This is one police raid that no one will resent, a Himachal Police team barging into the Raid de Himalaya as participants for the first time.
Constables Munish Mehta and Richa Sharma are competing in the Raid Adventure Trial Category and drive a Maruti Gypsy. This category follows the Time-Speed-Distance (TSD) format. There will be 62 teams in the category and each team will have a driver and a navigator.
"The rally will see a police team from Himachal for the first time. The government has done so much for this rally and its great to see an entry like this. It is also great for the locals as they can cheer their team on," Manjeev Bhalla, vice-president of Himalayan motorsport, told IANS.
Also for the first time, an all-woman Army team will compete in the Raid. Major Smitha of ASC and Captain Madhavi Singh of EME will be competing in the Adventure Trial category, driving a Maruti Gypsy.
In the many firsts, an Indian woman biker is competing in the taxing Raid X-treme (Motorcycles and Quads) category. Sheetal Bidaye of Mumbai is here to prove "what men can do women can do better".
"It is one of the most prestigious international rallies and I wanted to show that women can also do anything," she said.
The highest number of entries marks the 15th edition of the Raid the biggest ever. This year, as many as 153 teams are competing and a new scooter category has also been introduced.