With the breathtakingly beautiful Dirang valley for inspiration, National autocross champion Amanpreet Ahluwalia proved he’s a master of short turns and deft handling as he finished first in the autocross or the Super Special Stages as it called here, to go into the lead on the first day in the fourth edition of the JK Tyre Arunachal Festival of Speed on Saturday.
Driving a Maruti Gypsy, Amanpreet tackled the slippery grass track at the L’Opon Stadium to delight the locals, who had gathered in moderate numbers to watch the action-packed event. He needed just 2 minutes and 09 seconds to complete the zig-zag course.
“It was fun racing on this tricky course,” said the veteran rallyist from Delhi.
“We are happy that we have taken the early lead. There is still a long way to go,” he added.
The top-seeded racer in classified cars, K.M. Bopaiah from Coorg, had to settle for the second place in his 1600cc Polo. Delhi’s Sandeep Sharma finished third.
In the autocross and sprint cars for local talent, Babit Lyngdoh shot into the lead, winning both his rounds.
However, the championship suffered a setback with big names — Desert Storm winner Sunny Sidhu (engine issues), ten-time Raid de Himalaya champion Suresh Rana (front axle damage) and India Baja champion Gaurav Chiripal (personal reason) — pulling out.
Provisional results: 1. Amanpreet Ahluwalia (navigator Ajay Kumar) 02:09s, 2. K.M. Bopaiah (Gagan Karumbaiah) 02:12.
3. Sandeep Sharma (Prathap Thakur) 02:13, 4. Ewellson Cyngdoh (Rijop M. Sangma) 02:14 .
