Srinagar: Battling tough terrain and high altitude hair pin tracks Amit Rajit Ghosh, driving a Mitsubishi Cedia is the provisional winner of the 3rd J&K Bank Mughal Rally in the extreme 4 x 4 category. The other provisional leaders in this category are Amanpreet Ahluwalia driving a Maruti Gypsy, Gaurav Prabhakar on a Subaru Forrestor, and Lohitt Urs and Karamjeet Singh , each driving Mahindra XUVs. The final result will be compiled late tonight.
In the extreme mobikers category, Mohit Verma riding a KTM 200 is the provisional leader.
In the Enduro category, the provisional winners are Amol Satoskar and Satish Gopalkrishnan. While Satoskar was leading yesterday, at the last Time Contral at Sinthan Pass today, Gopalkrishnan had taken the lead. The final results of the Enduro category will not be available until tomorrow because the vehicles will reach their destination around midnight.
The Mughal Rally (so named because it races along the historical road used by the medieval Mughal rulers of India to travel through Kashmir and beyond to Lahore) is by no means short of rugged terrain. On Day One itself, it was flagged off at Srinagar and crossed the Mughal Road twice. Xtremers first made their way to Heerpora via Shopian over Pir ki Galli to Bafliaz. Here they regrouped and then raced back to Srinagar.
Both stages to and from Bafliaz (named after Alexander the Great’s legendary horse Bucephalus) involved racing 65 kms each way and speeds of 150 kmph were seen between Aliabag Sarai and Pir ki Galli, as the road is now 85 percent tarmac.
On Day Two Rally Xtreme was taken on the fabled Sinthan Pass into the Kishtwar Valley. The Xtremers have a stiff 32 km climb negotiating innumerable hairpin bends after Daksum up to Sinthan, before descending to Mughal Maidan via Pehalwara, Chhatroo and Chingam. The route will be run both ways with each stage being 85 km long. The ascent to Sinthan is pure tarmac but will contrast immediately with the 14 km descent on pure dirt to Mughal Maidan.
Day Two of the Rally also recorded the longest stretch ever in a mountain rally. The Enduro category, which follows the TSD (Time-Speed-Distance) format, began from Jammu. Going via Akhnoor, Bhambla, Salal, Gool, Ramban, Batot, Puldoda, Kishtwar, Daksum and Anantnag, Enduro rallyists finally reached Srinagar, clocking a staggering 640 kms of mountain driving from dawn to nightfall.
The first day Rally Xtreme did an average of 300 kms, with two competitive stages of about 130 kms, and the rest in transport stage. The Enduro did approximately 320 kilometers on the first day. On the second day Rally Xtreme did 420 kilometres, with two competitive stages of 180 kms approximately. The Enduro category has no transport stage.
The Government of Jammu & Kashmir and J&K Bank are the principal sponsors of the Mughal Rally 2012 - an event that demonstrates in no uncertain terms the return of normalcy to a state that had been crippled by militancy and political turmoil. The Rally has attracted competitors and generated interest from every corner of India, with Himalayan Motorsport being hard put to close entries in record time. The event is set in the verdant Pir Panjal ranges of Jammu & Kashmir.
As the countdown to the flag-off on June 30 began, the keen rivalry between the teams being fielded in the Mughal Rally by India’s top automobile manufacturers – Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra and Tata Motors – has been palpable. All three motoring giants recruited current champions from the Indian motor sporting fraternity to make up what they hope will form the winning combination for the 3rd J&K Mughal Rally 2012.
