Maruti Suzuki will organize a 2000-km rally from Bangalore to Hyderabad via Mangalore on Aug 2.
The six-day route will cover scenic areas such as Shimoga, Tumkur, Chitradurga and Bellary to culminate in Hyderabad. 120 teams will participate.
“The tarmac and uneven rocky paths across the route will make it even more arduous especially with the occasional monsoon showers,” India’s no. 1 car maker said.
A day before the flag off will be committed to a scrutiny check of all participating vehicles along with a doctor’s briefing.
“It has been an incredible voyage since the rally’s inception in 2009 six years ago,” said Vinay Pant, General Manager, Marketing, Maruti Suzuki.
“We are expecting an increased number of participation compared to last year, of over 120 enthusiasts which is an overwhelming figure. We have always encouraged the youth as well as professionals, men and women alike who have a keen interest in motorsports to take part in competitions like these and enhance their experience of the same.”
Winner of Autocross 2015, Den Thimmaiah who is participating in Dakshin Dare for the first time with his Swift, shared his expectations of winning the title, “I have been participating in motorsport events for the past 3 years. After Autocross, my aim is to win the Dakshin Dare title as well, even though the competition is tough. The biggest challenge for that is to ensure my car delivers its best as it is the most crucial part of any rally. The route is fortunately familiar to me, as I am from Coorg and settled in Mysore. I am looking forward to this one with great zeal.”
The selected participants will be competing against each other in 3 categories – Ultimate Car category, Ultimate Bike category and Endurance category.
Dakshin Dare 2015 will see Suresh Rana, nine-times-winner of Raid-de-Himalaya and three-times-winner of Desert Storm competing against Sandeep Sharma and Varun Davessar, defending champions in the Extreme category along with Karthik Maruti and Sankar Anand, winners of the Endure category of Dakshin Dare 2014. It will also include women participant Bani Yadav who has to her credit past winning titles of Raid-de-Himalaya, Desert Storm and Autocross.