Gadag (Karnataka) Overnight leaders Sandeep Sharma (co-driver Karan Arya) of Team Maruti and TVS’ Arvind K.P. remained on top in the four-wheelers (Ultimate Car) and the two-wheelers (Ultimate Bike) categories respectively after the second day of the seventh Maruti Suzuki Dakshin Dare Rally here on Tuesday.
Defending champion Sandeep, driving a Gypsy, completed the day’s competition in one hour, two minutes and 43 seconds, taking his overall time to two hours, 35 minutes and six seconds in the off-road motorsport event.
On Tuesday, the stages were held in the rocky terrains of Kapat Hill, located in the Gadag district.
“I have tried my best to keep my lead in the rally and I feel that if I continue to do so, the trophy could be mine. This year’s route is quite tricky especially with the uneven terrain and hairpin turns. All these factors make it difficult to manoeuvre the car but that is where the thrill of a motorsport event comes from,” Sandeep said after the race.
“The competition is also fairly tough as a lot of the drivers are experienced and confident with their vehicles so I’m making an effort to maintain my place in the rally,” the Delhi-based driver added.
Samrat Yadav (co-driver Gaurav) of PVT team came second as the Gypsy driver has the overall time of two hours, 39 minutes and 23 seconds.
Overnight third placed finisher PVT’s Harpreet Singh Bawa was replaced by nine-time Raid de Himalaya champion Suresh Rana (co-driver Parminder Thakur) of Team Maruti. Manali-based Rana, who is yet to bag a title in this Rally, jumped one place ahead with an overall timing of two hours, 42 minutes and 10 seconds.
In the two-wheelers competition, Arvind, riding on a TVS 450cc, took his overall time tally to two hours, 23 minutes and 51 seconds. He got a huge lead over second placed R. Nataraj, who has an overall time of two hours, 31 minutes and 15 seconds on a TVS 450cc bike.
PVT’s Abdul Wahid, with a overall time of two hours, 37 minutes and 24 seconds, finished third.
In the Endurance Car category, run on Time-Speed-Distance (TSD) format, overnight third placed Subhir Roy (co-driver Nirav Mehta) got a total penalty of one minute and 48 seconds to jump to the top.
Monday’s leader Dilip Jain (co-driver Chandra Shekhar) dropped to second place after incurring a total penalty of one minute and 53 seconds.
Ganesh Moorthy (co-driver Nagarajan) of Team Maruti was third with an overall penalty of one minute and 57 seconds, while Asgar Ali (co-driver Mustafa) dropped a place to be fourth with a total penalty of two minutes.
On Wednesday, the participants will pass through the Tungabhadra canal.
The rally was flagged off in Bengaluru on Sunday and will end in Hyderabad on August 7.
