The 13th edition of Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm concluded in the historical and beautiful city of Jaipur. This year’s edition of Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm rally started from New Delhi and traversed towards Rajasthan on 23rd February 2015 with 130 participants. With the rally coming to an end, only 69 participants could make it to the finish line. Covering approximately 2,300 kms of western India, the rallyists competed against each other in challenging categories that were carried out in the rough terrains of Rajasthan.
Top honors of the rally went to Abhishek Mishra from Delhi and his navigator PVS Murthy driving a Grand Vitara in the XTreme category with a timing of 14:32:28 Hrs. Harpreet Bawa from Chandigarh and his navigator Ashwin Naik in their Vitara, grabbed the second position by clocking 15:05:09 Hrs followed by the team of Niju Padia of Bhavnagar and Shekhar V in their Pajero at 16:26:18 Hrs at the third position.
Speaking of his win Abhishek Mishra said, “I am super thrilled at this victory. All the weeks hard work has been paid off. I am eagerly looking forward to next year’s rally’. Speaking further he said, “it takes a lot of hard work, concentration and following the basic principles of safe driving to complete the rally.”
In the NDure category, motorists traveled the same distance as XTreme teams but in the Time Speed Distance format in the Leg 5 of the event. The event greeted Vishnu Singh and his navigator Adithya Anthony driving Vitara, as the winners with a day end penalty of 0:25:42 Hrs. Somdeb Chanda and Neerav Mehta from Kolkata at the third position in Gypsy at the day end penalty of 0:33:28 Hrs. Sharavik Shah and Amit Kumar Saha in their Pajero bagged the third position with a day penalty of 0:34:18 Hrs
In the Moto Quad category, CS Santosh showed his exemplary driving skills and passion and grabbed the first prize by clocking 1:29:59 Hrs . Jes David of Jaipur was no less than a winner, with a timing of 1:44:49 Hrs, he grabbed the second position. Mohit Verma continued to push himself to finish third with a total time of 2:04:58 Hrs.
Speaking about the 13th edition of Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm, Manohar Bhatt, Vice President, Marketing, Maruti Suzuki said, “The participants did really well and increased the bar for the next rally. It indeed was a test of man and machine, which only few brave hearts were able to finish and win.”
He further added, “It’s great to see the passion, for motorsport, which lies in their heart. Team Maruti Suzuki will always provide its motorists the best of the opportunities and vehicles to face such extreme sports. We hope to see all the daredevils to raise the bar higher. We will be back next year with another exciting and adrenaline pumping edition of the Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm rally. ”
RESULTS AFTER LEG 5:
XTreme Cars
1. Abhishek Mishra & PV Srinivas Murthy – 14:32:28 Hrs
2. Harpreet Bawa & Ashwin Naik – 15:05:09 Hrs
3. Niju Padia & Shekhar V – 16:26:18 Hrs
NDure Cars – End of Leg 5
1. Vishnu Singh & Adithya Anthony – 0:25:42 Hrs
2. Somdeb Chanda & Neerav Mehta – 0:33:28 Hrs
3. Shravik Shah & Amit Kr Saha – 0:34:18 Hrs
XPlore Cars – End of Leg 5
1. Kartil Maruti & Sankar Anand – 0:5:26 Hrs
2. Subham Midha & Abhinav Kalra – 0:4:46 Hrs
3. Anubhab De & Chandan Sen – 0:3:04 Hrs
Moto Quad
1. CS Santhosh – 1:29:59 Hrs
2. Jes David – 1:44:49 Hrs
3. Mohit Verma – 2:4:58 Hrs