133

LUCHI

Competition No. 133 (Gill/Singh)

ADVENTURE Category: T7

Driver: Simranjeet Singh Gill (A+)

Co-driver: Jasmine Singh (A+)

For all I care, I knew nothing about Raid-de-Himalaya and never bothered to. Yes, the name was heard of, but that was it. The desire to do was always there, but never the circumstances to execute thus far.

13^th Maruti Suzuki Raid-de-Himalaya took off on 11^th October 2011 from Shimla. I participated in the competition with my friend Jasmine as co-driver. Everything was new, hence a lot of learning. The Maruti Suzuki Motorsport jacket was snug.

The route was slated to take us from Shimla to Manali to Dalhousie to Srinagar to Padum and back to Srinagar. There was no time however to appreciate the surrounding beauty, but intensity of experiences within the competition stand out. There are ways all over the mountains, its just about who wills to explore; Vijay Parmar is one. Crossing over Mardugala, Chatergala, Sinthan Pass required both effort and skill. Our rented gypsy (named Luchi) played quite a scare during days, but in the end got us home. As a competitor, we were disqualified after end of leg 4 but as a team we triumphed. Jasmine & I had a good insight into each other during the course of events and in that sense, our participation was a success.

The learning’s of the event would be utilized in future and Maruti Suzuki Raid-de-Himalaya lives upto its desciption on website. Its a challenge worth taking up as I now count days to 14^th Raid-De-Himalaya.

P.S: I cannot give reader the benefit of “Experience Detail” for words would only nullify it. If you are looking to test your limit of mental and physical endurance, participate.