FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT
Itagar, April 12: The JK Tyre Aruchal Festival of Speed concludes at picturesque Dirang valley on April 9 last. The event witnessed participation from enthusiasts from across the country. The magnificent amphitheatre of ture and quaint lifestyle reverberated to the glorious sound of highly tuned rally cars driven by some of India's top drivers, informed press release. The event also gave an opportunity to drivers from the North East region to showcase their talent as they rubbed shoulders with the best exponents of the dust sport in the country. The USP of the JK Tyre Aruchal Festival of Speed organised by the Motorsports Club of Aruchal is that it combines three forms of road racing and rallying on a single platform. The participants competed in auto cross, rally sprint and hill climb.
On the first day, life in Dirang came to a standstill as all roads led to the Lopon stadium which was the stage for the auto cross. The stadium was packed, and the drivers thrilled the crowd with high speed action in different classes including Quard- ATV category which was introduced for the first time this year.
The headline act of the event was the 2013 Asia Pacific Rally Champion, Gaurav Gill who was the star attraction of the show. Living up to his formidable reputation Gill behind the wheels of a rally prepared Volkswagen Polo domited the auto cross, rally sprint and the 8km hill climb he emerged as the overall winner with a total of 75 points.
The festival of speed turned out to be a much deserved lucky break for Delhi's Saazid Singha who delivered a rock solid performance behind the wheels of his Grand Vitara to finish in second place He also emerged as the top driver in the SUV class as Gill dropped out of contention after his car developed mechanical problems. Another Delhi based driver Philippos Mathai, who's also a tuner of repute, finished in third place with a total of 30 points despite being hit by a number of car related issues.
Keeping in tune with the core philosophy of the JK Tyre Motorsport of unearthing and nurturing grassroots talent, the festival, brought to fore a number of local talent.
However, the stand out performance came from 19-year-old Arindam Saikia, a tive of Meghalaya Saikia domited the Quard class behind the wheels of his Polaris RZR 1000 by winning the auto cross sprint and the hill climb.
After three days of high quality motorsports, the curtains came down on the festival with a rock concert and glittering prize distribution ceremony, added the release.