We arrived back to campus just after 11am desperate for some sleep. Thinking we could get a few hours in before the cricket at 2:30, we went to bed. After a good 5 minutes, some other members of the team arrived having just organised another meeting with the tutors. Feeling very sleep deprived we discussed their suspension and upright design, helping to determine if any changes were needed to the designs before the start of manufacture.

The meeting finished around lunchtime, so we headed over to one of the cafe’s on campus. The place was buzzing, ready for the cricket final which would be shown on a big screen inside. The waiter made sure there was no confusion about who we were supporting by painting our faces the colour of the Indian flag. I’m sure the face paint only added to the confusion with the locals about who we were and what we were doing there!

The support for the game was incredible, with every shot, catch or near miss cheered or jeered by what sounded like the whole of campus. However the lack of sleep was catching up with us. We guessed that the locals would probably find it offensive if we both fell asleep watching the World Cup Final of their national sport, so we snuck off to bed.

After a few hours of sleep, we met Ganash and Siddartha, who were kindly taking us out for an evening meal before our taxi picked us up at around midnight. The streets were deserted, with every person on campus appearing to be huddled around the nearest TV watching the game. At the restaurant Siddartha ordered a range of traditional Indian dishes. They were all unbelievably hot. We were both reduced to tears, with the bottles of Coca-Cola only mildly reducing the pain.

By this stage India were also closing in victory in the cricket, however the game was still in the balance. After the meal we hurried back to our accommodation, where a large screen had been set up showing the cricket. Anticipation was growing as India got closer and closer to the score needed to win the World Cup. When their captain hit the winning six, the place erupted! Adding to the celebrations was a guy lighting fire crackers, who managed to make it about a foot away each time before they exploded.

We left the celebrations to catch our taxi at midnight. Realising that the two taxi drivers who picked us up didn’t speak English and that we’d be travelling for the next 24 hours, we attempted to get some sleep. This attempt didn’t last long, as shortly after setting off we’d already swerved in the road a couple of times and had horns blearing at us. As if driving at night in India wasn’t bad enough, it appeared that one taxi driver was giving the other a driving lesson!

Three hours later we arrived at the airport, ready for our long flights home. We have had a great time in India and learnt a lot from the visit, not just about their car design and manufacture, but also of the culture of this great country. With the competition in three months, we look forward to IIT Kharagpur’s team visiting us at Warwick, and hopefully with both our teams having fully prepared race cars ready to take on the competition at Silverstone.