The 4th leg of 16th Maruti Suzuki Raid De Himalaya with competitive stretch of 128.24 km was abandoned due to snowfall at Kunzam Pass (4500 mt above sea level) as driving was dangerous under present circumstances.
About 200 vehicles including the vehicles participating in the Raid were struck at Kunzam Pass and had to be taken to Sarchu with chins tied to tyres and no racing was done.
Manjeev Bhalla, heading Raid Xtreme, said the competitive stretches had to be completely abandoned today because the track had become highly slippery, adding that the 11-kilometer uphill stretch from Losar to Kunzum, and the 17-kilometer downhill run from Kunzum to Batal had become difficult to negotiate, especially around the hairpin bends.
The rally would start from Sarchu tomorrow and there would be five legs instead of six and the rally would conclude at Manali on October 10 as scheduled, said Manohar Bhat, Vice President (Marketing) Maruti Suzuki.
From Batal, the competitors in Raid Xtreme moved on to Gramfu, Chhatru, and further towards Sarchu camp for the night halt.
In Raid Xtreme (4X4), the high-speed, high-risk category, only 27 of the total 41 teams are left in the competition.
In the Raid Xtreme (Motorcycles) category, only 16 of the total 28 bikers are left in the fray. In Raid Adventure, which follows the Time-Speed-Distance format, 41 of the total 51 teams are still part of the competition.
The rest of the rallyists had to quit the event due to technical problems in their vehicles or other setbacks.
Jagmeet Gill, defending champion for Raid Adventure, said heavy snowfall started when the rallyists were about 15 kilometers short of Kunzum La.
"Raid Adventure was able to have a competitive run from Tabo (near Kaza) to Kunzum, but had to be suspended thereafter. The downhill stretch from Kunzum to Chhatru was covered with snow too. We all came down to Keylong for the night-halt. I hope the Raid is able to resume tomorrow," he said.
