Calcutta: A convoy of 19 cars navigated the rain-swept roads of rural Howrah, Haldia and East Midnapore to compete in the Indian Oil Coastal Run 2018 motorcar rally in association with The Telegraph.
The rally, which covered metalled as well as kutchha roads, was a test of both the man and the machine as the cars drove through the 140km route that included a free run on National Highway 42, congested roads of Haldia and dirt tracks in an abandoned factory.
The competitors also ran a prologue stage of 1.43km, where batches of two cars each raced to the finish point. The quickest of them won the stage.
Maruti Swifts, Mitsubishi Cedias, Maruti Gypsies, a Mahindra XUV 500, a Mitsubishi Pajero and even a Maruti A-star braved swampy roads, brimming water bodies and culverts to finish the Time Speed Distance rally, where the quickest does not necessarily win.
"The average maximum speed of the rally was fixed at 45 km per hour. There were hidden Time Controls, Self Time Controls and Declared Time Controls (controls are spots where marshals record timings of participants) that made the rally a challenge," said Debasish Bhattacharjee of Kolkata Automotive Sports Association (KASA), one of the organisers of the event.
The rally was supported by the state transport department and Haldia municipality.
The cars were flagged off at the Automobile Association of Eastern India (AAEI) on August 4. The second leg of the rally was flagged off the next day at Uluberia, in Howrah.
"The participants were given a tulip chart (the route to be followed) and speed charts and their odometers were set to zero in Uluberia," Bhattacharjee said.
The participants then set off on NH42 till Brajalal Chowk in Haldia, where there was a Declared Time Control Zone. After running around Haldia roads and off-road tracks, the cars entered the Ural factory where they confronted dirt tracks, swampy stretches and water bodies that challenged their navigation skills. In the prologue stage run on the factory premises, the quickest car covered 1.43km in 2.30 minutes.
Winner Jogendra Jaiswal enjoyed driving on the route. "It was a small rally but the stretch on the abandoned factory premises was quite challenging and fun. It was an extremely slippery ground and with the twists and turns it was quite a task to keep the car in control," said Jaiswal, who drove a Swift.
Subir Roy, who was seeded first in the rally but won the second place, said: "I found certain parts of the route congested. At an off-road section outside Haldia town, where I was leading, I found a lot of cycles and bikes in front of me. I had to quickly slow down to avoid a collision."
Transport minister Suvendu Adhikari handed over the prizes to the winners at the Haldia Municipality auditorium. The first prize went to Jogendra Jaiswal and Nagarajan Thangraj, who won a trophy along with a cash prize of Rs 25,000.
The second position went to Subir Roy and Nirav Mehta, who drove a Mitsubishi Cedia. The third prize went to Patrick Sirkar and Prosenjit Roy (Maruti Swift).
The rally was organised by KASA, AAEI and Motor Sports Association of Eastern India (MSAEI).
