Electrical issues hit Santosh, Rana trails Ahluwalia after first leg of Raid de Himalaya

Reigning Xtreme Motorcycle and Quad champion C S Santosh reported electrical issues with his Suzuki RMX 450 that lead to lost time while Xtreme Cars and Trucks champion Suresh Rana trails Dakshin Dare winner Amanpreet Ahluwalia, by his own estimates after the first leg of the Maruti-Suzuki Raid de Himalaya, here today.

XTREME CARS AND TRUCKS

Rana admitted to autoX that Ahluwalia's Gypsy had an edge over his Grand Vitara due to the first leg's three special stages being filled with rough, tight turns and hairpins. The opening leg of the Raid de Himalaya took the competitors from Shimla up till Manali.

XTREME MOTORCYCLES AND QUADS

Defending winner in the two-wheeler class, Santosh reported electrical issues that hit his Suzuki on the transport section towards the third special stage. Santosh reported on his Facebook page that the problem was resolved but that it still cost him time on the competitive section.

Santosh is being forced to compete in his 2008 Suzuki after his new, 2013 model was stuck in customs due to documentation issues.

Raj Singh Rathore was reported to have retired from the event after an accident left his Polaris quad too damaged to continue.

ADVENTURE TRIAL

Rajesh Chalana was reportedly leading the Adventure Trial section of the Raid de Himalaya in his Maruti-Suzuki SX4.

Chalana has won the event in the category four times before in his nine times of participating.

At the time of publishing, the final times and results were still being formulated by the officials of the Raid de Himalaya.