Nandakumar Puspanathan

Who is Nandakumar Puspanathan?

Nandakumar Puspanathan, is a Malaysian rally driver.

He began his rally career in the Malaysian Rally Championship 2001, driving a privately entered Proton Satria 1600. He soon gained a reputation for clocking spectacularly quick stage times, although they were sometimes accompanied by equally spectacular crashes or mechanical failures.

In 2004, Nandakumar teamed up with co-driver Suresh Parkash Sharma and the pair began chalking up class victories and top 5 overall finishes.

The pair went on to win the National 1600 Championship for the year and were awarded the “Malaysian Most Promising Rally Driver Award for 2004” by the Automobile Association of Malaysia.

The following year saw Nandakumar and Suresh Sharma contracted to factory team, Perodua M5 Racing Team.

Piloting the diminutive Perodua Kelisa 1.3 to numerous top 5 finishes overall and countless class wins showcased the talent and versatility of the pair and they went on to finish 5th overall and win the National Championship in their category in 2006.

With the introduction of the Myvi by Perodua, an experimental 1.6 litre Front wheel drive rally version made its debut in mid-2007 with Nandakumar at the wheel.