The 2017 Maruti Suzuki Raid de Himalaya (19th Edition) in association with ExxonMobil saw the ceremonial flag off from Manali on 2017-10-07. The 19th Edition of Raid de Himalaya will see participants travel through places like Keylong, Kaza, Sarchu, Leh, Kargil and Pensi La, while covering a distance of 1850 kms at an altitude of 17,500 feet with temperatures as low as -15°C.
It’s that time of the year when the 19th edition of the most treacherous rally raid – Maruti Suzuki Raid de Himalaya in association with ExxonMobil – kick starts in India. This time around, the 2017 Raid de Himalaya in association with ExxonMobil has been flagged off from the picturesque town of Manali, nestled in the lap of Himalayas. The ‘Maruti Suzuki Raid de Himalaya’ is one of the toughest off-road rallies in the world. More than 170 Motorsport enthusiasts are participating in this rally in 110 teams, which will culminate at Leh on October 14. The Raid-de-Himalaya is one of the only two off-road Motorsport rallies from India that is listed in the annual Motorsport calendar of Switzerland-based FIA (Federation Internationale Automobile) and FIM (Federation Internationale Motorcyclisme).
The 2017 Maruti Suzuki Raid De Himalaya is run in compliance with the National Competition Rules (NCR) & General Prescriptions of the FMSCI and the International Sporting Code of the FIA. In one of the toughest and most adventurous routes ever, participants of the 2017 Raid de Himalaya rally will travel through Himalayan places like Manali, Keylong, Kaza, Sarchu, Leh, Kargil and Pensi La, at an altitude of 17,500 feet with temperatures as low as -15°C, while covering a distance of approx. 1850 kms over a span of 7 days. The rally raid will be an ultimate test between the driver and his machine. The first leg will follow the route to Kaza on day Day 1, while on day 2 participants will head to Pang for a night’s halt at an altitude of around 15,600 feet. Day 3 will see competitors move towards Leh from Pang via Daat. That said, participants will head to Kargil from Leh, following which, they will proceed to Pensi La, before returning to Leh on the final day of rally on October 13. Winners will be crowned in Leh on arrival on 13th October, while prize distribution will be held on 14th October, 2017.
ExxonMobil is the official lubricant partner for the 2017 Maruti Suzuki Raid de Himalaya. Furthermore, ExxonMobil has been an associated with Maruti Suzuki Motorsport for off-road rallies like Desert Storm, Dakshin Dare and the Raid de Himalaya for the past four years now. Mobil endeavours to take Motorsports in India to a different level and support the spirit of Motorsports in the country. ExxonMobil’s collaboration with Maruti Suzuki is based on the former’s ability to provide high performance lubricants and technological leadership.
Team Maruti Suzuki Motorsports is competing with a team of rally titans like Suresh Rana, Samrat Yadav and Sandeep Sharma, who are all set to take on the Raid. Team Maruti Suzuki Motorsport is participating with cars like Maruti Gypsy, Vitara Brezza, Maruti Grand Vitara, S-Cross and the Maruti Ignis in the most extreme weather conditions and treacherous roads of Himalayas. Last year, Suresh Rana and Ashwin Naik were declared winners of the Xtreme 4×4 category in their Maruti Grand Vitara. On the other hand, Lhakpa Tsering and V Venu Rameshkumar bagged the second place, while Sandeep Sharma and Karan Arya came third. In the Xtreme Moto-Quad class, Abdul Wahid Tanveer of TVS Racing won the title while R Nataraj came second. That said, Jagmeet Gill and Chandan Sen won the title in the Adventure Trial category, while Ajgar Ali and Mohammed Mustafa came in the second position.
The 2017 Raid de Himalaya is divided into three categories – X-treme Cars, X-treme Bikes and Adventure. The rally will see participation from 6 women teams as well as 8 Army teams. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Sanjeev Handa, Vice President, Marketing, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. said, “Keeping up with our commitment of providing adrenaline rush and thrusting challenges, we are pleased to flag-off yet another exciting journey amidst huge fanfare. Rated among the top ten most difficult rallies in the world, the premiere Motorsport spectacle of the country has grown slowly but strongly into the rallying phenomenon it is today. From a small rally that began in 1999 with just 19 teams, it has been a long journey since then and has seen over 110 teams and over 170 participants go head to head for the most coveted title in Indian rallying history.”
Indian Roadie Mrinmoy Saha from Kolkata is participating in the Extreme category.
