For the second consecutive
year, Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board is co-organising the Uttarakhand
Adventure Car Rally which will run from February 1 to 4, 2015. The state of Uttarakhand
relies on tourism as its economic mainstay, and the focus of the rally is on
getting tourists back to its green vales after the devastating floods in June
2013. According to a press release, Secretary Tourism Uma Kant Panwar said that
motorsport is a valuable addition to Uttarakhand’s adventure portfolio, targeted
at mid and high-end tourists.
The rally will pass by some of
our most loved tourism hotspots like the world-class ski resort at Auli, and Ramnagar, which
flanks the Jim Corbett National Wildflife Park, Panwar informed.The Uttarakhand
Adventure Car Rally will have 35 teams driving cars and SUVs, going across
about 1,000 kilometers in the state. Each team will comprise a driver and a
navigator.
In order to ensure that there
are no traffic disruptions, Uttarakhand Adventure Car Rally will follow the
Time- Speed-Distance (TSD) format. This is the sober form of motorsport that
allows competitors to go slow in thickly populated areas, and stick to
specified speed limits at all times.
The Uttarakhand Adventure Car
Rally will begin from Dehradun on February 2 and move via Dev Prayag, Karan
Prayag, Rudra Prayag and Nand Prayag to the ski resort at Auli. With newly-laid
out, smooth roads, the picturesque drive leads to the celebrated snow-tops, a
delight for skiers and sight-seeing. On the way is
Shivpuri, which draws huge domestic and foreign tourism for white water
rafting.
On Day Two, the rally will
come down from Auli to Ramnagar, which flanks the Jim Corbett National Wildlife
Park, again a tourist hotspot. The rally will end at Dehradun on Day Three. The
rally is being organised by Himalayan Motorsport. This is the premier Shimla-based
motorsport club which organises the Raid De Himalaya, one of the top-ten
toughest rallies of the world. Uttarakhand Adventure Car Rally is being
supported by Maruti Suzuki and JK Tyres.
The Himalayan Rally, which
used to go through Uttarakhand, was last organised almost 25 years ago.