Amanpreet Ahluwalia has won the JK Tyre Arunachal Festival of Speed at the Dirang Valley. The former Indian National Rally Champion from Noida along with his navigator Ajay Kumar lead the championship for all three days and ensured to have a whopping 27 second lead over the runner-up KM Bopaiah. Conquering eight of the ten stages, Amanpreet and Ajay have also won a major chunk out of the total prize money of Rs. 10 lakh.
Winners Amanpreet and Ajay pose with their 150 bhp Gypsy
Supporting Amanpreet in the Herculean task was his 1300 cc turbocharged Maruti Gypsy. The off-roader has been tuned to produce close 150-odd bhp, Amanpreet said and helped him retain the lead throughout the race. He also explained his comfort in the hills in terms of driving where technique matters more than speed.
Speaking on his victory, Amanpreet said, "It was an honour to compete against so many good drivers and good cars," said Amanpreet graciously.
Bopaiah and his navigator Gagan finished second in the 1600 cc Vento
Coming in second was Coorg's KM Bopaiah went all out in the 1600 cc Volkswagen Vento. Bopaiah was barely 2 to 3 seconds off the leader in each of the stages, and even claimed the lead in the final stage. But a slippage of 28 seconds over the first two days did cost dearly to the INRC regular. Speaking on the championship, Bopaiah said, "I gave it my all in the Special Stages. But I guess my car wasn't suited for some of the rough terrains and the uphill climbs."
Sandeep Sharma poses with his nearly stock Gypsy
Delhi's Sandeep Sharma held on to his position to take the third place. Impressively, Sharma managed to do so in a stock Gypsy and while that was a disadvantage as compared to the rivals, he pushed his car to the limits on the final day to claim the third place in the race, which is indeed laudable. Coming in fourth was Manindar Sharma, wife of Sandeep and the only lady driver in the category.
Amanpreet led the rally in 8 out of 10 stages
In the Autocross stage, local talent Babit Lyngdoh won the rally with an 8 second lead over Amitabh Indar.
