Team Avalanche-a club profile

There are but three true sports: mountain climbing, motor racing and bull fighting. All the rest are merely games—Ernest Hemingway

Team Avalanche Promotosports, a motor sports club based in Shimla, registered under the Registration of Societies Act 21, 1860 and a member club of The Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) was initiated to feed the passion of a group of young motor sports enthusiasts based in Shimla.

The members first came together for the legendary Himalayan rally in 1987 and later for a round of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship. Today, the club not only organizes events but also has its own competition team that participates in motor sports events and has named a number of awards and accolades to themselves.

With an objective to develop and promote motor sports in all its aspects-in the nation as well as specifically in the state of Himachal Pradesh for its rough terrains are a delight to those bikers, the club has been organizing events like The Himalayan Rally, Highland Rally and the SJOBA rally.

A LOOK AT TEAM AVALANCHE PROMOTOSPORTS PROFILE (1987 – 2007)

1) The Himalayan Rally ( 1987, 1988, 1989 & 1990)

The idea of Nazir Hoosein and A.V Condillac, “The Himalayan Rally” was the dawn of international motor sports in India. Many of the veterans of the World Rally Championship and the Paris-Dakar Rally, two of the most grueling motor sport events of the world found a culmination of both brains and brawns here.[/lang_en][lang_en]

2)The Great Desert – Himalaya Raid (1988 – 1989)

Team Avalanche was associated with ‘The Great Desert Himalaya Raid’ held in 1988 and 1989, one of the longest event in India traversing through the plains of Delhi to the Deserts of Rajasthan and finally into the cold desert of Ladakh.

3) The London Sydney Marathon (1993)

The Indian leg of the London Sydney Marathon passed through Delhi and Himachal Pradesh before moving on to the Australian continent where Team Avalanche officiated and executed the Himachal leg of the Marathon.

4) The Bajaj – Army Himex Endurance Challenge (Delhi to Khardung la,1994)

When the Indian Army organized the Bajaj – Timex endurance challenge from Delhi to Khardung La in 1994, Team Avalanche provided the logistical and organizational support for execution of the event.

5) The Mountain Challenge Series, Shimla (1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996 & 1997)

The Mountain Challenge Series was exclusively executed under Team Avalanche for the whole six years.

6) Jaipur Desert Challenge, 1998

Team Avalanche not only organized this event but also fielded its team of motor cycle riders in competition, becoming the first club in the country to do so.

7) Raid de Himalaya (1999, 2000, and 2001)

Team Avalanche was also associated with the Raid de Himalaya since 1999, however, in an unfortunate accident during 2001, the team lost two of it members which ended the club’s association with the Raid .

8)The Great Hornbill Raid, Arunachal (2000)

Team Avalanche organized the Great Hornbill Raid in Arunachal Pradesh in the year 2000.

9) Highland Rally (2002, 2003, 2004)

In association with another club from Solan, Team avalanche organized one-day events for cars, scooters and bikes.

10) The SJOBA Rally (2002).

Team Avalanche entered the SJOBA Rally and participated in the cars category in 2002. One of the most popular motor sports events in Chandigarh saw Team Avalanche finishing 3rd in the cars category.

11) The Apple Festival, Royal Enfield Limited Speed Race (2003)

Sponsored by Royal Enfield, Team Avalanche also organized the first ever Royal Enfield Limited Speed Race as part of the Apple Festival 2003.

12) The Avalanche Open Challenge (1998 & 2004)

Team Avalanche also organized the first motocross in Himachal in October 1998. The event was successfully repeated in 2004.

The Shimla Motorcycle Challenge 2008

Team Avalanche launched a Motorcycle Championship in Shimla for 2008. The Championship-a series of 4 single-day events, held on a Sunday every third month, started on the 27th of January 2008. It would see its third round on the on 13th and 14th September.

The scrutiny will take place at Hotel Peterhoff from 10.30 am onwards on Saturday while the races will commence from 9.30 am on Sunday at Vatika Resort, Shoghi. As many 25 riders from Delhi, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Jammu, Palampur, Baijnath, Dharamsala, Subathu, Solan and Shimla have confirmed their participation till date.

Tough competition is expected in this round as there are two riders, Yogesh Lakhani and Rajan Sidhu, who are tied at joint first place with 18 championship points each. In the D Himachal category, Piyush Chauhan has a clear lead with 20 championship points followed by Saurav Vyas with 16 points and Vivek Arora with 12 points.Till now, the competitors would contest in three different categories; C open, D open and D Himachal. A new category A-1 has also been included to allow participation of bikes above 260 cc and non homologated bikes.

A grand prize of Rs 50,000/ is being offered as prize money.

The event is being organized by Team Avalanche Promotosports in association with the Department of Tourism, Himachal Pradesh.

Neha Chandok