SwingingRoute-at-car-rally
The 3rd Indo Bhutan Friendship Car Rally which culminated successfully at Thimpu, Bhutan. was sponsored by JK Tyre. The rally was organized by Friendship Car Rally Association and is being supported by Indian Embassy of Thimpu & Royal Bhutan Consulate in Bhutan. The theme of this year’s rally was ‘Connecting People’. The competition witnessed a lot of excitement, thrill and enthusiasm among the participants and organizers.
Indian teams kept the flag flying high by bagging the top three prizes in the open category. Arindam Ghosh & Somdeb Chanda from Kolkata bagged the first position with a cash prize Rs. 75,000 by scoring the total points of 1,043. With 1,091 penalty points in the three legs, car number four, driven by Soham Hazra and Amit Saha won the second prize with the cash prize of Rs. 50,000. The third prize went to Vikas Toshiniwal and Nirav Mehta who scored 1347 points. Dipali Poddar and Shikha Saha got the title of the Best Woman Team from India.
Car rally experience of last two years’ paid off for the Bhutanese team as Thinley Wanghuck and Ankit Agarwal bagged the first prize of Nu 25,000 and an India Bhutan Friendship (IBFA) trophy among the seven teams from Bhutan by scoring total 4379 points. Amber Gurung’s driving over tracks filled with boulders, through sandy riverbeds and narrow mountain roads, with N.B. Gurung’s almost perfect navigating, got them the second prize of Nu 15,000 and a trophy among the Bhutanese teams. The team scored the total points of 9060. The third prize, a trophy went to first timers Kinzang Wangchuk and his wife Wangmo, who scored the total points of 17069. Kesang Dorjee and Choki Tsomo won the prize for the Best All Woman’s Team from Bhutan.
Lyonpo Ugyen Tshering, the Hon’ble Foreign Minister, Royal Government of Bhutan, His Excellency Pavan K. Varma, Indian ambassador to Bhutan and P.C. Bhanjdeo, Hon'ble Minister, Sports and Youth Affairs Department, Govt. of Orissa along with various other ministers and secretaries of Royal Govt. of Bhutan awarded the prizes at the clock tower square, Thimpu. This was followed by a concert by Five Dimension, a Kolkata based band which was enjoyed by more than 15,000 people, thus defining the spirit of Connecting People, the main motto of this unique event.
Lyonpo Ugen Tsering said, “The cooperative efforts of both India and Bhutan to promote motorsport through Indo Bhutan Friendship Car Rally have been quite commendable. The rally which has been organized for past two years has definitely inscribed a new chapter in the long history of friendship between the two great countries. For this year too, we are confident that it will not only strengthen the alliance of both the governments but will further boost the growth of communication, commerce, economic ties and tourism between the countries”. “The successful completion of this Rally will definitely build friendship and bondage between these two great countries”, he further added.
His Excellency Pavan K. Varma said, “Indian Ambassador to Bhutan spoke of the great friendship shared between 2 great countries and commended the organizers for the unique endeavour which not only tested that best motorsports talent but also helped to connect the people of India and Bhutan. He further talked about the time tested perpetual friendship which the 2 countries share and expressed hope that more such initiatives will go in a long way to further strengthen the deep bond between the people of the 2 countries.”
The theme of the this year’s rally was ‘Connecting People’ and was organized as the continuity of a process which started to build friendship and bondage amongst these two great countries who are strategic neighbours through a great motor sport event.
Sanjay Sharma, head – Motorsports, JK Tyre & Industries Ltd., said: “We are proud to be associated with Friendship Car Rally association for the event. The ‘3rd Indo - Bhutan Friendship Car Rally’ has created a new era in this popular sport in the region which is growing by leaps and bounds worldwide. JK Tyre took upon itself to promote motorsport in India and invested huge resources in nurturing talent and developing infrastructure. I believe this is the right time to strengthen the motorsport in the region. This historic rally will further accelerate its craze among the motorsport lovers of India and Bhutan. This is a right step to develop motorsports in the region & fortify the alliance between the two strategically located countries.”
“The enthusiasm and commitment shown by not only the participants but also common people throughout the Rally has made this event quite enjoyable and memorable for all of us”, he further added
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