Delhi’s Aabhishek Mishra emerged as the overall winner of the 2015 Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm rally. The five-day long event traversed approximately 2300 km, and only 69 out of 130 starters made it to the finish line.
Mishra had comfortably lead since Suresh Rana went out of contention due to an engine failure on day three.
Mishra and his navigator PVS Murthy were piloting a Grand Vitara in the XTreme category, finished the event in 14:32:28 hrs. Harpreet Bawa from Chandigarh and his navigator Ashwin Naik in their Vitara, grabbed second by clocking 15:05:hrs, followed by the team of Niju Padia of Bhavnagar and Shekhar V in their Pajero at 16:26:18 hrs in third.
In the NDure category, competitors traveled the same distance as XTreme teams but in the Time Speed Distance format in the Leg 5 of the event. Jaipur greeted its own boy Vishnu Singh and his navigator Adithya Anthony driving a Vitara, as the winners with a day end penalty of 25:42 minutes. Somdeb Chanda and Neerav Mehta from Kolkata were second in their Gypsy with a day-end penalty of 33:28 minutes while Sharavik Shah and Amit Kumar Saha in their Pajero bagged third position with a penalty of 34:18 minutes.
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.
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
- Abhishek Mishra & PV Srinivas Murthy – 14:32:28 Hrs
- Harpreet Bawa & Ashwin Naik – 15:05:09 Hrs
- Niju Padia & Shekhar V – 16:26:18 Hrs
NDure Cars – End of Leg 5
- Vishnu Singh & Adithya Anthony – 0:25:42 Hrs
- Somdeb Chanda & Neerav Mehta – 0:33:28 Hrs
- Shravik Shah & Amit Kr Saha - 0:34:18 Hrs
XPlore Cars- End of Leg 5
- Kartik Maruti & Sankar Anand – 0:5:26 Hrs
- Subham Midha & Abhinav Kalra – 0:4:46 Hrs
- Anubhab De & Chandan Sen – 0:3:04 Hrs
Moto Quad-
- CS Santhosh – 8:24:59
- Jes David – 10:02:47
- Mohit Verma – 10:22:00