The highest, the toughest, the biggest Himalayan rally - that’s the claim to fame of Raid De Himalaya, the monumental rally that traverses Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. The 9th edition this year created much buzz even before it flagged off on October 2nd. For one, it had a record number of 145 entries came in, of which 120 finally hit the roads after a round of stringent screening. Other than the traditional Maruti Suzuki and SBI, Airtel had stepped in as a sponsor for the first time, testing waters in motorsport. More importantly, the Raid’s route this year would take them from Shimla all the way to Srinagar via Manali, Kaza, Patseo, Leh, Khardungla and Kargil, all in a mere seven days. The organisers Himalayan Motorsport had even spiced up the event by taking off the two rest days that had been factored in, in the previous versions. Oh! And there were predictions of an early onset of winter that thrilled the participants. Driving on snow and combating altitude and terrible roads, the Raid this year was a magnet for the adventurers. The word was out - the 9th Raid De Himalaya would be tougher and more exciting than ever.
Unforseen Hand
The only thing that most people had not counted on was the raw deal dished out by Mother Nature. The Raid screeched to a halt in the army camp at Patseo after just three days because the road was covered by an unprecedented 5ft of snow. While there were some hardy participants who wanted to wait it out and try and make their way past the 16000ft Baralachala and onto Ladakh, the organisers decided to call off the event. “We know there were a lot of you who said that the decision to call off the Raid was taken in just one hour. Well, let me tell you that we were talking and monitoring the conditions since 2.30 in the morning and finally at 11, we decided that we should head back to Manali. Many of you might not be happy with the decision, but believe me, you would be a lot more depressed if we had continued at the cost of your lives and vehicles,” was how Vijay Parmar of Himalayan Motorsport explained the early finish. This was not the first time that the Raid was hit by snow. A couple of years earlier, the teams were stranded between Ladakh and Manali, but that was on the way back, on Oct 11 that year. But this was the first time Raid came to a halt after just three days.In the end the three days of thrilling rides only went further to tantalise imaginations with various versions of how the rest of the rally would have gone if they had continues floating around. No doubt, it would have made for more juicy bits had the rally completed its course. But even as a three day affair, it was no less memorable.Those Who Dared
An event such as the Raid is only as hardy as its participants. This year, the grueling Xtreme category for professional rallyists saw 38 teams, most in modified and toughened up Gypsies. There were 59 teams in the Adventure Trail category for amateurs sporting everything from Maruti 800s to Innovas. There were 48 on two wheelers, probably the toughest category in the rally, as Vijay Parmar pointed out when the prizes were given out, what with them “taking on the full force of wind, dust or snow”.There was the 3-time defending champion Suresh Rana of Himachal Pradesh and biking regular Ashish Moudgil. There were also quite a few repeat Raid faces. There were participants who had come from all over the country - Nagaland, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Bangalore. There were six international teams and two all-women team in the Xtreme 4-wheel category. For once, there was even a woman biker all the way from Austria. There were six teams from the Indian Army and one from the Indian Air Force. Wonder if the Navy will put in a showing next year. The Route
Those who have traveled on the Manali-Leh or Manali-Kaza roads are the ones who enthusiastically appreciate tarmac, straight stretches, even sort-of-flat dirt roads and speeds of anything over 15 kmph. In most places, the road is no more than a series of pot holes or gravel-strewn path. There are even a few stretches like that over More Plains where you have guess the path or make one yourself. There are two-feet-deep streams that flow right across the road or long sections of the road that have been completely erased by landslides or flash floods.
The Raid’s route this year would cover a distance of 1715 km of which 607 km were in the Competitive mileage and 1108 in the Transport and traverse 11 of the world’s highest passes. The first leg was from Shimla to Manali over Jalori Pass. The hilly terrain was of the first day was only a preview of things to come. The really tough stretch was next day after the participants had crossed Rohtang Pass, 51 km from Manali. There was a whiteout and ice and snow to contend with. For the first time, all the participants were glad for the organisers insistence on snow-chains on all vehicles. The road from Gramphoo to Batal is especially an off-roader’s dream with the ferocious Chandra river flowing on one side and steep cliff on the other. After crossing Kunzum, the route entered Spiti valley, a high altitude semi-desert where many of the villages are over 14000ft. On the third day, the Raid traced back the path till Gramphoo and continued onto the army base at Patseo beyond Keylong, the main town of Lahaul valley. Drcha is the last village on this road, after which the only civilisation you encounter are road crews of the Border Roads Organisation or stray doksas or tent dhabas to cater to travelers. Had the Raid continued beyond Patseo, the participants would have crossed Baralachala, Nakeela, Lachungla and the world’s second highest motorable pass Tanglangla before entering Leh. From Leh, the Raid was scheduled to go over Khardungla, the world’s highest motorable pass into Nubra valley and back to Leh. The next day would have seen the teams battling it out on the Leh-Srinagar highway till the half way point at Kargil.The most exciting stretch of the Raid would have been the last day when the participants were required to leave at 3 am to go past Drass and cross Zojila into the Kashmir valley at Sonamarg and proceed to Srinagar, where the 9th Raid De Himalaya was scheduled to end.Enroute, along with severe road conditions, the teams would contend with temperatures that could fall well below zero, poor visibility when weather packed in, snow and high altitude upto 18000ft. But then, these are what make the Raid such a treat to motorsport enthusiasts.The Unforseen Finale
On the third day, when the teams reached Patseo, the weather was already turning foul. Suresh Rana and Ashish Moudgil were leading in the competitive segments in their respective categories. Ashish in fact had won all seven of the competitive stages among the bikers and Suresh had lost only two to win five. The participants were looking forward to the next day when they would cross four passes, a high altitude plateau and end in Leh, perhaps giving Suresh and Ashish some competition. But with heavy snowfall through the night, it became clear that most vehicles would not make it much past Patseo and finally at 11 in the morning, the organisers decided to head back to Manali and end the rally. Winners All
Of the 120 teams that had initially set out on the Raid, 58 managed to complete the rally - 14 in Xtreme 4 wheeler, 16 in Xtreme bike and 38 in Adventure trail. Local lad, Suresh Rana put his intimate knowledge of the mountains to take home the trophy for the Xtremem four wheel for the fourth time in a row with 1:37:15 penalty points. As Vijay Parmar point out tongue firmly in cheek that “he must be getting tired of no competition”. Close behind him was Harpreet Singh Bawa with 1:52:29 penalty points. Fauji Capt A S Brar came in third with 1:57:39 penalty points. In the Xtreme two wheel category, Ashish Moudgil was the clear winner with 1:56:57 points. With his trophies for the seven competitive stages and his group, at the end of the evening, he literally needed a sack to carry them all. He was trailed by rookie Sandeep Singh Matharu with 2:20:04 points and Sachin Chavan with 2:29:41 penalty points.In the Adventure Trial category, it was old hand Rajesh Chalana who emerged first with 0:15:03 penalty points. . Karthik Singh Bedi and Yogesh Bansal were placed second and third with 0:47:46 and 0:54:20 penalty points respectively. These weren’t the only winners of the evening. Klaudia Honedier, the blonde from Austria was not only the only woman on the bike, she also managed to bag the 5th place. An extremely popular Klaudia even won a trophy for her popularity and sportsmanship, sort of a Miss Congeniality title, Raid De Himalaya style. For the first time, there were also trophies for the backend service teams whose promptness makes the Raid a safe and sound affair. The women who participated in the Xtreme 4 wheel category were also felicitated for giving the guys a run for their money. The evening ended with many ifs and buts. There were still muted mutterings about the Raid having ended too soon. But Vijay Parmar and his Himalayan Motorsport team stood firm that they had made the best decision. After all, after two days, none of the vehicles on the other side of Baralacha La had made it to Manali yet. They confirmed that the 10th edition of Raid would be held in the first week of October like always. The threat of the onset of winter adds to the challenge, they pointed out. One thing that did drive in the point was that whether it had managed to run its course for 8 days or ended as it did in just 3 days, Raid De Himalaya was one event that would never be dull.
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