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Raid De Himalaya no comparison to Himalayan Rally
Shimla, Oct 07: There is also the 33-year old French Rudolph Dugast Rouille who has chosen the raid to make his rally debut. Rudolph will be competing in the bikers` section with his Terminator-like Yamaha TTR 600 CC.
Shimla, Oct 07: There is also the 33-year old French Rudolph Dugast Rouille who has chosen the raid to make his rally debut. Rudolph will be competing in the bikers' section with his Terminator-like Yamaha TTR 600 CC.
"My aim is to just participate and have fun. This is my first ever rally, so it will be a big thing for me if I just come back safely," said Rudolph who has been working in Mumbai for an MNC for the past one and half years.
Gaurav Chiripal and co-driver Faraz Khalid represent Finalquadrant racing, the first ever rally team sponsored by a software company. The 25-year old Gaurav won the 800cc category in the 1999 Autocross while the 20-year old Faraz has had a good run this year, winning the Group N of the Desert Storm, and the 800CC events in the National Autocross in Delhi and the Maruti Race of Champions.
This year's raid also sees the introduction of a new segment, the reliability event in the cars section. The segment, which runs on a route different from the extreme rallyists, is aimed at encouraging amateurs to take to motorsport. The cars in this segment are stocks with little modifications.
But the enthusiasm of the drivers could not match the euphoria that surrounded the Himalayan rally, the previous avatar of the raid. There are only four foreign participants among the bikers while there is none in the cars.
Manjeev Bhatia, vice-president of the Himalayan Motorsport Association, blamed the "lack of control and direction" from those governing the sport besides citing logistical drawbacks for the poor international response.
"There is no provision for insurance cover for emergency evacuation in India. The helicopter pilots are also ready to fly only to the helipads, not to the actual accident spots," Bhatia said.
Bureau Report
"My aim is to just participate and have fun. This is my first ever rally, so it will be a big thing for me if I just come back safely," said Rudolph who has been working in Mumbai for an MNC for the past one and half years.
Gaurav Chiripal and co-driver Faraz Khalid represent Finalquadrant racing, the first ever rally team sponsored by a software company. The 25-year old Gaurav won the 800cc category in the 1999 Autocross while the 20-year old Faraz has had a good run this year, winning the Group N of the Desert Storm, and the 800CC events in the National Autocross in Delhi and the Maruti Race of Champions.
This year's raid also sees the introduction of a new segment, the reliability event in the cars section. The segment, which runs on a route different from the extreme rallyists, is aimed at encouraging amateurs to take to motorsport. The cars in this segment are stocks with little modifications.
But the enthusiasm of the drivers could not match the euphoria that surrounded the Himalayan rally, the previous avatar of the raid. There are only four foreign participants among the bikers while there is none in the cars.
Manjeev Bhatia, vice-president of the Himalayan Motorsport Association, blamed the "lack of control and direction" from those governing the sport besides citing logistical drawbacks for the poor international response.
"There is no provision for insurance cover for emergency evacuation in India. The helicopter pilots are also ready to fly only to the helipads, not to the actual accident spots," Bhatia said.
Bureau Report