Amanpreet Ahluwalia has done everything in style at the fourth edition of the JK Tyre Arunachal Festival of Speed. From driving his Maruti Gypsy regally to answering questions from the media with confidence, the 40-year-old has done it well.
With a cushion of more than 20 seconds lead going into the third and final day, Amanpreet completed the formalities on Monday without much fuss to win the title.
Amanpreet (navigator Ajay Kumar) was virtually unbeatable on all the three days, conquering eight of the 10 stages to pocket the prize money of ₹1 lakh.
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On the final day too, he won the first three Special Stages before letting go the last one.
He finished all the stages, including the Super Special Stage on the first day, in just over an hour to win by an impressive 27 seconds difference.
“It was an honour to compete against so many good drivers and good cars,” said Amanpreet graciously.
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“But as a driver I am more comfortable in the hills, especially where it’s more about technique than speed, and I guess that’s where I scored,” he added.
Amanpreet credited his 1300cc turbo charged Gypsy for the victory. “I worked on it for three months, and was managing to produce nearly 150-odd bhp power which is pretty good for a Gypsy. I guess that — the engine — was the best part of my car,” he said.
Coorg’s K.M. Bopaiah tried his best in his 1600cc Vento, but had to settle for second place.
In the autocross for local talent, Babit Lyngdoh won the last two sprints.
The results (provisional):
1. Amanpreet Alhuwalia (navigator Ajay Kumar) 1:00:02, 2. K.M. Bopaiah (Gagan Karumbaiah) 1:00.29, 3. Sandeep Sharma (Prathap Kumar) 1:02.09, 4. Baljit Singh (Phobe Dale Nongrum) 1:04.08, 5. Shahid Khan (Phurpa Tseing) 1:05.40.