Overnight leader Bangalore’s Boda off-roaders Siddartha Santhosh (co-driver Prithviraj) and Lokesh Shivaraja (co-driver M. Sujay) started of in rather shaky manner but planned a safe show in the final stage to emerge the champion of the JK Tyre Orange 4x4 Fury off-roading event here on Saturday.
The men from Bangalore enjoyed a 140-point lead going into the final day. It looked a big lead at the start but a ‘topple’ at the river stream cut short the points tally to 40 after the completion of the first stage. It shattered the team’s morale a bit but Siddartha and Lokesh got their act together and drove with a lot of caution and care to go home richer and merrier.
It was a fine second-day performance that saved the blushes for the team. They tallied just 166.5 points and finished fourth for the day but that was enough to give them a cumulative total of 830.75 points and the winner’s trophy.
One must not take the credit of the team’s co-drivers. Both Prithviraj and Sujay stood patient and assisted their partners well on all three days.
“We thought we were comfortable but it was not to be. The last stage was pretty critical but we managed to do it. Of course, we were disappointed as it could have been much better,” said Siddhartha.
“We know each others skills as we all have been doing similar events for sometime. The co-ordination factor also worked in our favour,” said Lokesh.
“Last year we had a three-team entry but we finished only second. This year it was a two-member team and we decided to work hand-in-hand. We were determined to do well and I am glad that we won. The cherry on the cake is the top position,” said Siddhartha.
Defending champions Kabir Waraich and Gurmeet Virdi of Team Gerrari off-roaders from Chandigarh enjoyed a good day but had to rest content for the second spot in the overall table.
