CHITRADURGA: Pleasant weather, hills and a touch of monsoon. The ninth edition of the Maruti Suzuki Dakshin Dare rally has the perfect backdrop for motorsport aficionados. While the first day was dedicated to the gravel-ridden track in the city, the second one saw the 180-odd participants hit a route in the same town with a predominant dirt track of 40 km length.
The regular stages of the event provide much needed excitement to fans eagerly waiting for the speeding vehicles to whizz past them. But, the Super Special Stage (SSS), which was added to the rally last year, had the fans inflating their adrenaline level to the maximum. Conducted in a much smaller track (total length of stage is 2 km), right outside the city limits, hundreds flocked to witness the rallyists drag and drift.
Special praise was reserved for the reigning champion, R Nataraj, in the Ultimate Bikes category as he along with his teammate Abdul Wahid Tanveer manoeuvred in the short track. Sometimes, the fans seemed to be dangerously close to the high speed mean machines. It proved to be a result-oriented day for Nataraj on Tuesday as he managed to steal the lead from the overnight best rider, Sanjay Kumar. Wahid too moved a place up to be second placed, relegating Kumar to a third.
In the Ultimate Cars category, defending champion and multiple title holder at Raid de Himalaya (10 times) and Desert Storm (six times), Suresh Rana, leapt one spot to finish the day at number two with his navigator Ashwin Naik. The duo of Samrat Yadav and SN Nizami maintained the numero uno position they had claimed on day one, driving a yellow Maruti Suzuki Gypsy.
The bike category is seeing intense competition between Tanveer, Nataraj and Sanjay. Tanveer, who might compete at the famed Dakar Rally next year, sounded pleased with his performance, unlike on day one. “I was quite content with the way I rode even though I had a problem with my bike in the first loop (stage). I changed the suspension in the second loop and that sorted things out,” he told Express. The Dakar hopeful added that riding in front of the crowd was an “amazing experience.” The Leg 3 of the rally will be of 38 km length.
vishal@newindianexpress.com
Results: Ultimate Cars: 1 Samrat Yadav/SN Nizami - 4:55:04 (Leg 1 + Leg 2 timing); 2 Suresh Rana/Ashwin Naik - 4:58:38 (Leg 1 + Leg 2 timing); 3 Sandeep Sharma/Karan Arya - 4:59:50 (Leg 1 + Leg 2 timing). Ultimare Bikes: 1 R Nataraj - 3:10:41 (Leg 1 + Leg 2 timing); 2 Abdul Wahid Tanveer - 3:11:23 (Leg 1 + Leg 2 timing); 3 Sanjay Kumar - 3:11:30 (Leg 1 + Leg 2 timing).