Rainforest Challenge India 2018: Gerrari Off-roaders' Sanbir Singh Dhaliwal holds onto lead at the end of nine stages
In the 2018 edition of the Rainforest Challenge India, Sanbir Singh Dhaliwal from Gerrari Offroaders continued his winning form from the first day to yesterday, July 24 as well. Drivers were competing in special stages (SS) 6 to 9, after a rest day the day before.
Dhaliwal (with co-driver Gurpartap Singh Sandhu) from Chandigarh, led the points table with 687 points out of 900. He was followed by Jagat Nanjappa (co-driver Chetan Changappa) from Coorg, who held on to second place from the last day. The third spot saw some shuffling around though, with Malaysian driver Mervyn Lim (co-driver Alex Tan), representing Team G.O.A. Fairmont, making up eleven spots to claim the third position with 567 points.
Of the five stages held on this day, SS 9 proved most challenging for the competitors. The tight layout and big obstacles meant many entrants had to settle for a DNF. That is not to say the other stages were simple. SS 6 through SS 8 saw drivers tackle everything from short speed-runs, mild to steep inclines, tight turns and the ever present mud and slush.
Chow Ujjal Namshum (co-driver Inpeng Mein) of Arunachal Pradesh's Team MOCA, who finished Day 1 on third position but has now slipped to sixth said he had nothing to lose on the first day of the competition as nobody had any expectations from him. So there was no pressure to perform. That helped me to be calm and do well. Having reached the top of the table on the first day, even his personal expectations have shot up. Going forward, he wants to run every stage and try to get the fewest penalties possible. His strategy is to play it safe for another day or two after which he will try to bring more speed in my efforts.
The Rainforest Challenge India will stay in Quepem, Goa for another day before moving to Green Hills Agri Farm in Maina, before ending in Dona Paula.
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