Bertrand D'souza is an automotive engineer by profession, a home chef by passion, and being an avid overland traveller is his addiction. Bertrand however, found his calling as an automotive journalist way back in the year 2000. For over 18 years he has been with Overdrive, India's leading automotive media, heading the magazine, digital and television teams as it's Editor In Chief since 2013. Bertrand's vast experience comes from having covered everything automotive, from 2-wheelers to cars, road tripping to motorsports and lots more in between. He was also responsible for leading the team to 3 consecutive National Film and Television awards in the automotive media genre. In between Bertrand also kick started his own self-drive experiential adventure travel company and an events company. He is now back in the top spot at Overdrive continuing to lead a stellar team through new challenges.
Rahul is one of the most experienced automotive journalists in the Auto Today India team with ten years of experience in the industry. He is on the jury for the Indian Bike of the Year and the Indian Motorcycle of the Year awards. Despite him being primarily a motorcycling enthusiast, Rahul tests cars and is in charge of all road tests in the magazine. Designated Associate Editor, Rahul is constantly hounded for information on cars and on most days, is on the verge of pulling his hair out.
New kid on the block, Dipayan started out with evo India magazine and did a brief stint at Express Drives before finally hanging up the old riding boots at Auto Today magazine. Cars or bikes? Is the question he’s dedicated his life to answering. As of now though he’s still as confused as he usually is. In his off-time, you’ll find him rambling on about rally cars, tinkering with motorcycles, or playing with puppies of which the latter usually proves to be most fruitful.
Shivank joined mechanical engineering thinking it would be all about working on fancy cars and fast motorcycles. Fortunately, before reality struck, he jumped ship and started penning down his love for all things automotive to earn a living. Despite being a distressed engineer, he still has a nose for mechanics. And, given a chance, he can talk incessantly about his love for Jeremy Clarkson and MotoGP.
As the editor, Aspi has been ably leading the editorial teams of both BIKE India as well as CAR India since 2007. Under his leadership the magazines have gone from strength to strength serving the two magazines’ readers with outstanding value through innovative content. Prior to assuming his current leadership role, Aspi had been the backbone of both the magazines as their Road Test Editor, in charge of conducting all vehicle tests that empowered readers with detailed and credible data that they could rely on. Aspi’s career in journalism began with Overdrive magazine as Road Test Editor where he established the basic tenets of vehicle testing – both for two as well as four wheelers. Before becoming a journalist, his career as a motorcycle racer had been both long and rewarding. Between 1977 and 2004, when he finally hung up his racing boots and leathers, Aspi tasted victory several times both in India and abroad. He is also the only Indian to have ever won a Bronze replica medal at the legendary Isle of Man TT, which he won in 1987. With his immense technical knowledge gleaned from a long racing career during which he built the motorcycles he raced on followed by his role as first Road Test Editor and then Editor, Aspi plays an invaluable role as a jury member of the prestigious World Engine of the Year, Indian Motorcycle of the Year (IMOTY) and Indian Car of the Year (ICOTY) panel.
Sirish started writing on cars, bikes and motorsport at Overdrive magazine straight out of engineering college in 2000. He took over as editor seven years later, the youngest automotive publication editor in India, and was responsible for the growth of the brand, most notably by conceptualizing and hosting the award winning Overdrive show on CNBC-TV18.
After 12 years he made a brief detour into the corporate world as head of press at Porsche India, but quickly returned to his calling, founding evo India magazine and ThrillOfDriving.com in 2013.
Aatish started his career at evo India and has grown through the ranks to Assistant Editor. He joined in 2015 and has always worked here save for a year-long stint at BBC TopGear India in 2018. Telling stories is his passion and he has travelled to the far corners of the country looking for great tales with cars and motorcycles at the heart of them all. Quite contrary to popular opinion, he believes that print is not dead and is committed to ensuring it doesn't just survive, but thrives.
There is nothing Kartik likes more than telling stories. And there are few stories better than that of the automobile. That is what this particular member of ICOTY lives by. Or at least tries to. Kartik has been trying to capture the world as seen from behind the wheel for the better part of a decade now, and continues to be amazed at the stories that come as standard equipment with all cars, old and new. He also likes examining the relationships between men (women, too) and machines, a bond that seems destined to be an immortal one. But mostly, he likes to keep it simple by keeping his mouth shut and listening to motors sing their stories. At their redlines, of course.
Janak’s passion for automobiles was instilled at an early age sketching car and motorcycle designs in his classwork books. He’s currently a Features Writer at Motoring World, where he can be spotted doing what he loves the most, riding and writing about motorcycles. He is also in charge of the motorcycle reviews section.
Before his journalism career, he has worked at a car performance and modification shop and has also contributed to wrenching on cars and motorcycles. In his free time, he enjoys keeping his riding gear clean, building scale models of boats, and of course, motorcycles.
Rohit started his career as a motoring journalist in 2008 with Car India & Bike India. Soon after he co-founded Motoroids. In 2011, hemoved on to take up a more challenging and exciting role of being a TV presenter and content head for the Essel Group's motoring show and automotive vertical respectively. Now he is Assistant Editor, Overdrive Digital, and a reviewer and a presenter for Overdrive's print and TV/ Video operations.
Currently, Editor and Lead, Times Drive, Kranti has been reviewing cars and motorcycles for almost two decades now. The journey started with the Auto Show on Zee News called Wheelocity and then on NDTV where he hosted the show Raftaar for more than fifteen years.
Abhay Verma has been an automotive journalist since 2007 and has evaluated pretty much every two-wheeler launched in the country in the past decade and half. The experience has helped him sharpen his evaluative skills, pen down exhaustive reviews and also establish himself as a senior motorcycling journalist. And besides the reviews, he is also known for his wheelie skills! He returns this year to the IMOTY jury this year, having founded TURBOCHARGED at the start of 2021, where he is Editor and Publisher.
Pratheek is a techie-turned-motorcycle journalist who has had an interesting decade-long stint in the industry. He’s been with BikeWale since its inception in 2012 and currently holds the position of assistant editor. Although he has been test-riding all kinds of motorcycles and writing about them for years now, his heart holds a special place for adventure motorcycles and off-road riding. And when he is off the two wheels, you’ll find him lifting some heavyweights in the gym or reminding people of the significance of a balanced diet ever since he realized the importance of fitness for efficient motorcycling.
Dhruv’s journey as an automobile journalist started with him walking into an interview for the position of a news reporter, and walking out with a job that would allow him to ride motorcycles and drive cars to his hearts content. A passion he inherited from his father, and the stuff of dreams at the time! His early years were spent at Auto Today, before he further honed his craft at CarDekho and Zigwheels. At the moment, Dhruv’s a part of autoX as a Senior Correspondent, where he rides and drives, and struggles to pick between what he loves more - riding or driving.
Joshua is an engineer on the academic side but chose to follow his passion for two wheels and racing to get a first-hand experience of what engineering is capable of creating. He began his journalism journey with Bike India more than six years ago and proved to be hard-wired for this role. He has come some way forward and his many incisive questions leave no room for doubt. He proves to be a valuable evaluator and addition to the team.
