Veteran rallyist Jogendra Jaiswal & co-driver Prakash Muthusamy has emerged victorious in the recently held Monsoon Drive 9 with a total of 552 penalty points. The team of Subir Roy & Nirav Mehta finished second with 964 penalty points followed by Ajgar Ali & Md. Mushtafa in third place with 1306 penalty points. Brother duo of Sudip Ghosh & Arindam Ghosh ended fourth with 1420 penalty points.
Organised by Kolkata-based sports management company Just Sportz, Monsoon Drive 9 was touted to be a four way battle from the very beginning. But it was the team of Jaiswal & Muthusamy who came out on the top after a tough contest spread over two legs. It was their consistency that paid off with the duo scoring the least penalty points in both the legs. The icing on the cake is that both Jaiswal & Muthusamy paired up for the first time in this rally and hit the bull’s eye at the very first outing.
The first leg of Monsoon Drive 9 was flagged off from the picturesque venue of Country Road in Panchla. It comprised of approximately 136 kilometre route which witnessed the competitors traverse through highways and navigate through rural settings en route reaching Haldia’s Helipad Ground where it culminated. The second leg was a night event which comprised of a mere 36 kilometre run within the industrial town of Haldia but gave all the competitors a run for their money. There were twists and tricks awaiting the competitors at each turn of an extremely interesting second leg that kept everyone at the edge of their seats. The light conditions along with the descending fog made this leg even more challenging for the participants. Kudos to the organisers for coming up with this immensely interesting course within a sanitized environment.
Until last year, Just Sportz had successfully organised eight editions of Monsoon Drive. With the global pandemic creating havoc across the world, all the motor sporting events were either cancelled or postponed causing heartache to competitors and organisers alike. But finally with Monsoon Drive 9, Just Sportz have been successful in marking the return of motor sporting action in eastern India.
Power Drive 