OFFICIAL REPORT RAID DE HIMALAYA X-TREME 2007
The ninth Maruti Suzuki Raid De Himalaya got off to a rollicaking start with thrills and spills galore as moutains took a heavy toll even before the first two stages were complete.
The ignominy of being the first entrant to be out went to VIKRAM V. RAO(BIKE # 117) who went out mechanical trouble. Meanwhile German entrant JOACHIM VON LOEBEN(BIKE # 143) got hopelessly lost and forfeited. BIKE # 131 KURIEN PHILLIP riding a YAMAHA RX 135 also bowed out on the first stage.
In a setback to preevent seeding experienced KHUSHWANT RANDHAWA (CAR # 10) blew the head gasket of his car and was also out in the first stage.
The real drama was experienced on stage 2 which runs from KHADRALA to UMLADWAR. The potent mix of terrain, speed and competitiveness put paid to the aspirations of many as 10 competitors. First to be out on this stage was DILIP RAMESH(BIKE # 132) followed closely by rally regular ANIL WADIA(CAR # 4) with a broken differential unit.
This stage brought to the fore not only the exciting and thrill packed nature of the event but also the emphasis on safety which are the hallmarks of the Raid De Himalaya. CAR # 15 driven by MAAN S CHAMBYAL went off the road and took a roll on a particularly difficult stretch but he and his co-driver were attended to almost immediately by the rally Life Saving Ambulance(LSA), they were given first aid and are safe.
Next to go off was BIKE # 136 RAJAN SIDHU. He too was helped by the rally organizers to get his motorcycle back on the road.
A potentially serious incident was averted when CAR # 7 with army entry MAJOR RAJESH PAWAR in the hot seat also rolled. The stringent safety factors assisted upon by HIMALAYAN MOTORSPORTS almost certainly saved the day as he and his co-driver came away unscathed.
JASBIR SINGH RANDHAWA (CAR # 30) broke the differential of his car and was ruled out from further competition. BIKE # 124 GURINDER SINGH SARAO from HOUSTON, TEXAS was technically disqualified as he hasd lost his time card enroute and was thus barred from further participation.
Earlier the event was flagged off from the Hotel PETERHOFF in SHIMLA by senior MARUTI UDYOG officials MR. MAYANK PAREEK and MR. HITEHIRO HIRANO who re-iterated the company’s support of this premier event of the Indian Rallying Calender which will be covering a distance of approximately 2400 Kilometers through the most rugged terrain of the Great Himalayas, i.e. SHIMLA, MANALI, KAZA, KEYLONG, SARCHU, LEH, KARGIL and SRINAGAR while traversing some of the highest motorable passes in the world such as ROHTANG, KUNZUM, BARALACHA LA, LACHALANG LA, TAGLANG LA, KHARDUNG LA, ZOJILA and JALORI.
The real drama was experienced on stage 2 which runs from KHADRALA to UMLADWAR. The potent mix of terrain, speed and competitiveness put paid to the aspirations of many as 10 competitors. First to be out on this stage was DILIP RAMESH(BIKE # 132) followed closely by rally regular ANIL WADIA(CAR # 4) with a broken differential unit.
This stage brought to the fore not only the exciting and thrill packed nature of the event but also the emphasis on safety which are the hallmarks of the Raid De Himalaya. CAR # 15 driven by MAAN S CHAMBYAL went off the road and took a roll on a particularly difficult stretch but he and his co-driver were attended to almost immediately by the rally Life Saving Ambulance(LSA), they were given first aid and are safe.
Next to go off was BIKE # 136 RAJAN SIDHU. He too was helped by the rally organizers to get his motorcycle back on the road.
A potentially serious incident was averted when CAR # 7 with army entry MAJOR RAJESH PAWAR in the hot seat also rolled. The stringent safety factors assisted upon by HIMALAYAN MOTORSPORTS almost certainly saved the day as he and his co-driver came away unscathed.
JASBIR SINGH RANDHAWA (CAR # 30) broke the differential of his car and was ruled out from further competition. BIKE # 124 GURINDER SINGH SARAO from HOUSTON, TEXAS was technically disqualified as he hasd lost his time card enroute and was thus barred from further participation.
Earlier the event was flagged off from the Hotel PETERHOFF in SHIMLA by senior MARUTI UDYOG officials MR. MAYANK PAREEK and MR. HITEHIRO HIRANO who re-iterated the company’s support of this premier event of the Indian Rallying Calender which will be covering a distance of approximately 2400 Kilometers through the most rugged terrain of the Great Himalayas, i.e. SHIMLA, MANALI, KAZA, KEYLONG, SARCHU, LEH, KARGIL and SRINAGAR while traversing some of the highest motorable passes in the world such as ROHTANG, KUNZUM, BARALACHA LA, LACHALANG LA, TAGLANG LA, KHARDUNG LA, ZOJILA and JALORI.
