Shimla: His family owns the historical Wildflower Hall in Shimla, along with the imposing Clarkes and the Cecil too. It’s not these grand hotels that bring Rajeev Khanna to the ‘Queen of Hills’, though. Khanna is one of the scions of the Oberoi family – he is the grandson of legendary hotelier Rai Bahadur MS Oberoi. And he is in Shimla for the 14th Maruti Suzuki Raid De Himalaya, the ultimate adventure in the country in motorsport.
The Maruti Suzuki Raid De Himalaya is taking off from Shimla on October 7. It will end at Leh on October 12. Khanna is a surprise package for most competitors at the Raid, considered by many as India’s mecca of rallying. At 57, this is the first time that he is participating in the Raid. Hold on – there is more. He has also taken on the most challenging category of this formidable motorsport event – Xtreme Motorcycles and Quads. This is part of Raid Xtreme - the category that pits competitor and machine against the most extreme terrain and the toughest conditions.
Khanna doesn’t cease to surprise. The Raid has been known to test motorsport heroes to the ultimate. The Oberoi heir is here with three slip discs that he suffered in end June, which haven’t completely healed yet. “The doctor told me I may come back from the Raid in a wheelchair. It’s okay. I will take the call. My grandfather taught me, ‘Never worry about something that may not happen. Do what you want.’ And here I am,” Khanna said with wry amusement.
2012 is not the first year Khanna is trying to conquer the Raid. He was here in 2010 and 2011, and had to drop out due to acute high altitude sickness. He is candid about his chances here. “I don’t have many years left in rallying. I must max it out now. So yes, it’s a case of ‘Jab take chale,” he laughed.
For the Raid, Khanna is riding a Yamaha WR 450 – considered one of the most powerful bikes for offroad rallying. The Maruti Suzuki Raid De Himalaya is organized by Himalayan Motorsport Association (HMA), the premier Shimla-based motorsport club. Vijay Parmar, president HMA, said Khanna is a legend in Xtreme biking. “He has been rallying both along and against the Paris-Dakar winner Kenjiro Shinozuka, as part of the same team. He does extreme skiing, and has competed and won at some of the toughest motorsport events in the world,” said Parmar. Incidentally, Khanna suffered the slip discs in his upper spine training for The Rally di Sardegna, the Italian Round of the World Rally Championship. He was part of the Cyril Despres team, which has won the Paris Dakar Rally four times.
Khanna is up against 35 participants in the Xtreme Motorcycles and Quads category. The Raid has the distinction of being the world’s highest motorsport battle arena, with participants rallying at a height of 6,000 meters above sea level. Xtreme motoring at the highest motorable passes in the world has catapults the Raid into the top ten toughest rallies in the world, packing it with triumph and a true spirit of adventure.
