Day three of the Maruti Suzuki Dakshin Dare saw the participants traverse through the Tungabhadra canal stage, covering a total distance of around 100km. The rallyists were greeted with winding roads with strong winds and narrow trails adding to the challenge.
In the Extreme car category, Sandeep Sharma along with Karan Arya from Team Maruti maintained their lead by completing the distance in 3:03:40s. Samrat Yadav along with his navigator Gaurav and Suresh Rana with Parminder were in close contention throughout the day. At the end, Samrat Yadav and Gaurav reached the finish line in 3:08:48 to take the second spot, closely followed by Suresh Rana and Parminder who completed the same in 3:11:00 to finish third.
In the Extreme bike category, Arvind K P crossed the finish line in 2:52:41 maintaining his lead. Natraj and Abdul Wahid came second and third respectively by completing the distance in 2:56:54 and 3:06:07 respectively.
2015 Maruti Autocross winner, Den Thimmaiah is competing in first Dakshin Dare. Talking about his experience so far, he said “The biggest challenge in such a rally is the strength of the car because sustaining a vehicle for 2000 km for a week is always tough. I have been having great fun driving my Maruti Swift which is a solid magic car and I am thoroughly enjoying myself. The route is a bit familiar for me as I am originally from Coorg, though the terrain especially when it rains along with the turns makes it quite laborious.”
In the Endurance category, Asgar Ali with Mustafa from Team Maruti and Ganesh Moorthy along with Nagarajan moved up to the second and third positions respectively. At the end of the day, Dilip Jain along with Chandra Shekhar beat the other two as he moved into the lead. Subhir Roy and Nirav Mehta from Team Maruti dropped from first to ninth place due to the increase in penalties.
Minaxi Purohith along with her navigator Sagar M zoomed past the other drivers to reach the 10th position in the Endurance category. The trick time control that was introduced in the category proved to be strenuous especially for the amateur drivers.
Tomorrow, the rallyists will be traveling through the Jindal plant in the area of Siruguppa covering a rallying distance of around a 100 km.
2015 Maruti Suzuki Dakshin Dare
Day 3 Results:
Ultimate Cars:
1. Sandeep Sharma/Karan Arya (Team Maruti) – 3:03:40
2. Samrat Yadav/Gaurav – 3:08:48
3. Suresh Rana/Parminder – 3:11:00
Ultimate Bikes:
1. Arvind K P – 2:52:41
2. Natraj – 2:56:54
3. Abdul Wahid – 3:06:07
Endurance Cars (TSD):
1. Dilip Jain/Chandra Shekhar Penalty: 2 minutes 40 seconds
2. Asgar Ali/Mustafa Penalty: 2 minutes 48 seconds
3. Ganesh Moorthy/Nagarajan Penalty: 2 minutes 52 seconds