The 10th edition of the Maruti Suzuki Dakshin Dare Rally, as expected, was replete with all kinds of dirt-throwing and power sliding action. We take a look at how team Maruti Suzuki Motorsport, with their arsenal of four rally-bred vehicles, tackled this week-long marathon of endurance and grit.
Deemed as one of the longest and most demanding rallies on the Indian rally circuit, the 10th edition of the Maruti Suzuki Dakshin Dare ran over a course of five days and covered a total distance north of 2,500kms. Traversing across the states of Karnataka and Maharashtra, before concluding in Goa, the Maruti Suzuki Dakshin Dare, with its new, extended distance format, offered a one-of-a-kind opportunity for competitors to test their skills and prove their mettle on perhaps the harshest terrain that the Western Ghats have to offer.
On 2nd September 2018, the day of the flag-off, journalists and motorsport fans from all across the country landed in Bengaluru to catch the first glimpse of this year’s Dakshin Dare competitors. As the evening sun settled, team Maruti Suzuki Motorsport took to the stage and brimming with confidence, the drivers stood by their respective vehicles and proudly demonstrated to an inquisitive crowd how they had prepared their stock vehicles in order to make them strong and rugged to withstand the harsh rally stages. As the ceremonial flag-off marked the official start of the event, it was the perfect precursor to what the event had in store for the spectators and competitors alike.
Proceedings began the next day, with the first leg of this five-leg event which took place near the town of Hosadurga in Karnataka. Team Maruti Suzuki Motorsport’s four-car portfolio consisted of defending champion Suresh Rana and co-driver Chirag Thakur in their trusty AWD Grand Vitara, Dharampal Jangra and co-driver Chandrashekhar Rana driving the T1 Class 4WD Vitara Brezza, Samrat Yadav and Karan Aukta piloting the Dakshin Dare debutant AWD S-Cross, and Sandeep Sharma along with co-driver Anmol Rampal competing in the FWD Vitara Brezza.
Throughout the competition, not only did Maruti Suzuki Motorsport prove themselves to be worthy competitors but they also maintained a strong fighting spirit amongst each other, gaining plenty of incentive to push even harder with each passing stage of the rally. However, despite some initial setbacks, the team went on to finish the entire event will all cars running and keeping in mind the kind of car-killing terrain the competition was based on, this itself was a pat-on-the-back moment for team Maruti Suzuki Motorsport.
As the rally culminated on 7th September 2018, Maruti Suzuki Motorsport had plenty of reasons to rejoice after the results had been declared. Their committed performance and razor-sharp focus won them laurels in numerous four-wheel categories. The team dominated the T1 4W Class (above 1,851cc) as all three positions in this class were bagged by them with Samrat Yadav, along with co-driver Karan Aukta, taking the top spot with a total time of 07:21:10. The second position was claimed by rally veteran Suresh Rana and co-driver Chirag Thakur who finished behind the leaders with a time gap of approximately 6 minutes. The final spot on the podium for this category went to Dharampal Jangra and Chandrashekhar Rana. Drivers Sandeep Sharma and Anmol Rampal secured the top spot in the T2 2W (above 1,851cc) category.
In the Ultimate Cars category, Samrat Yadav’s stellar performance in the Dakshin Dare debutant S-Cross gave team Maruti Suzuki Motorsport an overall third place finish. While the competition was a sure-fire test of both the drivers and their machines, it is ultimately all about preparing harder and better for the next season as in motorsports, the work never stops!
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