Srinagar: Amit Rajit Ghosh of Kolkata has left other motorsport titans behind to emerge as numero uno in the Xtreme 4X4 category at the 3rd J&K Bank Mughal Rally, held in Kashmir on June 30 and July 1st.
Over the other rallyists in the Xtreme category, which is about outright speed, Ghosh had a comfortable lead. The 26-year-old says that riding among such top drivers at the event seemed to have luck on his side which saw him sweep the first position with his navigator Soham Hazra. Ghosh has earlier won the 2005 National Racing Championship, and both the National Rallying Champion and National Racing Championship in 2007.
Gaurev Prabhakar of Chandigarh trailed him, a surprise winner at this marathon cross-country event. With motorsport champions like Karamjit Singh, Sunny Sidhu and Suresh Rana falling out due to mechanical problems in their vehicles, Prabhakar and his navigator Ravi ranked second followed by Lohitt Urs and his navigator Chupong Chaiwan of Thailand, participating as part of Team Mahindra. The Bangalore-based rallyist has been winner of the Rally Star Cup, INRC 1400 Championship and the INRC 1600N+ Championship.
In the Bikers category, champions from Chandigarh stole the show, with Mohit Verma at the first place and Yogesh Lakhani finishing second. Mohit Verma, a 22-year-old ranked first at the Mughal Rally, riding a KTM 200. Yogesh Lakhani, 32, rode a WR-450. The third in the Bikers’ category is Umang Saxena from Solan, who rode a Bajaj Pulsar.
This Bikers’ category is considered the most exacting in a motorsport event, since they take the dirt track and the rough terrain head on at the event, without competing in the confines of a four-wheeler.
In the Enduro category, rallyists from South India completely stole the show. The Enduro category follows the Time-Speed-Distance format. Bangalore in Karnataka and Erode in Tamil Nadu are some of the biggest names in TSD rallying across India, and the experience drawn from competing in these events through the year ensured that southern rallyist were the winners up north too.
First in the Enduro category was Aditya Anthony of Bangalore and his navigator Mohammed Mustafa of Erode, part of Team Tata at the Mughal Rally. The duo have earlier ranked first in the Eastern Mountain Safari in West Bengal, Dakshin Dare in 2012, and second at the Raid De Himalaya last year.
Second in the Enduro category wer KP Karthick Maruthi and his navigator S. Sankaranand of Team Mahindra. The duo have been close rivals of Anthony and Mustafa in most TSD events across the country, especially in south India.
Third in this category were Satish Gopalkrishnan and his wife Savera D’Souza, who were navigating for him. Gopalkrishnan said the vibrant TSD rallying culture in south India gave them extensive experience in this category, helping them sail to a podium finish at the event.
The All Women’s Team Trophy in the Xtreme category went to Delhi-based Sarika Sehrawat and her navigator Norzeena Patrick. The Women’s Team Trophy in the Enduro category went to Bhopal-based Gauri Gupta and Shimla-based Nidhi Sharma.
By Indian Sports News Network
