The 7th edition of Maruti Suzuki Dakshin Dare rally will commence on 2nd August from Bangalore. The challenging event will require the participants to cover 2,000 km in a span of five days. The rally will go through the picturesque and tough terrains of Shimoga, Tumkur, Chitradurga, Bellary, and Mangalore and will conclude in the city of Hyderabad.
The rally requires the vehicles to cross the rocky and muddy terrains which are divided into five legs. Drivers will be in for mayhem if it starts raining during the rally as the muddy tracks will throw the car sideways every now and then. The rally will have a total of 120 teams and some of them are either past winners of the competition or have won the tough Raid-de-Himalaya Challenge or Desert Storm or Autocross.
The expert ones will compete in the extreme (ultimate) category while there are two other categories as well. Ultimate Car Category, Ultimate Bike Category and Endurance Category will test the patience, skills and aptitude of the drivers throughout the course of five days. The rally will involve vehicles which have been especially designed for the event. With tuned suspension systems to tackle the uneven terrains and a roll cage to keep the occupants safe, the participants will try everything allowed in the rulebook to win the challenge.
The event has been approved by FIA and WRC along with FMSCI which will keep tab of the rally. All vehicles will go through a scrutiny check before being flagged off and each participant will be briefed by a doctor. The event will witness Suresh Rana, an expert driver who has won Raid-de-Himalaya nine times and has thrice emerged as champion in Desert Storm. Sandeep Sharma and Varun Davessar will be participating in the event as defending champions. This time, champion of Raid-de-Himalaya, Desert Storm and Autocross, Bani Yadav will also be seen in action.
