29 January,2010 08:35 AM IST | | Shashank Shekhar
The eighth edition of Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm Rally flags off on Feburary 14 from Noida
WAGs of rally enthusiasts will have a very sad Valentine's Day this year.
Reason being the passion for speed is all set to take over the thrill of love, as India's biggest desert auto rally is scheduled for February 14.
Hit the dirt: The seventh edition of Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm rally was a huge hit
With screeching tyres, billowing dust and the thrill of speed, over 250 participants in 120 cars the Maruti Suzuki Desert Storm Rally is bigger than ever this year. And the National Capital Region features on the rally map.
The 8th edition of the India's longest car rally will test the endurance and stamina of the participants as they will be crossing five states covering 3500 kilometre. The rally will be flagged off from Noida on February 14.u00a0u00a0
The race will traverse Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Barmer and Bhuj over six days before concluding in Udaipur.
The most difficult part of the rally would be crossing sand dunes near Jaisalmer and Bikaner and the Rann of Kutch will test the real navigation skills of the participants. Contestants will be crossing the Rann of Kutch and will touch the Arabian coast, said Raj Kapoor, Vice President, Northern Motorsport, a Delhi-based company that organises auto rallies.
Encouraging statistics from the organisers is that they have got entries from across India but still 75 per cent of the entries are from Northern India.
The rally start from Noida and on the first day stops near forest in Jaipur rally cruise at Bikaner before proceeding towards the sand dunes of Jaisalmer. As the desert sand of the mighty Thar greets the rallyists against the backdrop of the medieval fort, the four-wheel drive came into play.u00a0
After the desert, the next halt is Adesar, which connects the Small Rann to the Great Rann of Kutch in Gujarat.u00a0 Here, the participants will rev-up their vehicles and sprint across the wet and dry sand along the Gujarat coastline. The rallyists will spend two nights at Adesar in tent camps, which is very close to the Indo-Pakistan border.
The rally for cars and bikes was divided into three categories --u00a0 Xtreme, Xplore and Ndure.u00a0 Under Xtreme is for speed rally competitors, runs under the selective stages format.u00a0 Xplore is for the TSD (time, speed & distance) enthusiasts and runs under the reliability trail format (runs a different route from Xtreme).u00a0 Ndure is on the TSD format but runs on a more difficult route.u00a0 Adding more thrill to the rally is the tough night stage rallying.
