Gaurav Gill wins the 2015 JK Tyre Arunachal Festival Of Speed
Engines revved to the limit, sideways was the way around a bend and on-the-edge racing took on a completely new meaning. The JK Tyre Arunachal Festival Of Speed turned out to be an event that saw some spectacular racing by some of India's top drivers as well as local talent from the north east region of the country. Held from April 7-9, 2015 the event comprised of three stages namely Autocross, Rally Sprint and Hill Climb.
Asia Pacific Rally Champion, Gaurav Gill, showcased his driving prowess as he dominated the three day event and was crowned the overall winner. The Delhi based driver steered his rally spec Volkswagen Polo in a way that was exemplary for other less experienced participants. Saazid Singha, who drove a Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara, secured the second position while Philippos Mathai finished third. This, despite, his Maruti Suzuki Esteem suffering numerous problems over the course of three days.
For the first time a Quad-ATV class was introduced this year. The drivers, piloting a range of ATVs by Polaris put up a strong fight and posed a formidable threat to the cars, especially in the Rally Sprint and Hill Climb stages. In fact, 19-year old Arindam Saikia from Meghalaya set a blistering time of 10min 15 sec in the 8km Hill Climb event in a Polaris RZR 1000. This was the fastest time set in the Hill Climb stage.
The 2015 JK Tyre Arunachal Festival Of Speed, organised by the Motorsports Club of Arunachal, served as a competitive platform for both established as well as aspiring rally drivers. The spectacular location and enthusiasm displayed by the local spectators was, simply, the cherry on top of the cake.
JK Tyre Arunachal Festival of Speed Sets the State Buzzing
| Dirang April 10, 2015: The picturesque Dirang valley in Arunachal Pradesh helmed by towering mountains and breath-taking vistas, straight out of picture postcard frames, was the setting of the JK Tyre Arunachal Festival of Speed. This extreme one of a kind event which saw participation from enthusiasts from across the country was held from the 7-9 April. This magnificent amphitheatre of nature and quaint lifestyle reverberated to the glorious sound of highly tuned rally cars driven by some of India's top drivers. This event also gave an opportunity to drivers from the North East region to showcase their talent as they rubbed shoulders with the best exponents of the dust sport in the country. The USP of the JK Tyre Arunachal Festival of Speed organised by the Motorsports Club of Arunachal is that it combines three forms of road racing and rallying on a single platform. The participants competed in Auto Cross, Rally Sprint and Hill Climb. On the first day, life in Dirang came to a standstill as all roads led to the Lopon Stadium which was the stage for the Auto Cross. The stadium was packed, and the drivers thrilled the crowd with high speed action in different classes including Quard- ATV category which was introduced for the first time this year. The headline act of the event was the 2013 Asia Pacific Rally Champion, Gaurav Gill who was the star attraction of the show. Living upto his formidable reputation Gill behind the wheels of a rally prepared Volkswagen Polo dominated the Auto Cross, Rally Sprint and the 8km Hill Climb. Gill emerged as the overall winner with a total of 75 points. The JK Tyre Arunachal Festival of Speed turned out to be a much deserved lucky break for Delhi's Saazid Singha who delivered a rock solid performance behind the wheels of his Grand Vitara to finish in second place He also emerged as the top driver in the SUV class as Gill dropped out of contention after his car developed mechanical problems. Another Delhi based driver Philippos Mathai, who's also a tuner of repute, finished in third place with a total of 30 points despite being hit by a number of car related issues. Keeping in tune with the core philosophy of the JK Tyre Motorsport of unearthing and nurturing grassroots talent, the Arunachal Festival of Speed, brought to fore a number of local talent. However, the stand out performance came from 19-year-old Arindam Saikia. A native of Meghalaya Saikia dominated the Quard class behind the wheels of his Polaris RZR 1000 by winning the Auto Cross Sprint and the Hill Climb. After three days of high quality motorsports, the curtains came down on the JK Tyre Arunachal Festival of Speed with a rock concert and glittering prize distribution ceremony. | |
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103.06
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Starts Rs 6.17 Lakhs
999cc
Automatic
76
175
16.47 Kmpl
