The first day of Maruti Suzuki
Desert Storm rally saw Abhishek Mishra driving his Grand Vitara taking lead in extreme
category. Legs 1 & 2 of the extreme category had two competitive stages of
57 Kms and 24 Kms length around Hanumangarh district, nestled on the banks of
the River Ghaggar, also revered by the locals as ancient river Saraswati, in the state of Rajasthan.
Locals thronged to see the
drivers zip past in their vehicles, displaying their absolute skills in the art
of off-road motor racing. The drivers travelled a total distance of approx. 330
kms. Abhishek Mishra from Jaipur and his
navigator PV Srinivas Murthi reigned supreme as they led the category by
clocking 1:17:27 hrs. Manali man Suresh Rana and his navigator Ashwin Naik in
their Grand Vitara, have moved up to the second position by clocking in 1:22:38
hrs and Amanpreet Ahluwalia and Virender Kashyapare reached the third position
by clocking 1:26:35 Hrs in their Maruti Gypsy.
At the end of day 1, Abhishek
Mishra said, “The heat in desert could sometimes be unforgiving. The only way
to survive a motorsport as difficult as this is by becoming one with the
machine. You have to know your vehicle like the back of your hand. It’s the
true Darwinian philosophy of ‘Survival of the fittest’.”
In the Moto, Xtreme Bike
category, acclaimed motorsport rallyist C.S Santosh continues to lead at
1:24:28 hrs followed by Jess David clocking 1:26:12 hrs at the second position
and holding the third place is Aravind KP by clocking 1:28:30 hrs .
In the NDure category,
motorists travelled the same distance as XTreme teams but in the Time Speed
Distance format in the Leg 1 & 2 of the event. Holding the lead is SK Ajgar
Ali and his navigator MK Mohammed Musthafa with a day end penalty of 00:00:05
Hrs followed by Suresh Kumar and his navigator Mendiratta V. Sekar with a day
end penalty of 00:00:12 Hrs and third position by Jagmeet Gill and Chandan Sen
with day end penalty of 00:00:13 Hrs.
In the Explore category,
Sachin Singh with M Prakash held the first place on day 1, followed by Pratap
and T. Nagarajan at the second and third position by Rajesh Chalana with
Arindam Ghosh.
With so many unpredictable
moments and surprises at the end of day 1, the rally on Day2 will leave for
Bikaner where the participants will compete around Badrasar and Bhandarwala
villages.
RESULTS AFTER
LEGS 1 & 2 -
XTreme Cars -
1. Abhishek Mishra and PV Srinivas Murthi - 1:17:27 Hrs
2. Suresh Rana and Ashwin Naik - 1:22:38 Hrs
3. Aanpreet Ahluwalia and Virender Kashyap - 1:26:35 Hr
NDure Cars – End of Leg X
1. SK Ajgar Ali and MK Mohammed Musthafa - 00:00:05 Hrs
2. Suresh Kumar and Mendiratta V. Sekar - 00:00:12 Hrs
3. Jagmeet Gill and Chandan Sen - 00:00:13 Hrs.
Xplore Cars- End of Leg X
1. Sachin Singh & M Prakash
2. Pratap and T. Nagarajan
3. Rajesh Chalana with Arindam Ghosh.
Moto Quad- End of Leg X
1. C.S Santosh - 1:24:28 Hrs
2. Jesss David - 1:26:12 Hrs
3. Aravind KP - 1:28:30 HRS .