when the going got tough...

The contestants vroom away on wet asphalt, often on stretches where there was more pothole than road. Pictures by Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya

The winners in the four-wheeler segment, Prasanta Paul and Prasenjit Roy

The two-wheeler segment winners, Hayatullah Khan and Sabatullah Khan

The best lady navigator, Ipshita Das

Barnali De, the best woman driver

Friday’s downpour might have drowned large portions of the city, but the rain was no damper on the spirits of a bunch of rally enthusiasts who set out for Santiniketan from Jorasanko the day after.

The 40-odd rallyists set out on 29 four-wheelers and 13 two-wheelers to travel the 247km distance — braving torrential rain, cyclonic winds, slushy roads, yawning pits, fallen trees, twisty forest tracks, irate villagers and even the occasional chicken who decided to cross the road just as the rallyists approached.

The 12th edition of The Telegraph Kaviguru Rally 2011, presented by Techno India, tested nerves, skills of man and machine and, of course, lady luck.

‘Perfect’ conditions

After being flagged off by Rabindra Bharati University (RBU) vice-chancellor Karunasindhu Das from Jorasanko, the convoy headed for the RBU campus on BT Road, and from there to the Dunlop crossing, after which it hit the National Highway 2 via the Nivedita Setu. The fun had just begun.

Enthusiasm notwithstanding, there were a few qualms about the weather. As the winds lashed the windscreens and the rain pounded the broken asphalt, clerk-of-the-course (C-O-C) Pratim Chowdhury said: “Yesterday, we got at least 50 calls asking us to postpone the rally. But we at Bengal Motor Sports Club (BMSC) stuck to our resolve to hold the rally on schedule.”

“These are perfect rally conditions,” quipped D. Ramkumar, the chief steward of the rally. The veteran rallyist from Coimbatore was there to check whether the rally was following guidelines laid down by the Federation of Motor Sport Clubs of India.

Timing rules

The transport (non-competitive) section of the rally on the NH 2 soon gave way to narrow, broken tracks from the Baidyabati crossing, where the vehicles encountered the first time control (TC) zone.

The TC zones — where the marshals take note of the timing of the cars — spring up suddenly on the rallyists. In this time-distance-speed rally, points are lost if competitors arrive either early or late. In fact, penalties are harsher for those who arrive early. And so, the cars were often found crawling before they hit the TC zones.

“You cannot stop your vehicle in front of the marshal; you have to keep moving,” explained Jay Prakash Majumdar, the secretary-general of BMSC.

The average speed was 45kmph on dirt tracks and 72kmph on the highway. “We keep the average speed on highways at least 10 per cent below the permissible top speed, which is 80kmph,” Majumdar added.

On the six-lane Durgapur Expressway, past the toll plaza and onwards to Renaissance City, the Shrachi township, the day promised some thrills and spills as tyres skidded on the wet asphalt. The route’s only “passage control” appeared quite early, as the vehicles made a stop at Renaissance City for rest and refuelling.

Somashree Ghatak, her four-feet-nothing frame covered in a windcheater, was battling the elements while she navigated Neil Sen Chaudhuri, on a two-wheeler, through each twist and turn on the route. When Metro caught up with her during the stop, she was all smiles, clearly enjoying the experience. “On two-wheelers, you brave the elements a lot more,” said the Montessori teacher, who went on to win the best novice navigator trophy. Neil, 23, had the participated in last year’s Kaviguru rally. Short on experience they might have been, but there was no dearth of enthusiasm for the duo.

Red earth, pouring rain

A few kilometres after Renaissance, the rally route took a right turn off the expressway and entered the first dirt track. The red laterite, coupled with the rain, made for a slushy passage through green paddy fields and overflowing ponds. “The Kaviguru rally is more of a navigator’s rally than a driver’s,” said Soumyajit Dutta, the relationship officer of competitors.

Following the Tulip Card, a booklet of signs, milestones, indications and directions, is the foremost challenge. The card is handed to each rallyist only when they are starting out. “If you read the Tulip Card right and navigate your driver correctly, the battle is won,” said Dutta. Quaint temples, broken culverts, a primary school, a milestone strewn across the rally path and indicated on the Tulip Card at precise odometer distances are vital clues.

A few vehicles were even stopped by irate villagers, who blocked roads after a car oversped. “You see, the dirt tracks are disappearing with the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana. We are forced to find new routes through very remote villages, and the people here are sensitive. The only way here is for us to apologise and placate them before we can get our participants back on track,” said the C-O-C. The held-back drivers were given some extra time to make up for their loss.

Through the forests of Deul, leaving the old red brick temple on the right, the cars snaked their way through thick forests of sal. The hum of engines and blaring tailpipes broke the rhythmic patter of rainfall on the sal leaves. Soon, the rally was on its way to Panagarh More of the state highway, past a churning Ajoy river, for the last stage to Bolpur.

At the end, the 12th Kaviguru Rally, held under adverse conditions, was without major accidents. There were three breakdowns but no injuries. “One car skidded off track, the other two got water in their distributor pipes and had to leave the rally,” said the C-O-C.

“It was a great show. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Our Bolpur Techno school students participated and enjoyed themselves,” said Satyam Roychowdhury, the managing director of Techno India Group.

Winners all the way

Sunday was for the winners. The results were out by 10am. While Prasanta Paul and Prasenjit Roy won the first prize in the four-wheeler category, Hayatullah Khan and Sabatullah Khan won it in the two-wheeler category.

The Telegraph Rolling Trophy for the Best Novice Navigator in the four-wheeler category went to Siddhartha Santhalia while the Best Woman Driver Trophy in the same category went to Barnali De. Ipshita Das took home the Best Lady Navigator Trophy in the four-wheeler category. In the two-wheeler segment, Dikila Bhutia Mukherjee won the Best Woman Navigator’s Trophy.

As both competitors and organisers prepared to leave, all were repeatedly asked to drive safe back home. “The maximum number of accidents happen when they drive back, as that is when they are relaxed, with their guard down,” said Majumdar.