Bikers set for challenging Nashik Rally

NASHIK - The virgin tracks of the Wine City beckon the cream of talent in the country as the top riders begin their battles of speed in the MAK Rally of Maharashtra, the third round of the MAK Indian National Rally Championship for motorcycles here Sunday.

The privateers are all geared up to show their skills and hog the limelight what with the top riders from the Team TVS Racing giving the rally a skip.

Championship leader Pramod Joshua of Team TVS Racing and team-mate K.P. Arvind, the reigning national champion, will lose points for this rally as their team is taking part in a motocross event in Pune.

Their absence provides an excellent opportunity for the rising stars. Riders from Zen Rallying, VMW racing, Speedo Racing and a good bunch from Bangalore are all set to thrill the spectators in Nashik. Response from the local riders is huge and about 27 entries have been received.

After a successful season opener at Coimbatore, the Bangalore leg too provided some exiting moments as the “Big Daddies” got the Bullet fans on to the track. And now, Nashik is all set to complete the third round and provide the private bikers a chance to shoot into the lead.

The third of the five rounds is being organised by Western India Sports Association (WISA) under the aegis of Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI), the governing body for the sport in the country under the International Motorcycle Federation (FIM) regulations. The event is being promoted by IMG Sports and Pro Sports Promotion (PSP).

The MAK Rally of Maharashtra will have two special stages with a mix of dirt and tarmac that are expected to be fast and technically challenging.

The Tirupati Stage covering a distance of 23.38 km and Narasimha Stage (12.28 km) will be run twice each in the same direction with service breaks in between, comprising 71.32 km while the total distance of the rally, including the transport section is 215.96 km.

The response is very strong this year from local boys and we are expecting fierce competition as the top riders who are skipping the event are all at the midway stage to get championship points,” said Ashwin Pandit, president of WISA.

Elaborate arrangements have been made as part of the safety requirements, including ambulances and trained marshals and teams for spectator control, to make this event safe and fun for everyone,” he added.