Sunny, a top contender for the Raid crown, faced engine trouble in the third competitive stage of the event today from Chimni to Khanag. He was driving a Mahindra XUV for Team Mahindra at the event.
"I am certainly disappointed. An analysis will now reveal what went wrong and caused the problem," said Sidhu. Sidhu was participating in Raid Xtreme, the most challenging category of the event.
Meanwhile, the day One of the 14th Maruti Suzuki Raid De Himalaya saw as many as four mishaps. Chandigarh rallyist Simranjit Singh and his navigator Karan Narang were rescued by a short, sturdy tree growing by the mountainside when their Gypsy swerved off the road near Nag Jubbar in Shimla district.
The mishap took place on the first competitive stage of the event, held from Dalog to Chamola. A boulder got stuck under the Gypsy as Simranjit was negotiating a turn and the impact drove the vehicle off the road. Simrajnit and Karan were also part of Raid Xtreme.
In the second incident, Lt Col R S Rai and Lt Col Dahiya of Team Army went down almost 200 meters down mountainside. The incident took place on the second competitive stage, from Luhri to Behna. In the third mishap, Kishore Thakur of Gurgaon and his navigator Mansingh Jaswal went down about 30 feet off the road. They were participating in Raid Adventure.
In the fourth mishap, Nitesh Kumar of Bangalore, driving a mobike, went down in Stage III running from Chimni to Khanag. Fortunately, Kumar did not sustain any injury.
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The 14th Maruti Suzuki Raid De Himalaya took off in the wee hours today from Shimla. After going through Manali, Kaza, Gramphoo, Koksar, Darcha and the Khardung La pass, the six-day marathon motorsport event will conclude at Leh on October 12.
The Raid, an annual event, is staged at the highest altitudes in world motorsport.