Brace up to meander through dirt tracks, glide across concrete paved roads, steer through animal traffic, climb up and down slopes and crawl to the finish point! For being the fastest creature on the road is simply not good enough to win J.K.Tyres ‘Fastrak 2012’ car rally - only the toughest and most disciplined of drivers on city roads can conquer this!
The annual event by city-based women’s forum ‘Aura’ is back after a year’s break and this time around has got longer and more challenging, affirms Rajeshwari Ramakrishnan, committee member. The erstwhile women’s only rally that kicked off in 2007 included a ‘Fun Wagon’ category in its previous edition providing a break for men who have always teetered on the edge, envying their fairer counterparts. Only the competition in that category comes with a bind - one team member must be a woman!
The TSD (time, speed, distance) rally, the only one of its kind in Tiruchi, is expected to cover around 75 kilometres in 5 hours through Dindigul Road, Subramaniapuram,Pudukottai Road, Avoor, and Srirangam, says Mythili Ramanan. Cars of all engine capacities and types including diesel ones and jeeps are qualified for participation. Each team should constitute three members - a driver,navigator and passenger. Participants registered under both 'Eves on wheels' (women only) and 'Fun Wagon' categories will be classified under three groups- novice or first time competitors, regular (participated in an earlier edition) and expert ( winners of previous editions). Vesting the rally with a professional front will be the Madras Motor Sports Club, that will conduct the rally.
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What makes a TSD rally challenging are the time controlled speed variations - the necessity to accomplish a specific task or cover a certain miles on road within a prescribed time-frame, says Sanjay Sharma, from JK Tyres. "It is important to be on the right direction and reach the right spot on the right time." But the rally gives you no licence to flout traffic norms and speed limits within the city must be strictly adhered, he warns.
Observational skills of team will also come under the scanner with a questionnaire that revolves around what pops up at each spot!
With a lot of big names roped in as sponsors, participants can look forward to walking away with a bagful of goodies worth one lakh, promise the Aura committee that also includes Vrinda Ramanan, RajalakshmiRajesh, Vidhya Madan, Savithri Saravanan and Subha Rengarajan. Popula playback singer Srilekha Parthasarathy will honour the winners. The rally will be flagged off at National College Grounds at 8.30 a.m. on August 5, Sunday. For registrations call the Aura office at 98946 64394.
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Strap on your seat belts, get set and vroom!