Maruti Suzuki India Limited flagged off the eight edition of Maruti Suzuki Dakshin Dare Rally from Orion Mall, Bengaluru on 31 July 2016. This year the rally will be traversing through Coorg, Murdeshwar and Shimoga. The rally will conclude in Goa on 6 August 2016. Over 190 motorsport enthusiasts in 110 teams will cover around 2200 kms over a span of 6 days. Also, this year, 16 women participants will compete for the coveted title. The rally is divided into three categories – Endurance, Ultimate Car and Ultimate Bike.
Currently, the Dakshin Dare rally has reached Shimoga, also known as the cultural capital of Karnataka. On day 2 the participants covered a total distance of 383 kms with 3 stages spread across 63 kms. We have our team member at the event and these images have come straight from the rally. Suresh Rana & co-driver Parminder Thakur are leading in their Grand Vitara in the Ultimate category.
In the same category, Amanpreet Ahluwalia & co-driver Karan Aukta came a close second driving their Maruti Gypsy. Driving the Maruti Gypsy, Sandeep Sharma & co-driver Karan Arya came third, with perplexed off-road challenges making the competition essentially daring.
Talking about the experience, Suresh Rana expressed that they are extremely motivated about leading a motorsport event of this stature backed by a brand like Maruti Suzuki. Needless to say, he aims to convert this lead into a victory and will try our best to maintain the position. He further added that the addition of slushes was a major challenge which further tested the driving skills of participants. We foresee more such exciting times with long format stages planned in the coming days to toughen the competition.
In the bike category, Abdul Waheed and Nataraj came first and second respectively riding their TVS Apache. In the Edurance Cars category, Raghu Madan & M Prakash are leading, closely followed by Ganesh Moorthy & Nagarajan T. Over the next two days, the rallyists will be passing the scenic terrain in and around Shimoga, ensuring action-packed stages as the competition toughens. This event is supported by Mobil as it is also the official lubricant partner of Maruti Suzuki Motorsport’s Dakshin dare event.
