Suresh Rana On Day Two Maintains Lead in Himalayan Raid

Shimla: All the 21 cars that set out racing up snow tracks up the Rohtang Pass and through the Chandra river valley and over the Kunzam La pass on day of the Himalayan Raid-de-Himalaya checked in safely at Kaza for a night halt with preliminary results holding Suresh  Rana, the four time winner in the lead.

Navdeep Thareja, area coordinator Kaza over phone said that the day passed off without any major incident and all the cars that took off from Manali after going through the competitive section have made their way into camp.

“The result for the day is still to be compiled but in all probability Suresh Rana is maintaining his lead as he came in first and has clocked a good timing,” said Thareja.

However, among the motorcyclists of the 25 that left Manali in the morning only 24 had reached night camp at Kaza. Thareja said that besides two falls, in which no major injury was suffered, 24 bikers competing in the X-treme category had reached.

Early trends showed that there could be changes in bikers category, said Thareja. However, he did mention that Austrian women biker Klaudia Honeder is still in the fray though she did have a flat tire during the say.

Atul Handa, handling operations at Manali reported that 21 cars and 25 motorcycles competing in the X-treme category had left the place in the morning.

Of the 32 cars that took off on day one from Shimla to Manali over Jalori Pass there were 7 dropouts. Having survived day one another 4 could not take off on day two, said Handa.

Meanwhile in the of the 54 vehicles in the Adventure Trail category who left Sangla in the morning 51 had made their way into Manali by the evening, said Handa. Three vehicles had dropped out, two because of mechanical failure and one took a wrong route, he said.

Considered one of the toughest motor sport event in the world, the Raid-de-Himalaya over the next six days heads into some of the highest roadways in the world, clocking 2050 kilometers and crossing 11 high passes, which include Tanglang La at over 17,000 feet to end at Leh. The last Raid was stranded because of an untimely snowfall, though everyone was brought out safely from the zone.

Ravinder Makhaik

As Editor, Ravinder Makhaik leads a team of media professionals at Hill Post.

Spanning a career of over two decades in mass communication, as a Documentary Filmmaker, TV journalist, Print Media journalist and with Online & Social Media, he brings with him a vast experience. He lives in Shimla.