August 24.

Personal life

He is a member of the industrialist Thapar family, being the grandson of

Karam Chand Thapar Karam Chand Thapar (1900–1962) was the founder of the Thapar Group of companies. He was originally from Punjab. He started his career in 1920 as a coal trader in Calcutta, and built up the family fortune through Karam Chand Thapar and Bros. ...

References

1965 births Living people Indian businesspeople Thapar family Indian rally drivers