Maruti-Suzuki Desert Storm 2018 Preview: Maruti Suzuki has always been the driving force in Indian motorsport, their tremendous contributions however have culminated in three rally raid events that come together to form the holy-trinity of rally raid in India. Unlike traditional stage rally which requires only flat out speed over short sections or stages run with competitors running each stage multiple times a day, Rally raid presents a very different perspective. It involves much longer stages often on-the-road less travelled between night and day halts. With the rally continuing over a period of 4-5 days, the objective is to to make your way through the course as fast as possible while ensuring that your car takes on the least possible damage.
The three rallies cover the calendar, and the geographic extent of the country starting in the desert every year traveling to the south for the Dakshin Dare before heading far north into the far reaches of the Himalayas for the Raid De Himalaya. Each rally presents it’s own unique set of challenges, like the Dakshin Dare, which travels through the extent of the western ghats during the monsoon has a completely unsanitized route meaning that vehicle preservation becomes the primary goal. In the raid, sub-zero temperature rarified air and narrow stages make it a drivers game of ensuring the cars make it through 5 days of torture.
In the desert however, both members of the cars become an essential commodity. Not only does the desert’s scorching heat suck the energy right out of the crew,the desert’s terrain makes navigation essential. Fighting the dust and the heat– not to mention — tremendous terrain challenges, navigators have to ensure that the drivers keep on track saving precious seconds as the competitors blitz their way through the Thar Desert in Rajasthan.
This year the 16th Desert Storm is just a few weeks away with the rally starting in a few weeks on the outskirts of New Delhi and will then travel to the desert where the first competitive stages begin. In a land known for folk culture, camel safaris and unending sand dunes, competitors will try to keep competitive and keep their car above the surface of the sand. The struggle is real, when you watch a car helplessly making its way out of the sand. ‘Keep calm’ will be the mantra not just for the drivers, but also for the over-heating engines.The action goes live on 18th March with an official flag-off at The Great India Place, Noida. Challenging newer terrains through the week, the journey will culminate in Jaisalmer on 23rd March to announce the ultimate champions.
Speaking about the event, the navigator of last years winning car Ashwin Naik said “The Desert storm has always been a challenging rally it’s important to be focused and keep the temperature inside the car as low as possible because it will be a very hot rally and also if the waypoint stages come up it will be a very challenging with both the crew having to work to hit the waypoint on time”, Skipping the rally this year Ashwin a veteran navigator and arguably one of the best co-drivers in the county extended his best wishes to the organiser as well the participants heading into the Storm this year!
