Excelsior Sports Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Oct 18: The much awaited 17th edition of Maruti Suzuki Raid-de-Himalaya ended in Srinagar with Raj Singh Rathore and his co-driver Amber Udasi taking top position followed by Tsering Lakhpa and his co-driver Venu Ramesh Kumar at the second position and 9 times Raid De Himalaya winner, also famously known as Manali man, Suresh Rana and his co-driver Parminder Thakur stood third.
This year the rally saw around 250 driving enthusiasts in about 167 teams covering 2000 kms in six days. The last phase of the rally ended finally in Srinagar while traversing through Rangdum with a distance of approximately 300 km in the last leg.
In the Adventure Trial category, the top slot was bagged by Jagmeet Gill along with his co-driver Chandan Sen who completed the race with total penalty scores of 16 minutes and 58 seconds followed by the Ajgar Ali who emerged as first runner up and Karthick Murthi and S Sankar Anand at the third spot.55 teams participated in the adventure category.
Arvind K.P was crowned the champion in the extreme two wheeler category followed by Natraj R and Ashish Saurabh Moudghil at the second and third position respectively.
The17th edition of the motorsport event witnessed highest women participation with Bani Yadav returning to give a tough competition while Anu Rana and her navigator Poonam Rana won the title of Coup-De- Dames.
Amidst adverse weather conditions and challenges of the rough terrain, the enthusiasm of the rallyists never faded.
Speaking on the prize distribution ceremony, R S Kalsi, Executive Director, Marketing and Sales, Maruti Suzuki India Limited said, “We are overwhelmed to see the response received by our flagship motorsport event Maruti Suzuki Raid-de-Himalaya.”
In Extreme category (4×4), Raj Singh Rathore and Amber Udasi bagged first place, while Tsering Lhakpa and Venu Ramesh Kumar and Suresh Rana and Parminder Thakur claimed second and third place respectively.
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