Maruti Suzuki Raid-de-Himalaya

EE News Desk Nov 05, 2015

Maruti Suzuki, one of the leading passenger vehicle maker, recently organized one of the most challenging motorsport rallies, Maruti Suzuki Raid-de-Himalaya2015, fromShimla.

In its 17^th edition, the 6 day motorsport event covered a total distance of 2000 km travelling through some of the most picturesque and peaceful locations in the Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. The rallyists crossed places like Shimla, Dalhousie, Srinagar, Manali and Rangdum in the wake of the rocky Himalayas and freezing weather locales.

Maruti Suzuki Raid-de-Himalaya ended in Srinagarwith Raj Singh Rathore and his co-driver Amber Udasi taking top position followed by Tsering Lakhpa and his co-driver Venu Ramesh Kumar at the second position and 9 times Raid De Himalaya winner, also famously known as manali man, Suresh Rana and his co-driver Parminder Thakur stood third. This year the rally saw around 250 driving enthusiasts in about 167 teams covering 2000 kms in six days. The last phase of the rally ended finally in Srinagar while traversing through Rangdum with a distance of approximately 300 km in the last leg.

In the Adventure Trial category, the top slot was bagged by Jagmeet Gill along with his co-driver Chandan Sen who completed the race with a total penalty scores of 16 minutes and 58 seconds followed by theAjgar Ali who emerged as first runner up and Karthick Murthi and S Sankar Anand at the third spot.There were in total 55 teams in the adventure category.

Arvind K.P was crowned the champion in the extreme two wheeler category followed by Natraj R and Ashish Saurabh Moudghil at the second and third position respectively.

The17^th edition of the motorsport event stood out in the number of highest women participants with Bani Yadav returning to give a tough competition while Anu Rana and her navigator Poonam Rana won the title of Coup – De – Dames.

Amidst adverse weather conditions and challenges of the rough terrain, theenthusiasm of the rallyists never faded.

Speaking on the prize distribution ceremony, Mr R S Kalsi, Executive Director, Marketing& Sales, Maruti Suzuki India Limited said, “We are overwhelmed to see the response received by our flagship motorsport event Maruti Suzuki Raid-de-Himalaya. This year has been exciting to follow, to see the passion of the rallyists even against the toughest conditions. This participation and excitement raises the bar making the rally more eventful with every season”

On winning the champions trophy, Raj Singh Rathore said, “This is an extremely overwhelming moment for me. I have been dreaming the entire year to lift this trophy and I am extremely happy that my dream has come true. Hope to keep the adrenaline rush going in the next year’s Maruti Suzuki Raid De Himalaya. It only gets more challenging every year and I am looking forward to maintaining my title”.

After a display of sheer grit and passion for driving, the final winners were announced during the closing ceremony held in Centaur Lakeside SKICC, Srinagar, on Saturday 17th October 2015.

Final results:

Extreme category (4x4)