The 7th edition of the Maruti Suzuki Dakshin Dare concluded in the City of Pearls – Hyderabad. The event witnessed participations from 105 teams with 170 participants and covered a distance of 2,000 km as they passed through some of the picturesque locations of Bangalore, Hampi, Bellary and Shimoga. The last day of the rally crossed Siruguppa in the area of Bellary as it ended in Hyderabad. The rally participants covered a total distance of around 450 km on the last day.
The top slot was grabbed by Sandeep Sharma and Karan Arya in their Maruti Suzuki Gypsy who completed the leg in 4:31:31. Sandeep Sharma, who has already won the previous Dakshin Dare, maintained his first position even this year till the end of the rally. The second spot was taken by Samrat Yadav and his navigator Gaurav followed by Suresh Rana and Parminder Thakur.
In the Bike category, Arvind K P stood first finishing the rally with a record-breaking time of 3:54:51. Natraj and Abdul Wahid stood second and third respectively covering the given distance in 4:00:10 and 4:14:15.
Den Thimmaiah, winner of Autocross 2015 held in Bangalore, stood fifth in his first cross country rally along with his navigator Venu Ramesh in their Maruti Suzuki Swift. The women participants including Bani Yadav along with her navigator Sukhbann Manns and Harshita Gowda with Rajshekhar Gowda from the Extreme category managed to complete the rally in the end even though they witnessed great challenges throughout the rally.
In the Endurance category, Jagdeep Gill and Chandan Sen grabbed the first position by making it to the finishing line with the least amount of penalty. Subir Roy and Nirav Mehta followed suit at second position and Asgar Ali stood third along with his navigator M Musthafa. Minaxi Purohith along with her navigator Sagar M managed to reach up to the fifth position in the Endurance category.
Final results
Ultimate Cars:
- Sandeep Sharma and Karan Arya (Team Maruti) – 4:31:31
- Samrat Yadav and Gaurav – 4:39:59
- Suresh Rana and Parminder Thakur – 4:41:25
Ultimate Bikes:
- Arvind K P – 3:54:51
- Natraj – 4:00:10
- Abdul Wahid – 4:14:15
Endurance Cars (TSD):
- Jagdeep Gill and Chandan Sen came first with penalty of 6 minutes
- Subir Roy and Nirav Mehta second with a penalty of 6 minutes 2 seconds
- Asgar Ali and Musthafa third with a penalty of 6 minutes 4 seconds