Ali, Epton top in Dakshin Dare Rally

Published>Sun, Jun 13 10 12:06 AM

Ernakulam, June 12 (IANS) The Australian team of Niaz Ali and co-driver Kim Epton emerged winners of the second edition of the Maruti Suzuki Dakshin Dare Rally here Saturday, clocking four hours, 51:00 minutes.

The winner of Maruti Suzuki Raid-de-Himalaya and Desert Storm, Suresh (co-driver Ashwin Naik) in a Maruti Suzuki Gypsy secured the second spot. The Manali-based team gave a scare to the Australian team who were in a Grand Vitara, when they won the third leg, but fell back on fourth and fifth days to end up with 4:66:04.

Shafiq Ur Rehman of Chikmangalur, who drove a Maruti Suzuki Gypsy with co-driver George, won the third spot on podium with a final timing of 5:10:39.

In the motor bikes segment, M.S. Ravindra from Bangalore, riding a RTR 160, completed a start-to-finish win with an overall timing of 4:58:06, while Nataraj from Kanakapura, also on a RTR 160, came very close second with 4:59:53 followed by Uday Kumar (Shaolin) with 5:15:58.

Though cars from many national and international manufacturers participated, the top three podium finishes of the Ultimate category in the four-wheeler segment were all Maruti Suzuki models.

Shashank Srivastava, chief general manager (Marketing) Maruti Suzuki, said: 'This is an occasion for us to thank all the participants and congratulate them for delivering on our promise of testing the nerve and grit of all participants and their machines.

'Besides, they also provided excitement to motorsports lover and helped in promoting controlled and safe driving habits. It was very encouraging to see the response from South India in support of Maruti Suzuki Dakshin Dare and we are thankful to the motorsports lovers here.'

The Maruti Suzuki Dakshin Dare traversed through a multitude of dense forests, including Mysore, coffee and tea estates in Coorg and Munnar, multiple hairpin bends in Ooty, the Kundha stretch, through the windmills of Coimbatore and finally culminated here, covering a total of 1800 kms over five days.

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