The seventh edition of Maruti Suzuki Dakshin Dare rally will be flagged off from here on August 2 in the presence of 120 participants.
Starting from Bangalore, the five-leg rally will traverse through the scenic terrains of Shimoga, Tumkur, Chitradurga, Bellary and Mangalore before ending in Hyderabad on August 7, covering a total distance of 2000 km.
The tarmac and uneven rocky paths along the route will make the job more arduous, especially with the occasional monsoon showers.
A day before the flag off will be committed to a scrutiny check of all participating vehicles along with a doctor's briefing.
Talking about the journey, Vinay Pant, Maruti Suzuki General Manager - Marketing, said: "I believe each year brings with itself a bunch of surprises and novel achievements, especially with the kind of zest motorsport enthusiasts have in them. After the success of rallies like Raid-de-Himalaya in the North and Desert Storm in the West, we realised that the Southern region of the country possesses exceptionally challenging routes and natural beauty that should be touched upon as well."
Winner of Autocross 2015, Den Thimmaiah, who is participating in Dakshin Dare for the first time with his Swift, said, "After Autocross, my aim is to win the Dakshin Dare title, even though the competition is tough. The biggest challenge for that is to ensure my car delivers its best as it is the most crucial part of any rally. The route is fortunately familiar to me, as I am from Coorg and settled in Mysore."
The selected participants will be competing against each other in three categories - Ultimate Car category, Ultimate Bike category and Endurance category. Dakshin Dare 2015 will witness Suresh Rana, nine times winner of Raid-de-Himalaya and three times winner of Desert Storm competing against Sandeep Sharma and Varun Davessar, defending champions in the Extreme category along with Karthik Maruti and Sankar Anand, winners of the Endure category of Dakshin Dare 2014.
It will also include Bani Yadav, who has already won Raid-de-Himalaya, Desert Storm and Autocross.
