2015 Maruti Suzuki Dakshin Dare Ends On A High Note [Report]

Maruti’s Dakshin Dare showed the focus of rally drivers with a never say no attitude

Maruti Suzuki organises a lot of different rallies in India across the span of the year. Right from Desert Storm to Dakshin Dare to Raid De Himalaya, each one of them has their own spirit and adrenaline. These rallies prove to be a boon for motorsport enthusiasts across the country because there are very few companies who take such initiatives. So MotorBeam attended the 7th edition of the Maruti Suzuki Dakshin Dare as a spectator and it turned out to be an amazing experience.

The rally was flagged off from Orion Mall in Bangalore on 2nd August 2015. The flag-off ceremony witnessed a very huge crowd as people got attracted towards all these snickered cars like the Maruti Gypsy, Swift, Baleno and a lot more. This year, the rally witnessed a participation of 105 teams comprising of 170 participants. The rally covered a total distance of approximately 2000 kms in 6 days and around 40% of the entries were from new participants.

There were three categories in this year’s rally – Endurance, Ultimate Cars and Ultimate Bikes. The Endurance category had 38 teams while the Ultimate Cars category had 24 teams. The Ultimate Bikes category saw 43 participants. Before the beginning of the rally, there was a strict scrutiny session which included a lot of safety checks on all the vehicles.

Day 1 – The first day of the 2015 Dakshin Dare began quite early in the morning and we were taken to a very scenic location called Chitradurga. The roads were broken and patchy and the rally route comprised of a lot of bumps, curves and straights. The background consisted of a number of windmills. There were two legs on the first day – Windfarm and Alpha. The rallyists were in full form and it was great to see their incredible energy levels.

Day 1 Results –

Ultimate Cars:

Sandeep Sharma and Karan Arya (Team Maruti)- 1:33:49

Samrat Yadav and Gaurav – 1:36:55

Harpreet Bawa and Parminder Thakur- 1:39:14

Ultimate Bikes:

Arvind K P- 1:28:44

Natraj- 1:30:04

Vishawas S D- 1:44:11

Day 2 – The second day too started off very early in the morning and the teams covered a total distance of around 400 kms on this day. The rally took place at the Kapat Hill which is located in the Gadag district of Karnataka. The rally proceeded towards Hubli and there were a total of two legs that took place at different locations. The terrain again comprised of hilly regions and some really tight turns.

Day 2 Results –

Ultimate Cars:

Sandeep Sharma and Karan Arya (Team Maruti) – 2:35:06

Samrat Yadav and Gaurav – 2:39:23

Suresh Rana and Parminder – 2:42:10

Ultimate Bikes:

Arvind K P – 2:23:51

Natraj – 2:31:15

Abdul Wahid – 2:37:24

Day 3 – The third day of the rally took place near the Tungabhadra canal and there was just a single leg that day. The participants covered a distance of around 100 kms. The rally track was narrow and right between the river and some open farms. It looked a bit tricky but experienced drivers seemed quite confident to tackle all of that. Things got more trickier for bikers because the winds were a bit too strong that day.

Day 3 Results –

Ultimate Cars:

Sandeep Sharma and Karan Arya (Team Maruti) – 3:03:40

Samrat Yadav and Gaurav – 3:08:48

Suresh Rana and Parminder – 3:11:00

Ultimate Bikes:

Arvind K P – 2:52:41

Natraj – 2:56:54

Abdul Wahid – 3:06:07

Day 4 – The first leg of the fourth day of the Dakshin Dare began at the Jindal Iron TV region as early as 3.30 AM in the morning! Visibility was obviously very less at this time and still all these Gypsys, Swifts and Balenos were gunning their way across the exciting track which had some nice curves and a few jumps too. The second leg took place at the Siruguppa windmills area in Bellary and a total distance of 200 kms was covered.

Day 4 Results –

Ultimate Cars:

Sandeep Sharma and Karan Arya (Team Maruti) – 4:11:53

Samrat Yadav and Gaurav – 4:19:34

Suresh Rana and Parminder – 4:21:57

Ultimate Bikes:

Arvind K P – 3:36:56

Natraj – 3:41:50

Abdul Wahid – 3:54:28

Day 5 – The last day of the rally again took place at Siruguppa near Bellary and a distance of 450 kms was covered. As usual, the track had lots of jumps, twisties and some narrow straights too. Once the last leg ended, we all proceeded towards Hyderabad which is the City of Pearls.

Day 5 Results –

Ultimate Cars:

Sandeep Sharma and Karan Arya (Team Maruti) – 4:31:31

Samrat Yadav and Gaurav – 4:39:59

Suresh Rana and Parminder Thakur – 4:41:25

Ultimate Bikes:

Arvind K P – 3:54:51

Natraj – 4:00:10

Abdul Wahid – 4:14:15

The drivers have a sole aim of winning, nothing else matters to them

These rally cars see a lot of damages and abuse everyday and it was just amazing to see how participants used to stay awake the entire night to service and nurture their cars. For them, finishing the rally with a good score had more priority than a few hours of sleep. Last year’s winners Sandeep Sharma and Karan Arya took the lead this time as well. All in all, the rally was a wonderfully organised event and kudos to Maruti and other companies that promote motorsport in the country.

Sure, nothing is perfect and here too there were quite a few mishaps and accidents. The participants never got disheartened and never did they lose their spirits. All of them were quite a sport and carried on with their performances. On a personal note, I got so excited by spectating the Dakshin Dare rally that I might just consider taking part in one of these rallies in the future.