The Himalayan Rally Reborn: Can it carve a new legend?

The Himalayan Rally is being resurrected. This is possibly the most thrilling news for any Indian motorsport enthusiast over 40, and perhaps even a few overseas ones. Throughout the 1980s, the Himalayan Rally remained the single most important motorsport event on the Indian calendar. Started in 1980 by the late Nazir Hoosein, it remained India’s only genuinely international motorsport event until it was discontinued in 1990. For the first time India saw a proper rally with proper competitors from around the world, including the legendary Jayant Shah who won the rally four times on the trot from 1982-85.

With Doordarshan showing grainy footage of brightly liveried cars with their rorty exhausts tearing through the Himalayas, this was the event that made names like Vicky Chandhok, Kersi Patel, Farad Bhathena, Navaz Bhathena and Hari Singh known to a much wider audience than those who had an inside view into Indian motorsport. To cut a long story short, the Himalayan Rally of the 1980s was the motorsport event. Dead for over 35 years, the event’s name is still spoken with reverence and those who competed are considered heroes. The return of this mighty event can only be the harbinger of good things for Indian motorsport.

How it came about

The rebirth of the event, albeit in a reimagined form in keeping with this decade, has been made possible thanks to the special directives issued by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami. With a vision to transform the mountain state currently known for its pilgrimage tourism, into a destination for year-round tourism including winter tourism, the Chief Minister directed the Tourism Department to make the event a reality. The hope is that events like these will also open new employment opportunities for youth in Uttarakhand with the state being explored as a premier destination for adventure tourism.

The first flag off

Although the initial plan was to start the event in November this year, the huge organising requirements, particularly managing the logistics of multiple international participants from different parts of the globe, the event is likely to happen later. The final date will be announced at a later date. What is known for now is that the first edition will start at the National Sports Stadium in Dehradun and finish with the prize distribution in Mussoorie on Day 4 with rally stages taking place on days 2, 3 and 4.

Ambitious 4-year Roadmap: Bigger than ever

Honestly, we would have thought that nothing in India would be able to eclipse the old Himalayan Rally but from the look of things the Himalayan Rally 2.0 or the Uttarakhand Himalayan Rally as it’s likely to be called, aims to be bigger. To start with Team Firefox, which is the event organiser, has readied a four-year road map with four editions of the event in the pipeline. What is significant is that instead of the usual idea of a single rally, the Himalayan Rally 2.0 seeks to combine four rallies into one mega event, with a total of 120 participants. First up there will be an International Field, inviting up to 25 entries from around the world. Then there is a separate event for Classic Rally Cars, with up to 20 participants in the category from the UK and Kenya. The event would also see a round of the Asia Cross Country Rally being conducted here with up to 25 participants drawn from around the continent. The largest category with up to 50 participants would be a round of the Indian National Rally Championship (INRC). The four-year road map effectively scales the international component of the event upwards. So the second edition is envisaged as including a round of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) while the third will include a round of the FIA Cross Country Rally Championship and the fourth will have a round of the FIA World Cross Country Rally Championship.

Who’s putting it all together?

The organiser of the Himalayan Rally 2.0 is Team Firefox, which is led by Rajan Syal, who is himself a veteran of the original event from the ‘80s, as President. Route selection, which will involve many more challenges now than it did 40 years ago, has been entrusted to veteran motorsport personality, Council Member of the FMSCI and Vice President of the Madras Motor Sports Club, Vicky Chandhok. Dakar Rally participant and veteran rally driver Sanjay Takale is Co-President, alongside Syal in this historic venture. Together, Team Firefox will be working with both the Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN) and Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam (KMVN) to both organise as well as promote the event.