Indias rallyists have a tough fight on their hands in the 20th edition of the Raid de Himalaya, with the advent of a formidable team from the Border Roads Organisation.
Col. Pradeep Sharma of BRO’s Project Vijayak at Kargil will lead the team’s challenge in a Maruti Gypsy in the Raid Xtreme 4X4 category and will have Lt. Col Sanjay Rathee of Project Hirak from Uttarakhand as his navigator.
The duo will drive for Team DGBR (Director General Border Roads), an organisation within the army that specialises in constructing and maintaining roads in high altitude areas and extreme weather conditions, where few dare to go.
“We are competing in this year’s Raid because of the initiative of the Director General Border Roads (DGBR), Lt Gen Harpal Singh. He believed that we can take on the country’s best competitors, and challenge them on our own roads, in the toughest category – Raid Xtreme,” Col Sharma said.
The iconic Raid de Himalaya officially got underway here on Monday, with the scrutiny of the vehicles.
The racing will begin on Wednesday and finish on October 14, after traversing through some of the highest-altitude routes in Kargil, Zanskar and Ladakh.
Revealing the reason for his participation, Col. Sharma said: “We are champions of road construction. We want to face the toughest conditions and get feedback from champion drivers on ways to make our roads even better.”