raid de-himalaya experience (car rallying)
TRANSCRIPT
Raid-de-Himalaya
My Experiences Uday Bhaskarwar
What do I intend to cover
▪ The basics of a rally race
▪ My experiences
What happens in a rally race?
▪ You must follow a given route from point A to point B Road Book
▪ You must follow a given speed at any point of the route Speed Chart
▪ Minimum 2 people in a car Driver and Navigator
▪ Cars leave at regular intervals Two minutes
▪ There are random checks on route Time Check or TC
▪ There is penalty if you reach early or late Double penalty if early
▪ The clock re-sets after every TC You can’t catch up!
▪ Speeds not very high Still difficult to maintain!
▪ TSD format Time, Distance & Speed
▪ Must follow the Supplementary Regulations (SR)
What is rally raid race?
Rally raid, also known as cross country rallying, is a form of long distance off-road racing that takes place over several days… Examples of rally raid races include the Paris-Dakar Rally… …Raid De Himalaya…
Source: Wikipedia
How difficult is Raid-de-Himalaya?
Supposed to be 2nd toughest in the world after Paris-Dakar
~1 in 3 cars in Adventure category did not finish the race
The finishing ratio in Xtreme category was worse!
What was the preparation required?
▪ Got a partner Driver and Co-driver combo
▪ Got a car Honda Civic
▪ Got the car ready Serviced & Raised by 2 inches
▪ Lot of paper work– Registration
– Rally License x 2
– High Risk Insurance
– AirVac Insurance
– Indemnity Bond
– Blood Group Report
– Health Check-up Report
– And so on…
More on preparation…
▪ “Rally Bag” Packed– Sleeping Bag
– Snow Chain
– Sheets, Can, Extinguisher & Planks
– Warm Clothes
– Food – Energy Bars
– Special Medicines
– Oxygen Cans
– Helmet
▪ Practice Runs – A few practice runs in Pune
– Tried, Tested and Shortlisted couple of Mobile Apps
– Arranged for Tabs
– And what not!
16th Raid-de-Himalaya Key Stats
▪ Number of days 6
▪ Distance covered 1,550 kms
▪ Route Simla-Manali-Tabo-Keylong-Sarchu-Keylong-Manali
▪ Height reached > 16,000 feet
▪ Temperature experienced Up to -4 degrees
▪ Places visited Pristine!
▪ Cars finished 39 out of 55
What all we experienced? High Altitudes
What all we experienced? High Altitudes
What all we experienced? Low Temperatures
What all we experienced? Low Oxygen Levels
What all we experienced? Narrow, Winding Roads
What all we experienced? Narrow, Winding Roads
What all we experienced? Stones, rocks and water
What all we experienced? Deep Valleys
What all we experienced? No Vegetation to break a fall
What all we experienced? Dust
What all we experienced? Dust
What all we experienced? Snow
What all we experienced? Bad Weather
What all we experienced? Bad Weather
What all we experienced? Landslide Zones
What all we experienced? Glacier Tracks
What all we experienced? Scenic Beauty
What all we experienced? True Blue Skies!
What all we experienced?
▪ Shaky Bridges
▪ Traffic Jams!!
▪ No time to Eat
What was interesting/unique about us?
▪ We drove down to the starting point Distance covered 2,000 kms
▪ Got into an accident before starting the rally Hit a dog between Ajmer and Jaipur
▪ Our Car Most probably the First ever Honda Civic to finish the Raid-de-Himalaya!
Day One
▪ Route Simla to Manali
▪ Maximum Height Jalori pass @10,800 ft
▪ Temperatures Pleasant 10 to mid-teens
▪ Road Mix of tarmac, gravel and potholes!
▪ Distance covered 320 kms
▪ Hours driven ~11 ▪ Highlights – Fell sick
– One of the easiest days (in the hind sight)!!
Day Two
▪ Route Manali to Tabo
▪ Maximum Height Kunzum la @15,059 ft
▪ Temperatures Around 7 degrees
▪ Road Mix of tarmac, gravel, stones, water and potholes!
▪ Distance covered 254 kms
▪ Hours driven ~15
▪ Highlights – The longest and the toughest day!
– Very difficult terrain – many cars broke down
– Got a flat tyre
– Got stuck in traffic jam!!
– Reached Tabo after 10pm
– 20 kms from China border
– Almost gave up!!
Day Three
▪ Route Tabo to Tabo (local loop)
▪ Maximum Height Err!
▪ Temperatures Around 7 degrees
▪ Road Mix of tarmac and gravel
▪ Distance covered 175 kms
▪ Hours driven ~6 ▪ Highlights – Easiest day – rally was over by lunch time – more of a
break day
– Easy but tricky route
– Had lunch with Sohail Khan
Day Four
▪ Route Tabo to Keylong
▪ Maximum Height Kunzum la @15,059 ft
▪ Temperatures Around 0 degree
▪ Road Mix of tarmac, gravel, stones, water and potholes!
▪ Distance covered 234 kms
▪ Hours driven ~9
▪ Highlights – Back through the same tough road
– Snowed overnight
– Rally stopped midway because of snow
Day Five
▪ Route Keylong to Brandy nala & back
▪ Maximum Height Barlacha la @16,043 ft
▪ Temperatures Around 0 to -4 degree
▪ Road Mix of tarmac, gravel, stones, water and potholes!
▪ Distance covered 343 kms
▪ Hours driven ~11 ▪ Highlights – Highest point of the rally
– Coldest day
– #1 of last year crashed out
– Bridge broke down – had to go through the river
Day Six
▪ Route Keylong to Manali
▪ Maximum Height Rohtang pass @13,054 ft
▪ Temperatures Around 5 to 10 degree
▪ Road Mix of tarmac, gravel, stones, water and potholes!
▪ Distance covered 214 kms
▪ Hours driven ~8▪ Highlights – One of the easiest days
– Congratulated by many for finishing in a Honda Civic
