New Delhi: Day Two of the 11th Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm today saw a major fight among two top marathon rallyists of the country on the hot desert sands. Finally, Suresh Rana of Team Maruti closed the second day of the rally with a clear gain of 5.10 minutes over his closest rival Sunny Sidhu of Chandigarh.
Sanjay Takale of Team Maruti is leading the Xplore category followed by Satish Gopalkrishnan. Rajesh Chalana of Team Maruti is running third in Xplore. Vijay Parmar of Shimla, riding a KTM-450 EXC, is leading in Xtreme Moto. Mohit Verma of Chandigarh is second in this category, followed by Amardev Singh of Delhi. Raj Singh Rathore of Team Polaris, riding a Polaris RZR 800, is leading in the quad category. The Ndure category of the event was running at the time of filing the report.
In the first stage of Day One, Rana had gained a lead of ten minutes over all competitors. However, due to some problem on the track, he lost rank and slipped to trailing Sidhu by 14 seconds at the end of Stage Two on the same day.
On Tuesday, Rana was back on track in full gusto, ready to prove his mettle. Clerk of the Course Jayesh Desai said the two champion rallyists sped hard on the tough desert track and the challenging terrain. Rana finished the end of the second stage on Tuesday with a remarkable lead of 5.10 minutes over Sidhu.
Meanwhile, almost 50 per cent competitors in the four categories of the event had to bow out by the end of Day Two, on account of the inability of man or machine to cope with the treacherous desert outback. Desai said the light rain on Monday had made the rallyists underestimate the power of the sands. On Tuesday, as the mercury soared and the sun hit down upon the desert terrain, the sands of the Thar forced many rallyists to bow out of the event, leaving them with engine trouble or other issues.
Parmar, who is leading Xtreme Moto, sustained a minor injury today after he fell from his bike during the competitive stage of the event. Desai said that various other bikers too sustained minor injuries after falls, and were given medical aid. In the Xtreme category, the vehicles of Pradeep Gupta and Harkaran Singh toppled, leaving them with minor injuries.
The 11th Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm had begun with a total of 138 teams in the fray - 52 teams in Xtreme, 34 in Endure, 29 in Xplore, 29 in Moto and 4 in Quad. Xtreme and MotoQuad categories are based solely on the fastest timing. The Ndure and Xplore categories follow a Time-Speed-Distance (TSD) format.
In its 11th edition, the Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm will go through the Thar Desert and the entire span of the dune country. The rally took off from Sardarshahar and will end at Jaipur on February 23, after traversing about 2,200 kilometers.
From a two-day rally over a decade ago, the Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm has evolved into a motorsport event of massive proportions that now traverses the Thar Desert and the entire span of the dune country. “The challenging, tough terrain of motorsport is excellent testing ground on which the Maruti Suzuki vehicles prove their mettle before we introduce them in the value-driven Indian automobile market,” said Pareek.
He added that Maruti Suzuki motorsport events are huge, and open to motorsport enthusiasts of all hues. “Our endeavour is to give our buyers diverse experiences, and fulfill their need for adventure in a safe, regulated environment. Maruti Suzuki Motorsport is one of the ways we connect with the youth, and the youthful spirit of all those who love driving,” highlighted Pareek.
The Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm has grown in number of competitors, as well as the scale of competition, retaining a steady diet of high-action stages that challenge competitors to the hilt.
