While the ‘Great Escape’ rally organised on Sunday morning had male drivers zipping past the testing terrain, the woman force too came to the fore! Chintala Lavanya of Alwal, born into a farmer's family, rode her vehicle with ease on the slushy stretch of about 150 m revving in the reverse direction earning spontaneous applause.
Ms. Lavanya happened to be the lone woman participant in the 20 km rally organised exclusively for Mahindra vehicles from Mount Opera and through the nearby Malkapur village into the hilly terrain and vast stretches of barren land.
“It is a great experience and I have a passion for driving these vehicles. Wish to take part in many more such events. There was no tension and I was pretty comfortable, especially on this slushy stretch,” remarked the proud lady for whom it also happened to be her maiden competition of sorts.
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The event happens to be the 108 in all across India drew good response with more than 20 competing for top honours. Top four finishers in this rally were selected to take part in the All India finals to be held in Nashik soon where the eventual champion would be presented a brand new vehicle.
“The rally is to make the participants get a feel of how good the vehicles are for the tough and rugged terrains,” says Vinod Nookala, senior manager (adventure), Mahindra Group. Sixty-three-year-old Uday Bhan Singh, who won more than 70 prizes in the events across India in the last three decades, says the rally is a wonderful concept to popularise the sport. “It is not about power alone but intelligence and test of driving skills too,” he remarked.