Bangalore: India’s biggest TSD rally, The Monsoon Challenge 2013, held under the Mahindra Adventure banner which kicked off from the city on Thursday July 25th . The convoy of Mahindra cars and SUVs will make its way through Mangalore, Shimoga, Karwar before ending its journey in Goa on sunday July 28th.
It is one of the biggest motorsport event in India , with a total prize money of Rs.13 lakh on offer.
The third edition of the challenge will see the drivers traverse over 1000 kms in three days.
The contestants will cross some historic locations as well. The Mahindra rally ensures that its contestants feel the rush of adrenaline, the thrill of adventure while taking in the scenic beauty of the country.
The competition, exclusively for Mahindra cars/SUVs will see drivers from all over the country.
The journey also aims to celebrate the monsoon vistas of incredible India as it passes through some of India’s most exotic locales.
Leg 1 of Mahindra Monsoon Challenge: Sivashankar, Natarajan top
Mangalore: A Sivashankar and navigator G Natarajan, with a penalty of 32 seconds, were placed Overall first at the end of Leg 1 in the third Mahindra Monsoon Challenge Rally, here on Friday.
The Sivashankar-Natarajan combo was a mere four seconds ahead of Umakanth Alva and Mohamed Musthafa while Abhijeet Pai and Chandramouli M were lying third with a penalty of 39 seconds in the SUV Open category.
In fact, just 20 seconds separated the top seven in the Open class while Subir Roy and Nirav Mehta led the SUV OE category with one minute 19 seconds with Pratap and Adhitya Anthony (01:30) in second and Saurav Chatterjee and Ashoke Kumar Basu third (01:48).
Last year’s overall winners, Karthick Maruthi and Sankar Anand were placed sixth with 51-second penalty while National TSD Rally champions Satish Gopalkrishnan and Savera D’Souza were placed seventh with 52 seconds.
Wilson Padayattil and Kuriakose Elias Parel were ahead in the Car OE class with a penalty of one minute, 45 seconds, followed by Philip Baklin and David Sharon (01:46) and K Dinky Varghese and Balachandar R (02:20).
The 36 competitors reached Mangalore in the evening after an early flag-off from Bangalore on Friday after traversing through rain-soaked but scenic countryside with some of the secondary roads of broken tarmac putting the driving skills to acid test.
After a night halt in Mangalore, the vehicles will proceed to Shimoga on Saturday for the second leg of the 1,200 Kms journey that concludes in Goa on Sunday.
Provisional classification (Leg 1):
SUV Open: A Sivashankar / G Natarajan 1 (32secs penalty); Umakanth Alva / Mohamed Musthafa 2 (36secs); Abhijeet N Pai / Chandramouli M 3 (39secs).
SUV OE: Subir Roy / Nirav Mehta 1 (1min, 19secs); Pratap / Adhitya Anthony 2 (01:30); Saurav Chatterjee / Ashoke Kumar Basu 3 (01:48).
Car OE: Wilson Padayattil / Kuriakose Elias Parel 1 (01:45); Philip Baklin / David Sharon 2 (01:46); K Dinky Varghese / Balachandar R 3 (02:20).
Corporate: Rajpal Navalkar / Sagar M 1 (03:09); Sudhindra Hebbar / Arjun SSB 2 (03:54); Sudarshan / Gunasekaran 3 (10:01).
Amateur: Alfred Raymond A / Ram Kumar N 1 (03:54); Harsha K Hiriyal / Prashanth BS 2 (55:22); RS Naresh Kumar / Shanmugasundaram T 3 (1hr, 1min, 59secs).
Couple: Garima Avtar / Dhiraj Arora 1 (1:08). All Ladies: Cheshta Sood / Pratima 1 (23:14).
