After an intense battle of man & machine that lasted for three days, the team of Sk. Ajgar Ali & Mohammed Musthafa were crowned champion of the coveted JK Tyre Indian National Regulatory Run Championship (INRRC) 2021. Closely following on their heels was the duo of Sk. Aniruddha & Raj Kumar Mundra who emerged second, while the experienced driver-navigator team of Subir Roy & Nirav Mehta clinched the third position.
The team of Jit Mitra & Dinky Varghese triumphed in the Adventure Category. The duo of Abhijit Singh & Sk. Ibrahim Ali came second while the young team of Nisan Chowdhury & Chandrasish Roy finished third.
In the Ladies Cup, the team of Sheena Sabharwal & Trupti Gupta finished first followed by Jasmeet Kaur & Jyoti Iyengar in second position and the mother-daughter duo of Nilasha Das & Ipsita Das emerged third.
The team of Pranjal More & Milindo Paul won in the Local Category.
JK Tyre Himalayan Drive 8, which also was the Grand Finale of INRRC 2021 started from Siliguri on March 24 and culminated in Darjeeling in the evening of March 26. A total of 24 teams, including seven all-ladies’ team, took part in this event..
Several big names in this format of motorsports locked horns in the bid for the ultimate glory in INRRC 2021. The 24 teams had reached the national finals after going through grueling qualifying rounds at the six zonal levels in Northeast, East, North, West, Central and South India.
The competitors had to navigate through some tough terrains, including dirt tracks, river beds and hilly roads to reach the finish point of each leg. The river beds on the first and second legs of the rally proved to be especially challenging with many vehicles getting bogged down in the sand, gravel and rocks.
JK Tyre Himalayan Drive 8 was ceremonially flagged off from Siliguri’s City Centre on March 23 by North Bengal Inspector General of Police Devendra Prakash Singh and Siliguri Deputy Mayor Ranjan Sarkar in the presence of senior police and civil administration officials and corporate bigwigs. JK Tyre Head of Training Ajoy Shah was also present at the event.
On the first day of the rally run on March 24, the competitors started from City Centre and sped down a highway before entering a dirt track that took them past a tea garden and then on to a river bed. This river bed took a toll on the vehicles with six of them requiring assistance from the recovery team. The veteran team of Jogendra Jaiswal (the runners-up of Himalayan Drive 7) and Suvrajit Dutta had to retire from the first leg due to a clogged gearbox on this river bed.
Once successfully past the river bed, the competitors drove through more dirt sections and challenging terrains to reach Gajoldoba where the first part of leg 1 culminated at a resort called Bhorer Alo. The night section of the leg 1 started around 7 PM and the competitors then drove through a long river embankment to reach Malbazar and Chalsa before going into village roads to arrive at Murti where the day’s run culminated. At the end of day 1, the team of Sk. Aniruddha and Raj Kumar Mundra were leading, closely followed by last year’s champions Sk. Ajgar Ali and Mohammed Musthafa.
The second leg (March 25) was equally challenging. After being flagged off from Murti, the competitors – including the duo of Jaiswal and Dutta who got their vehicle back in action – drove down to Jaldhaka river bed. The river bed presented a tricky loop which had even the most experienced rallyists in a fix. Many competitors, including some top league ones, were seen making mistakes, thereby picking up penalty points. A few vehicles also required help from the recovery team.
Once out of the river bed, the competitors drove through verdant forests and picturesque hamlets nestled in the Himalayan foothills. The second day’s run also took them through many popular tourist spots like Lataguri, Damdim, Gorubathan and Chalsa, as well as several tea gardens en route to Murti where the leg culminated. The day’s only casualty was, once again, the team of Jaiswal & Dutta who were forced to retire for the second consecutive day, this time due to fuel line failure.
The final leg of the rally on Saturday (March 26) saw the competitors being flagged off from Murti in the morning to drive through the dense forests of Gorumara and Chapramari before entering the narrow roads through Matelli Tea Estate and driving past scenic spots like Samsing and Gorubathan.
During this leg, the competitors crossed the 81-year-old Coronation Bridge over the Teesta to start climbing the Himalayan mountains through narrow and winding roads with hairpin bends. They drove past Mungpoo, Jorebunglow and Ghoom to ultimately reach Darjeeling in the evening. The team of Jaiswal & Dutta deserves a special mention who despite of two consecutive retirements, showcased great sportsmanship to turn up at the starting line of leg 3 and successfully finished the final leg of the rally.
The prize distribution ceremony was held at Bhanu Bhavan in Darjeeling on March 27. An array of dignitaries including the General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Sukhna-headquartered 33 Corps, Lieutenant General Tarun Kumar Aich and his wife Saswati Aich, 123 Mountain Brigade Commander Vikas Batra and his wife Pallavi Batra, former Darjeeling MLA Amar Singh Rai and Darjeeling Municipality Chairman Ritesh Portel gave away the coveted trophies to the winners.
Power Drive 