2017 Maruti Suzuki Dakshin Dare: Day 3 - Suresh Rana Leads In Ultimate Cars And R Nataraj In Bikes

Suresh Rana and Ashwin Naik took the lead at the end of Day 3 of the 2017 Maruti Suzuki Dakshin Dare. Driving their Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara, the duo from Team Maruti Suzuki covered the distance of 495 kms of which 106 kms were on stages, in 06:59:02.

The rally drivers and riders made their way through the narrow, rocky terrain at Aimangala, to end the day at Belgaum battling heavy rains along the way. The leaders on Day 1 and Day 2 of the 2017 Dakshin Dare - Samrat Yadav and S N Nizami driving their Maruti Gypsy dropped down one position, to finish Day 3 at second position.

Sandeep Sharma and co-driver Karan Arya, also in a Maruti Gypsy covered the distance in 07:05:46 taking the third spot in the Ultimate Cars category.

Suresh Rana was quoted as saying, "The heavy downpour of rain made the terrain more challenging, but it didn't go against us. We took it up as a challenge and closed it with top spot while competition was cut-throat."

The top positions in the Ultimate bikes category remained the same as on Day 2, with R Nataraj continuing to lead, covering the distance in 04:29:30. Abdul Wahid and Sanjay Kumar took second and third spots covering the distance in 04:31:26 and 04:35:57 respectively.

Day 4 of the rally, on 20 July will see the participants crossing state borders, entering Western India and reaching Kolhapur, Maharashtra.

DriveSpark Thinks!

The Competition, as Suresh Rana mentioned, definitely seems cut-throat. Rallying is a test of both man and machine, and as the rally stages of the 2017 Dakshin Dare fly by, we see both man and machine being put to the test, and come out with flying colours. The competition is tough, and tables can turn any time. Watch this space for more updates.