The top TSD (Time speed distance) rallyists of the country are engaged in a bitter fight for the winner’s trophy at the first Uttarakhand Adventure Car Rally, which was flagged off by Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna from Dehradun on Saturday.
On Day One, there was a difference of only a few seconds between TSD (Time-Speed-Distance) Rally champions Jagmeet Gill (navigator Chandan Das), Satish Gopalkrishnan (navigator Savera D’Souza), Vishnu Singh (navigator Adithya Anthony) and Somdev Chanda (navigator Nirav Mehta). All these are competitors in the SUV category.
In the cars category, there is a close fight between Rajesh Challana (navigator Yogesh Gupta), Ajgar Ali (navigator M. Mustafa) and Shekhar Chaudhry (navigator Suvrajit Dutta).
A total of 31 out of 35 teams made it through the scrutiny held on Saturday and were given the start today. All the teams successfully completed Day One, and reached the Auli Ski Resort for the night halt. There was snowfall enroute from Joshimath to Auli during the rally on Sunday.
After starting from Dehradun in the morning, the rally went past Rishikesh, Shivpuri, Dev Prayag, Rudra Prayag, Karan Prayag, Chamoli and Joshimath to end at the ski resort at Auli. The rallyists covered about 300 kilometers on the first day of the event.
Satish Gopalkrishnan of Bangalore said “the road was very clean tarmac, and a beautiful, scenic drive. The competition is very high, because some of the best TSD rallyists in the country are here.”
Dehrandun District Magistrate BVRC Purushottam, who is also participating in the rally, said “almost all hotels and dharamshalas on the way were seen closed. Tourist flow is very low because of the fear caused by the calamity in June. Such an event was desperately needed to send out the message that roads and other conditions are fine now, and the State is a good destination for holiday fun.”
Uttarakhand Adventure Car Rally will cover about 850 kilometers on the mountains and plains in the State. The rally route will touch some of the favourite tourism attractions in Uttarakhand. These include Shivpuri for white water rafting, the ski resort at Auli, and Garjiya on the periphery of the Jim Corbett Park.
On Day 2, the rally will cover about 280 kilometers of country roads. On Day 3, the rally will go across some of the most picturesque roads in the State via Nainidhada and Kotdwar to culminate at Paryatan Bhawan, Dehradun.
The Uttarakhand Adventure Car Rally is authorised by the Federation of Motorsport Clubs of India (FMSCI). The Uttarakhand Adventure Car Rally will follow the TSD format. This is the sober form of motorsport that allows competitors to go slow in populous areas, and stick to specified speed limits at all times. Through the rally, the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board hopes to raise further resources to assist those affected by the floods.