The experienced pair of Ajgar Ali (Kolkata) and his co-driver Mohammed Mustafa (Erode) drove cautiously and with a lot of care to finish on top of the table in the national class after the second leg of the JK Tyre-sponsored Himalayan Drive 5 here on Monday.
It was a long day in office for the competitors in the first leg on Sunday. They had to cover a distance of 337 kms under some tough conditions with sub-zero temperatures.
The poor visibility due to heavy fogging made life even more miserable as they drove through the Eastern Himalayas to enter Bhutan and reach Paro.
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Playing it safe
It also included the clearance of formalities at the international border. Bur Ajgar and Mustafa, the first edition winners and current national TSD champions, did their homework well. They stuck to the route, played it safe at various points to emerge the leader.
But Monday’s drive turned out to be a lot easier for the drivers. They covered about 90 kms (Paro to Dochula) under similar conditions. The assignment, however, was not so heavy as it ended near the riverbed sooner than they had expected. But the transport section did take some toll on the drivers. Ajgar and Mustafa breathed easy right through the route to keep their position intact at the top.
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“We were more cautious about sticking the right route. Of course, we did keep an eye on the timing as well,” said Mustafa.
He said it was easy at the plain terrains as the junctions are big but the riverbed section had multiple paths with only one path mentioned in the road book.
“An error in your meter or a lapse in concentration can cost precious timings and can shuffle your position on the table at the end of the day,” he added.
“It was tough but enjoyable. With Mustafa by my side, it was all the more relaxed,” said Ajgar.
Subir Roy (co-driver Nirav Mehta) and Deep Dutta (co-driver Prakash Muthuswamy) are placed in the second and third positions respectively.
Amit Garg (co-driver Abhisek Khemka) are the leaders in the open category.
Earlier, the Governor of Paro, Dasho Tenzing Thinley, flagged off the second leg from Hotel Olathang in Paro along with the local MP Kezang Chuki Dorjee.